Page 122 - Disaster Accident
Death toll in Brazil buildings disaster hits 24
The death toll from the collapse of two buildings in Rio de Janeiro more than a week ago has reached 24, Brazilian officials said. A woman injured in the April 12 disaster died in the medical facility where she was being treated, a spokeswoman for the Unimed-Rio Hospital said on Monday, a day after rescuers ended a search for survivors. The latest toll is an increase from 15 given by officials on April 16, when nine people were still listed as missing. Several others were hurt when the adjacent apartment buildings in the hillside neighborhood of Muzema buckled, days after torrential rain wreaked havoc in the city. Police are searching for three people suspected of building or selling apartments in the structures. Many of the cheaply made apartment towers in Muzema favela were erected without permission from city planning authorities. Like many poor neighborhoods in Rio de Janeiro, Muzema is run by shadowy militias that use violence to enforce their rule. They sell land rights and ...
Officials say 6 people died in Texas small plane crash
All six people aboard a small plane died Monday when it crashed while preparing to land in central Texas, authorities said. The twin-engine aircraft went down just before 9 a.m. as it was approaching an airport in Kerrville, about 110 kilometres northwest of San Antonio, according to a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman. The pilot and other five people aboard the plane were all killed, and state law enforcement officials are securing the crash site for FAA and National Transportation Safety Board investigators, said Sgt. Orlando Moreno, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety. The Beechcraft BE58 took off from an airport outside Houston earlier Monday and crashed about 10 kilometres northwest of Kerrville Municipal Airport, the FAA spokesman said. Federal authorities had not yet confirmed its tail number as of early Monday afternoon.
Gusty winds claim two lives in Hyderabad
Two persons, including a five-year-old, were killed and three others injured as gusty winds and unseasonal rains wreaked havoc here on Monday night, officials said.
25 dead after bus falls into ravine in Bolivia
A bus fell 200 metres into a ravine, leaving 25 people dead after a collision involving two trucks, Bolivian police said on Monday. The bus was attempting to overtake a truck on Sunday night when it crashed head-on into another to the north of La Paz, police chief Yuri Calderon said. "That's why the vehicle lost control and went over the cliff (falling) 200 metres" said Calderon, who initially gave a death toll of 17. Highway patrol chief Fernando Rojas, cited by Fides news agency, revised that number soon afterward. "We're recovering the bodies, we're talking now about 25 confirmed dead and 24 injured, who have been transferred to various hospitals," said Rojas. Bolivia's President Evo Morales, who is visiting Argentina, pleaded on Twitter for bus drivers to take more care. "Very sad about the terrible accident that happened on the La Paz-Yungas road," he wrote. "Our condolences to the relatives of the deceased. To our brother drivers we ask you to always be very careful; taking care
Jet Airways employees hold protest at Town Hall in Bengaluru
Jet Airways employees on Monday held a protest here at Town Hall, appealing the Central government to save the private airline.Nearly, 500 Jet Airlines employees including all ground handling staff, cabin crew members, administration and sales team took part in the protest here.The employees were holding placards -- 'Hear our cry! Let 9W Fly', 'We have dependents to feed, Pls don't let our 9W Bleed' including the 'Save Jet Airways' and were yelling 'Save Jet Airways ' and 'Save our families.'Earlier in the day, an application was filed in the Delhi High Court seeking direction to the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for ensuring prompt resolution of refund dues to air passengers.The applicant also stressed for speedy settlement of full refund of the amount to passengers who had booked on Jet Airways, and direction to accommodate them on alternative flights to ensure fair business practices.Jet Airways on April 17 cancelled all flights, ...
Two killed in rain-related incidents in Hyderabad
Two persons, including a five-year-old boy, died and three others injured in rain-related incidents in the city Monday, officials said. Subrahmanyam, a central government employee, died after a floodlight tower at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium collapsed following heavy winds and rain, a release from Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation said. Several vehicles were also damaged at the stadium. A five-year-old boy died after rooftop sheets fell on him due to strong winds at Shankar Nagar. Rain coupled with winds wreaked havoc in the city. Branches of trees in many areas fell on roads creating traffic problems. Power outage was witnessed in many areas.
17 dead after bus falls into ravine in Bolivia
A bus fell 200 metres into a ravine, leaving 17 people dead after a collision involving two trucks, Bolivian police said on Monday. The bus was attempting to overtake a truck on Sunday night when it crashed head-on into another to the north of La Paz, police chief Yuri Calderon said. "That's why the vehicle lost control and went over the cliff (falling) 200 meters and producing the death of 17 people," said Calderon. He said the number of wounded was being counted and some of those had been transferred to La Paz while firefighters were working at the scene. Rescuers descended the precipice on a rope and brought up the victims and survivors one by one, television images on the Unitel channel showed. The bus, operated by Totai, was traveling north from La Paz, the administrative capital, to the Amazon town of Rurrenabaque. Bolivia has a sorry record when it comes to deadly bus accidents. Already this year, 22 people died when two buses collided in January on the road between the ...
Severe weather spell to hit Pakistan: Met department
The Pakistan Meteorological Department issued a four-day severe weather alert forecasting widespread dust-thunderstorms and rain along with strong gusty winds across the country starting from Tuesday, the media reported on Monday.
Bus crash kills at least 17 in Bolivia
Bolivian police say a bus has crashed head-on with another vehicle and plunged down a deep ravine, killing at least 17 people and leaving 15 others injured. Police Commander Vladimir Calderon says the bus tumbled down a roughly 1,000-foot (300-metre) deep ravine in the northern town of Yolosa. Police Col. Rodel Cano tells Unitel television that Monday's accident apparently was due to excessive speed on a road slickened by heavy rains.
Five killed as buildings collapse in strong Philippine quake
At least five people were killed when buildings collapsed near Manila after a powerful earthquake set skyscrapers swaying and drove terrified locals into the street. Rescuers in one area were using heavy equipment and their bare hands to hunt for survivors in the rubble left by the strongest quake to strike close to the densely populated Philippine capital in years. Three bodies were pulled out of a shopping mall in the town of Porac, while a woman and her grandchild were crushed to death in the town of Lubao, said Lilia Pineda, governor of Pampanga province northwest of Manila. "We believe there are still people trapped in the four-storey building," Pineda said referring to the shopping mall, adding that up to eight people could be dead. "Our rescuers are telling us there are people in there shouting, begging to be rescued." Rescuers, working under floodlights, pried at the flattened structure with a crane in the disaster-prone nation. "It's difficult because there is no power, so ...
Domestic air passenger traffic rises mere 0.1% in March 2019
Indigo posts strong 18.9% growth in the passenger traffic to 54.41 lakh in March 2019
Plea in HC to provide refund or alternative flights to Jet Airways passengers
A plea was filed in the Delhi High Court Monday seeking direction to the Ministry of Civil Aviation and DGCA to ensure refund or alternative mode of travel to passengers who had booked tickets with Jet Airways, which has temporarily suspended all its domestic and international flights. The plea said the sudden suspension of air services of Jet Airways has resulted in a major crisis for the passengers who were not informed about it earlier. The application filed by activist Bejon Kumar Misra sought direction to the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to adopt prompt redressal mechanism for all affected passengers to access full refund of air tickets with reasonable compensation or arrange alternative mode of travel for them to reach their destination as an emergency exercise. The plea is likely to come up for hearing on April 24. The plea, filed through advocates Shashank Deo Sudhi and Shashi Bhushan, said, "It is common knowledge that all ...
Five dead as buildings collapse in Philippine quake: Official
Five people were killed when at least two buildings collapsed as a strong earthquake rocked the northern Philippines, a local official said. Three bodies have been pulled out of a collapsed building in the town of Porac, while an old woman and her grandchild were crushed to death by another building in the town of Lubao, provincial governor Lilia Pineda told ABS-CBN television. "The quake has caused a blackout," she said, hampering rescue efforts in the early evening as night closed in.
MP: Three killed in collision of three cars
Three persons, including a woman and her two children, were killed and six others injured Monday in a road accident involving three cars near Bandol town in Madhya Pradesh, police said. The accident occurred after a car suffered a tyre burst on the national highway, around 23 kms from the district headquarter, and landed in the opposite lane, where it collided with another car, a police officer said. In the meantime, another SUV also rammed into these two cars, he added. The deceased persons were travelling in the car that had suffered the tyre burst. "They are identified as Anuja Dev (36), her son Arash (6) and daughter Arne (12), all residents of Secunderabad," said Seoni Kotwali police station in-charge Arvind Jain. Anuja's husband Ashish Dev (40), who was driving the car, survived with minor injuries. Those injured in the accident were travelling in rest two cars. They are identified as Dhanwan Shah, his wife, and their nine-year old daughter, Jain said, adding that ..
Strong quake sends Philippine workers fleeing buildings
A powerful earthquake rocked the Philippines on Monday, sending thousands of people fleeing high-rises in Manila as buildings shook. Office workers piled out onto the streets as emergency alarms blared, AFP reporters saw, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage. Feliza Villanueva, 21, a business process outsourcing employee told AFP she and four colleagues were at work when the quake struck. "This was the second strongest quake I've felt in my entire life," she told AFP as she joined hundreds of others in the courtyard of an office building, waiting for the all clear. "We were worried but we did not panic," she said. "We planned how to evacuate the building. There were too many people going down the stairs, so we waited for our turn. People looked in shock, but no one was shouting or anything like that," she said. The quake was centred on the town of Castillejos, about 100 kilometres (62 miles) northwest of Manila, local geologists said. Scientists from the US ...
Plea before high court calls for relief to air passengers
An application was filed at Delhi High Court on Monday seeking direction to the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for ensuring prompt resolution of refund dues to air passengers.It called for speedy settlement of full refund of the amount to passengers who had booked on Jet Airways, and direction to accommodate them on alternative flights to ensure fair business practices."There is a complete chaotic aviation crisis looming over the country where passengers are being victimised due to absence of a robust and effective regulatory mechanism in a fair and ethical manner," the application said.The sudden suspension of services by Jet Airways has resulted in a major crisis for the air passengers. More than 100 flights have been cancelled and passengers are constrained to run from pillar to post.At the same time, said the application, all competing airlines have exorbitantly increased their air fares. "The vulnerable consumers are constrained to
India's coal import rises 9 pc to 234 MT in FY19
India's coal import increased by 8.8 per cent to 233.56 million tonnes in 2018-19, according to a report. Coal imports were at 214.61 MT in 2017-18, according to provisional data by mjunction services, based on monitoring of vessels' positions and data received from shipping companies. mjunction, a joint venture between Tata Steel and SAIL, is a B2B e-commerce company that also publishes research reports on coal and steel verticals. "India's coal and coke imports during 2018-19 through 31 major and non-major ports are estimated to have increased by 8.83 per cent to 233.56 million tonnes (MT) (provisional) as compared to 214.61 MT (revised) imported in 2017-18," it said. Non-coking coal imports were at 164.21 MT in FY2018-19, about 13.25 per cent increase over 144.99 MT recorded in FY2017-18. Coking coal import was almost flat at 47.73 MT compared to 47.22 MT in 2017-18. "The double-digit growth in thermal coal imports during 2018-19 was on expected lines and caused by the coal ...
Afghan official: Explosion in coal mine kills 7 miners
An Afghan official says an explosion at a coal mine in the northern province of Samangan has killed at least seven miners. Hashim Bayan, a spokesman for the provincial police chief, says two other miners were injured in the blast on Monday morning in the remote Dar-i-Suf district. There has been an increase recently in such incidents in the district as miners work without proper equipment or knowledge of safety measures. Six miners were killed and another one was injured when an explosion in a nearby coal mine earlier this month caused two tunnels to collapse. Bayan says people in the area are very poor and have no other options but to work as best as they can in the coal mines to make a living.
Landslide damages dozen houses in JK's Doda
A dozen houses were damaged in a landslide in Jammu and Kashmir's Doda district on Monday, officials said. No casualty was reported in the the incident, which took place in Dogrun-Bathri village of Kahara tehsil, about 60 km from here, Superintendent of Police, Bhadarwah, Raj Singh Gouria said. Based on preliminary information, Gouria said seven residential houses were completely buried under the debris of the "massive" landslide which struck around 9.00 am. Five other houses got partially damaged due to shooting of stones, which followed the landslip, the officer said. The SP said local residents had been shifted earlier to safer locations after a landslip warning was issued in the aftermath of the Bathri landside on March 13, in which over 35 shops were buried. Gouria said a police party was carrying out search operations in the village to ensure no one was trapped in the debris. He said the district administration has been alerted about the incident.
6 passengers killed in road accident in Pak
A passenger vehicle veered off a road and fell into a deep ravine in northwest Pakistan, killing at least six passengers and injuring three others, police said Monday. The accident occurred near Ghari Dupatta town, some 50 kilometers north of Muzzaffarabad. The driver lost control of the vehicle which fell into a ravine, killing six passengers, police said, adding that the accident occurred due to the poor condition of the road. The bodies and the injured were evacuated from the ravine by the local people. The injured have been shifted to a hospital, police said. Road accidents are common in Pakistan. Most of them are caused due to dilapidated roads, old and poorly maintained vehicles and reckless driving.