Page 303 - Disaster Accident
Govt delays Gagan-equipped aircraft commissioning to Jun 2020
The government has extended the deadline for Gagan system-equipped aircraft to June 2020 following lack of preparedness on the part of the domestic air operators. The National Civil Aviation Policy, announced in 2015, had made it mandatory for all aircraft being registered from January 1, 2019 to be GPS-aided geo augmented navigation (Gagan) system-enabled. The Gagan system is expected to make airline operations more efficient and cut costs as it reduces separation between aircraft with increase in air safety and fuel efficiency. Jointly developed by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Airports Authority of India (AAI), at an investment of Rs 774 crore, the system offers seamless navigation to the aviation industry. It uses a system of ground stations to provide augmentations to the GPS standard positioning service navigation signal. It was officially launched in 2015 by the then civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju. "The competent authority has ...
Death toll in Russian apartment collapse rises to 21
Search crews have pulled more bodies from a huge pile of rubble at a collapsed Russian apartment building, bringing the known death toll to 21. The bodies found on Wednesday in the city of Magnitogorsk included a 3-year-old girl, Russian news agencies cited the emergencies ministry as saying. An 11-month-old boy who was pulled alive from the wreckage on Tuesday, nearly 36 hours after the building collapsed, was in serious but stable condition in a children's hospital in Moscow. He was flown about 1,400 kilometers (870 miles) to the capital in a plane dispatched by the Health Ministry. Health Minister Veronika Skvortsova said Wednesday that the boy suffered superficial head wounds but no apparent brain damage. Authorities said 20 people who lived in the building remain unaccounted for, including five children. But the prospects of finding any of them alive in the rubble appeared dim after two frigid nights in which temperatures fell to about minus 20 degrees Celsius (minus 4 degrees ...
1 dead, 5 hurt after they slip from overspeeding train in Jammu
A man died and five others were injured after they fell from an alleged overspeeding train near Jammu Railway Station here, officials said Wednesday. "On Tuesday, some passengers slipped from the special Delhi-bound train from Udhampur after the negligent driver started moving the train fast near Jammu Railway Station," Railway Police officials said. The deceased, Ajay, succumbed to his injuries enroute to the hospital, they said, adding, the other injured were given first aid and their condition is said to be stable. Railway authorities have ordered a probe in the matter, a senior official said.
Disasters rock Indonesia's '10 New Balis' tourism push
Picture-postcard Tanjung Lesung was a cornerstone of Indonesia's bid to supercharge its tourism industry, boasting palm-fringed beaches, a towering volcano in the middle of turquoise waters and a rainforest sanctuary for endangered Javan rhinos. But the beachside town now lies in ruins, pummelled by a deadly tsunami that has raised fresh questions about disaster preparedness and the future of a multi-billion-dollar push to replicate Bali's success across the Southeast Asian archipelago. The shattered community was hosting a pop concert when the waves crashed ashore last month, at night and without warning. Several members of the Indonesian band Seventeen and more than 100 others at the Tanjung Lesung Beach Hotel were killed -- about a quarter of those who died in the volcano-triggered tsunami. A clutch of other area hotels was also devastated, with beachside cottages flattened and debris - chairs, tables and the band's audio equipment - scattered everywhere. Tourism minister Arief ...
Coal gasification: Ministerial panel examining 14 mines
A total of 14 mines, including seven coal blocks, are under examination of an inter-ministerial panel set up for development of underground coal gasification (UCG) in the country. "Total of 14 blocks (7 coal and 7 lignite) has been identified which are under consideration of inter-ministerial committee (IMC) which has been constituted for the purpose of UCG development in India," Coal Minister Piyush Goyal said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha. Of the seven coal blocks, four are in Madhya Pradesh and one each in Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra. Of the seven lignite blocks, five are in Rajasthan and two in Gujarat. The IMC under the chairmanship of coal additional secretary has been set up which, among other things, would identify the areas to be offered, decide about blocks to be put to bidding or allocation to PSUs on nomination basis and propose the mechanism for bidding process.
Gas explosion in coal mine kills 4 people in Pakistan
A gas explosion inside a coal mine Wednesday killed at least four workers and seriously injured another miner in Pakistan's Balochistan province. The explosion occurred in the coal-rich Chamalang area of Dukki district, 225 kilometres from the the capital Quetta. Four coal miners burnt to death as result of a methane gas blast inside a coal mine in Dukki district, the Dawn newspaper reported. Dukki's district police officer Sardar Hashim Khan said one coal miner sustained serious injuries as a result of the blast, it said. The deceased, two of whom were siblings, belonged to the same family from neighbouring Afghanistan, Khan said. "Miners were extracting coal from thousands feet inside the mine when the tragedy struck," a levies official said. Hazardous working conditions inside Balochistan's coal mines have claimed many lives. According to the data provided by the provincial Mines and Minerals Development Department, over 1,000 coal miners have died in such incidents during the last
6 killed in train accident on Danish bridge
At least six people were killed and 16 injured in a train accident on the Great Belt Bridge in Denmark on Wednesday, the police said.
SC to hear plea Thursday seeking urgent steps to rescue trapped miners in Meghalaya
The Supreme Court agreed to hear on Thursday a plea seeking urgent steps to rescue 15 miners who have been trapped inside an illegal coal mine in Meghalaya since December 13. The matter was mentioned Wednesday for urgent listing before a bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice S K Kaul which agreed to hear the matter on Thursday. The PIL filed by advocate Aditya N Prasad also sought a direction to the Centre and other authorities concerned to prepare a standard operating procedure (SOP) for rescue operations in "mines and other similar conditions". The plea, filed through advocate Astha Sharma, sought directions to the Centre and the state to utilise the services of the technical wing of the Indian Armed Forces -- the Indian Army, Indian Navy and Indian Air Force -- in the operation immediately to rescue the 15 miners. The rat-hole mine, atop a hillock fully covered with trees in East Jaintia Hills district, was flooded when water from the nearby Lytein river gushed ...
4 killed in Pakistan mine explosion
At least four workers were killed and one was critically injured on Wednesday due to a gas explosion inside a coal mine in Pakistan's Balochistan province.
Fatal air crashes and deaths up in 2018: watchdog
A total of 556 people died in 15 plane crashes in 2018, significantly more than the previous year, but long-term trends show safety improving, an aviation watchdog reported. The year 2017 was the safest year in aviation history with only 44 people killed in 10 airliner accidents, said the Aviation Safety Network (ASN). Last year was still the third-safest year in aviation history in terms of the number of fatal accidents and the ninth-safest in terms of lives lost. "If the accident rate had remained the same as 10 years ago, there would have been 39 fatal accidents last year," said ASN chief executive Harro Ranter in a statement released Tuesday. "This shows the enormous progress in terms of safety," he added. Three of last year's deadly accidents involved operators blacklisted by the European Union. A review of the last five years' figures showed that loss-of-control accidents were a major safety concern, responsible for 10 of the 25 deadliest crashes, the ASN added. Last year's ...
Rescuers pull more bodies from rubble of Russian gas explosion
Rescuers hunted for survivors Wednesday in the rubble of a Russian apartment building hit by a New Year's Eve gas explosion, but found only bodies as the number of confirmed dead rose to 18. Nearly two dozen people were still missing following the explosion, which destroyed 35 apartments in the high-rise in the city of Magnitogorsk in the Ural mountains. Braving temperatures that fell as low as minus 27 degrees Celsius (minus 16 degrees Fahrenheit), rescue workers were combing through mangled concrete and metal. Their efforts were given a boost on Tuesday when a 10-month-old baby boy was found alive and reunited with his mother. But hope was starting to fade of finding many more survivors. The emergency situations ministry said in a statement that as of 12:15 Moscow time (local time) the bodies of 18 people, including two children, had been recovered from the partly collapsed building. Six people, including two children, had been rescued and 23 people were still missing. "Work at the .
4 killed as car rams into truck
Four persons were killed and three injured when a car in which they were travelling rammed into a container truck in Andhra Pradesh's Guntur district on Wednesday, police said.
Meghalaya mine disaster: Navy, NDRF divers to go down to measure afresh water level
Navy and NDRF divers are preparing to enter a Meghalaya coal mine, where 15 miners are trapped, to gauge the water level, even as efforts are on Wednesday to instal high-powered submersible pumps to drain out water from interconnected shafts, officials said. They divers will measure the water level again to take a call on resuming search and rescue operation for the trapped diggers, they said. Operation spokesperson R Susngi told PTI that so far only one of the 10 pumps brought by a team from Odisha is in use in a nearby abandoned mine. "We expect a high powered pump from Coal India be put to use later today. Till now, a lot of preparation is going on," Susngi said. Divers from Navy and the NDRF will go inside the main shaft, where the disaster occurred on December 13, to measure afresh the water level to take a call on resuming search and rescue operation, Susngi said giving details of the operation on the 21st day of the disaster. The exercise is to find out if the abandoned mine is
IndiGo flight makes priority landing in Ahmedabad
A city-bound IndiGo flight from New Delhi made a priority landing here Tuesday after smoke was detected mid-air in the cockpit and cabin of the A320 aircraft, a source said Wednesday. The pilot issued a Pan-Pan call and sought a priority landing from the Ahmedabad ATC, the source said. An IndiGo spokesperson said its flight made a priority landing due to an "unusual" smell. A 'Pan-Pan' call is the one which is issued in a less urgent situation but that still requires attention from air traffic control. "The flight 6E6373 took off from New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport at 7.42 am for Ahmedabad. However, mid-air the pilot noticed smoke in the aircraft cockpit and cabin and issued a Pan-Pan call to seek priority landing from the Ahmedabad ATC. The Airbus A320 plane landed at 8.57 am, about half an hour ahead of the scheduled arrival time," the source said. This was the second incident of the pilot reporting smoke in an IndiGo plane as on December 10 last year,
Man crushed to death by bus in Himachal
A motorcycle rider was crushed to death by a bus in Kangra district of the state on Wednesday, the police said. After colliding with the Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) bus, the man fell and came under its front tyre, dying instantly, they said. The accident occurred at Beerta and the deceased was identified as Ankit, a resident of ward number nine of Kangra, they added. According to police, Ankit was on his way to Mataur in Kangra district.
6 reportedly killed in Danish bridge train accident
Six people were killed in a train accident early Wednesday on a Danish bridge linking the central islands of Zealand and Funen, according to the rail operator. Authorities said several others were injured. Danish Railways told Denmark's TV2 that the six were passengers on a train from the city of Odense, on the central Danish island of Fyn, heading toward the capital Copenhagen. Police did not confirm the fatalities, only saying several were killed and injured in the accident, which took place about 8 am local time. Police spokesman Arne Gram said the passenger train "hit an unknown object," but did not further comment. Danish media reported that a tarpaulin on a freight train hit the passenger train, which was going in the opposite direction, prompting it to brake suddenly. The Storebaelt bridge is part of a system of bridges and a tunnel linking the Danish islands. Denmark's TV2 showed images of a freight train with the tarpaulin that covered the train torn in pieces. It reported ...
Fire breaks out at chemist shop in Shimla, medicines worth Rs 3 lakh gutted
Medicines worth Rs 3 lakh were gutted after fire broke out at a chemist shop in the congested Ram Bazar area in Shimla, police said Wednesday. The fire broke out around 10 pm Tuesday at the shop located on the ground floor of a four-storey building. The shop was closed and there was no causality, police said. Seven fire engines were pressed to service from Mall road, Chhota Shimla and Tilak Nagar, which doused the flames. The cause of the fire is not clear, officials said. Owner of Mehar Chand and Sons Chemist, the shop where the incident happened, did not rule out the possibility of foul play.
Police: Several killed in Danish bridge train accident
Several people were killed in a train accident Wednesday on a Danish bridge linking the central islands of Zealand and Funen, police said. Police did not provide further details about those killed or the number of people injured in Wednesday's incident, which took place about 8 am local time. Danish media reported that a tarpaulin on a freight train hit a passenger train going in the opposite direction toward Copenhagen, prompting it to brake suddenly. The passenger train had departed from the city of Odense, on the central Danish island of Fyn. The Storebaelt bridge is part of a system of bridges and a tunnel linking the Danish islands. Denmark's TV2 showed images of a freight train the tarpaulin that covered the train torn in pieces. It reported that eight people were injured. Police is scheduled to give a news conference later Wednesday. In a statement, police urged passengers to contact next of kin to inform them of their safety. The accident took place on a road-and-rail bridge, .
Russia building collapse: Death toll touches 14
Around 14 people have lost their lives while several are missing in a building collapse here. The death toll is expected to increase as rescue work continues."As of (Wednesday) morning, 14 bodies have been recovered," the Russian Emergencies Ministry told Sputnik.Rescue efforts have been hindered due to the risk of debris falling down.A natural gas blast on December 31 hit a section of a block of flats in Magnitogorsk, leading to the destruction of 35 apartments along with causing damage to 10 others. Russian President Vladimir Putin cut short his New Year's holidays to visit the site of the incident on December 31.January 2 has been declared as a day of mourning in the region.
Philippines: Death toll touches 85 after floods, landslides
At least 85 people have lost their lives due to flash floods and landslides caused by tropical depression 'Usman' as of Wednesday, while 12 people have been injured.The Office of Civil Defense on Tuesday stated that 69 people had lost their lives in Bicol due to landslides and drowning. Around 13 people have died in Eastern Visayas, reports the Manila Times.The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) also mentioned that three more bodies were recovered in 'Usman'-hit regions without divulging any details.Furthermore, the NDRRMC has stated that more than 79,000 people from 150 areas across the Philippines have been affected by 'Usman'.