Page 121 - Disaster Accident
More than 50 feared killed in landslide at Myanmar jade mine: police
Dozens are feared dead after a landslide in northern Myanmar's Kachin state engulfed jade miners while they were sleeping, local police said Tuesday, the latest accident in a notoriously dangerous industry. "Fifty-four people are missing in the mud," a duty officer from the Hpakant police station in Kachin told AFP, adding that "there's no way they (the missing) could have survived.
Philippines quake toll increases to 16
The death toll in Monday's 6.1-magnitude quake that struck the Philippines' Luzon Island has increased to 16, amid ongoing efforts to rescue around 30 missing people who were trapped under a collapsed commercial centre, authorities said on Tuesday.
Powerful quake hits Philippines, day after deadly temblor
A new powerful earthquake hit the central Philippines on Tuesday, a day after a magnitude 6.1 quake rattled the country's north and left at least 16 people dead, including in a collapsed supermarket, where rescuers scrambled to find survivors. The US Geological Survey put the magnitude of Tuesday's quake at 6.4, while the local seismology agency said it was 6.5. The quake was centered near San Julian town in Eastern Samar province and prompted residents to dash out of houses and office workers to scamper to safety. There were no immediate reports of casualties or major damage from the new quake. Classes and office work were suspended in San Julian, where cracks on roads and small buildings and a church were reported. Power was deliberately cut as a precaution in the quake's aftermath, officials said. Meanwhile, rescuers worked overnight to recover bodies in the rubble of a supermarket that crashed down in Monday's quake, which damaged other buildings and an airport in the northern ...
Policeman among two electrocuted to death in J-K's Poonch
Two persons, including a policeman, were electrocuted to death Tuesday after their houses were hit by a surge of high-voltage current due to a snag in the electricity transformer in their village in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district, a police official said. Six other persons suffered minor burn injuries in the incident which took place at Chunga Charan village in Mendhar area around 3 am, the official said. He said due to the sudden high voltage electricity policeman Faiz Ahmad (40) and his neighbour Mohammad Shabir (38) were killed and six others injured. The injured were discharged from the hospital after first aid, the official said. Almost every house in the village was affected by the incident which caused damage to the electronic appliances and electricity wires, he said, adding that the electricity transformer supplying power to the village was also damaged. Senior police and power development department (PDD) officials have reached to the affected village and are trying to ..
Himalayan region unprepared for mega quake, India yet to learn from past mistakes: scientists
A mega earthquake of magnitude 8.5 or more is long overdue in the Himalayan region but India has not learnt from past mistakes and is far from being prepared for such an eventuality with no strategy to minimise loss of life and property, scientists say. The government must ensure seismic safety, scientists from all over the country who gathered here last week for a global workshop said. The April 18-20 International Workshop on Climate Change and Extreme Events in Himalayan Region, hosted by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mandi, was aimed at understanding the effects of climate change, melting of glaciers, increased frequency of extreme events, atmospheric pollution, pollution due to crop residue burning in Himalayan region and applications of remote sensing. Scientists from various fields of expertise concurred that an earthquake of the magnitude of 8.5 or more is expected to rock the Himalayan region. One of the many topics discussed at the event was that the Himalayan ...
Two die waiting to vote in Kerala
Two senior citizens collapsed and died while waiting to cast their vote in two Lok Sabha constituencies, while another elderly person shortly after exercising his franchise in Kerala Tuesday. Vijayi (65) was waiting for her turn to vote at the Chokli Rama vilasam L P School booth near Panur, which comes under Vatakara constituency, when she collapsed, police said. Though she was rushed to hospital, she could not be saved. Similarily, Paapachan (80) collapsed and died at a polling booth in Vadasserikkara in Pathanamthitta district. In another incident here, 72-year-old Venugopala Marar, whocomplained of uneasiness after reaching home from the polling station, was declared brought dead at the cooperative hospital in Taliparamba.
25 people killed in Bolivia road accident
At least 25 people were killed and 23 others injured when bus ran off the road and plunged 350 metres to the bottom of a ravine near the Bolivian capital, a senior police officer told Efe news.
Floods, mudslides kill five in South Africa
At least five people died early Tuesday in South Africa's coastal city of Durban after torrential rains triggered mudslides that crushed homes, emergency services said. Among those killed were a six-month-old baby, a child of about 10 and two adults. "Torrential rains damaged peoples houses (and) there were mudslides," Garrith Jamieson, spokesman for Rescue Care, told AFP. "I can confirm five (deaths) but there are many more casualties," he said, adding there were unconfirmed reports of "multiple" deaths in other parts of the KwaZulu-Natal province. Victims were either crushed to death by the mudslides or drowned in flood waters. It was not immediately clear how many people were missing, but search and rescue operations continued on Tuesday. Downpours have caused flooding in the southern and eastern parts of the country. The military has been dispatched to help in rescue and evacuation efforts in some of the affected areas. The South African Weather Services warned that more heavy ...
Colombia landslide toll increases to 28
The death toll from a landslide in Colombia triggered by heavy rains has increased to 28, officials said.
Sydney Opera House gas leak triggers evacuation of 500 people
About 500 people were evacuated from the Sydney Opera House on Tuesday after an excavator cut a gas line, triggering a leak.
6.5-magnitude earthquake jolts Philippines
An earthquake measuring 6.5 on the Richter scale struck Philippines' Eastern Samar province on Tuesday, the second temblor within 24 hours of a 6.1-magnitude quake that killed nine people in Luzon Island, authorities said.
IED blast near Bandarchua area, no casualties
Naxals triggered an IED (Improvised Explosive Device) blast on Tuesday near Bandarchua area at Jharkhand -Chhattisgarh border, the police said.No casualty was reported in the incident.Notably, the incident has taken place at the time when the polling for the third phase is underway in the state.More details in this regard are awaited.
6.4-magnitude quake hits southern Philippines: USGS
A 6.4-magnitude tremor struck the southern Philippines on Tuesday, US geologists said, just a day after a deadly quake that rocked the country's north. The US Geological Survey said the earthquake hit near Tutubigan, which is hundreds of kilometres south of the quake that hit near Manila. USGS downgraded the magnitude of the fresh quake after initially recording it at 6.6.
Philippines earthquake: Death toll rises to 9
The death toll from the 6.1 magnitude earthquake that struck the Philippines' Luzon Island on Monday (local time) has risen to nine.According to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), the earthquake was detected at a depth of 12 km, with an epicenter located about 18 km northeast of Castillejos town in the western part of Luzon Island, reported Xinhua.The quake has since been followed by more than 400 aftershocks.The Philippines is prone to earthquakes because of its geographical positioning. The country lies along the "Pacific Ring of Fire", an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the basin of the Pacific Ocean.
Frantic hunt for survivors after powerful Philippine quake
- Philippine rescuers were scrambling Tuesday to reach dozens of people feared buried under a building near Manila that collapsed a day earlier in a powerful earthquake, as the death toll climbed to 11. The 6.3 magnitude quake struck northwest of the capital on Monday, scientists from the US Geological Survey said, heavily damaging an airport and sending terrified locals fleeing swaying high-rises. The worst of the damage was in the province of Pampanga, which was the site of all 11 fatalities, disaster officials said. Dozens of others were injured by falling rubble, including in Manila. The toll could rise as crews fanned out across the region to assess damage in isolated hamlets that lost power and communications in one of the area's strongest tremors in years. Scores of rescuers in the town of Porac were wielding cranes and jackhammers to peel back the pancaked concrete structure of a four-storey building where up to 30 people were unaccounted for. "They (rescuers) still hear at ...
Climbers died after summiting tough Canada peak: Official
Three world-renowned professional mountaineers killed by an avalanche in the Canadian Rocky Mountains had reached the summit of difficult Howse Peak and lost their lives on the descent, Parks Canada has said. The mountaineers, Jess Roskelley, 36, of the United States, and Austrians Hansjorg Auer, 35, and David Lama, 28, disappeared last week on a climbing expedition at the east face of Howse Peak, a particularly tough summit in Alberta's Banff National Park. The federal agency, Parks Canada, announced Sunday that their bodies had been found. "While details are limited, the Roskelley family confirmed that the three climbers were successful at summiting Howse Peak," Parks Canada said in a statement read during a telephone press conference on Monday. The agency described the east face of the Peak as "remote and an exceptionally difficult objective, with mixed rock and ice routes requiring advanced alpine mountaineering skills." Brian Webster, a Parks Canada official, added that the trio .
Colombia mudslide death toll rises to 20
Rescue authorities have said that the number of dead from Sunday's mudslide in southwestern Colombia has risen to at least 20. The bodies of two adults and a child were found during a rescue operation on Monday in Rosas, in the department of Cauca, where 17 people were pronounced dead on Sunday, Colombia's risk and disaster agency (UNGRD) said on its Twitter account. Another 10 people are still unaccounted for and hopes of finding them alive are reducing, a UNGRD source told AFP. Local fire brigade chief Juan Carlos Ganan said the force of the mudslide's impact meant finding survivors was highly unlikely. He added that heavy rains meant there was the risk of another mudslide. The country has been battered by downpours for weeks.
Restaurants serving stale food booked in Vizag
Vigilance and Enforcement Department and Food Safety Wing of GVMC (Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation) raided restaurants in Madhurawada and Gajuwaka areas of the city on Monday and registered cases against some for serving stale food to customers and for not maintaining hygiene on their premises.The officials raided the restaurants on Rishi Konda Beach Road and in Sagar Nagar area and found that leftover food was being stored in refrigerators and served to customers the next day. The kitchens also reeked of poor sanitation, the officials said.The raids were conducted by DSP Sravani along with other officials.
6.1 magnitude earthquake jolts Philippines; 8 killed
At least eight people were killed and several others suffered injuries on Monday after an earthquake of magnitude 6.1 on the Richter scale rocked Bodega town on the Philippine island.According to CNN, the quake was followed by 52 aftershocks.The earthquake was felt in the capital of Manila also. A video has emerged of water gushing down the swimming pool in Anchor Skysuites in Binondo district of Manila.The Indonesian island is prone to earthquakes because of its geographical positioning. It's on the Ring of Fire, an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the basin of the Pacific Ocean.In September last year, the Indonesian island of Sulawesi was struck by two powerful earthquakes, measuring 7.7 and 6.1 on the Richter scale, and a tsunami causing multitudinous loss of human lives and widespread displacement. As many as 1,944 people were reported dead following the disaster.Tsunamis are also frequent in the region. Besides Earthquake, constant volcanic eruptions also stimulate seismic sea
Six die in Texas plane crash
At least six people were died when a twin-engine plane crashed in Texas on Monday.