Page 309 - Disaster Accident
Navy divers join firefighters, mining experts at Meghalaya mining site (Lead, correcting intro)
A 15-member team of Indian Navy divers and 21 firefighters from Odisha arrived in Meghalaya's Ksan village on Saturday to assist the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel to rescue 15 miners trapped inside a flooded illegal coal pit for over two weeks now.
Cyprus: Empty oil tanker catches fire; 5 crew rescued
Cyprus authorities say a Maltese-flagged oil tanker caught fire and ran aground near a fishing village, forcing several crew members to jump overboard. Cyprus' Joint Rescue Coordination Center says the fire aboard the tanker Athlos was extinguished soon after it broke out. Five crew members were rescued from the water and taken to the hospital. The Center said the empty tanker issued a distress call Saturday following an explosion and fire onboard shortly after setting sail from Larnaca port some 3.5 miles off the village of Zygi. The vessel had run aground 200 metres from shore near Zygi. The tanker, with 17 crew members including 7 Greeks, 9 Indians and a Georgian, was heading to the Greek port of Aspropyrgos. Police vessels and fire-fighting ships are at the scene.
Oscar-and Grammy-winning lyricist Norman Gimbel dies at 91
Norman Gimbel, an Oscar- and Grammy-winning lyricist, has died at the age of 91. The songwriter passed away on December 19 at his home in Montecito, California, his son Tony Gimbel told The Hollywood Reporter. Gimbel was best known for writing the lyrics of "Killing Me Softly With His Song" and the English lyrics for "The Girl From Ipanema" with his writing partner Charles Fox The duo also collaborated on Croce's "I Got a Name," released the day after the singer's death in a plane crash September 20, 1973. The song served as the theme to "The Last American Hero" (1973), starring Jeff Bridges. They also wrote themes for the Garry Marshall comedies "Happy Days", "Laverne & Shirley", and "Angie". Gimbel was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1984.
WCL to augment coal despatches from mines
In order to give a boost to coal despatches for its consumers, Western Coalfields Limited will be augmenting and maximising coal despatches from WCL mines through rail, road and other modes. WCL will be leveraging the "RailCoal Synergy" by observing RailCoal Week from January 1-7, 2019, it stated in a release. "This will be a component of 'Coal Dispatch Fortnight' to be observed from January 1-15, 2019," it said. The Rail-Coal Week is being organised for the first time in any subsidiary of Coal India, the release said, adding that it will help increase coal stocks in different linked power houses of WCL. It further stated that major portion of railway rakes of WCL is despatched through Central Railway (CR) followed by South East Central Railway and South Central Railway. WCL has been given a target to dispatch 28-29 rakes per day which is already being achieved. Now, the company is aiming to despatch 32 rakes and more, in a synergy by joining hands with three railway ...
Winter storms batter large swaths of US
At least six deaths were attributed to severe weather in the US as heavy snow and high winds snarled air and ground transportation during a busy holiday travel period. More than 500 flight cancellations and 5,700 delays were reported Friday as the winter storm blanketed areas from the north central plains and the Midwest with eight to 12 inches of snow. As much snow, if not more, was forecast to fall in the coming days in the southwestern state of New Mexico, along with a deluge of rain in some southern and eastern states -- ruining New Year travel plans for thousands of Americans. Millions more in the South were warned of potential flooding from heavy rains. A 58-year-old woman in Louisiana was killed Wednesday evening when lightning struck a tree which then fell on her home, according to TV station WDSU. In Kansas, police said icy roads caused a fatal car crash Thursday on an interstate highway. Another crash involving a snowplow and a car in North Dakota claimed one life. A woman .
6.9-magnitude quake hits Philippines triggering small tsunami
A 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck off the Philippine island of Mindanao on Saturday triggering a brief tsunami warning. The quake struck southeast of Davao City at a depth of 59 kilometres, the US Geological Survey said, a week after a volcano-triggered tsunami killed more than 400 people in neighbouring Indonesia. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center warned "hazardous tsunami waves from this earthquake are possible" along the coasts of Indonesia and the Philippines. However, waves were forecast to be less than 30 cm above tide level, it said, while Philippine monitors warned that "minor sea level disturbances" were to be expected. The Philippine government's seismology institute initially advised people to "stay away from the beach and not to go to the coast fronting the Philippine Sea," for about two hours after the quake. But it later cancelled the tsunami advisory, saying that wave heights had returned to normal. Although people rushed out of buildings during the quake, the civil ...
Shutdown to close DC museums; some basic services provided
Museums and galleries popular with visitors and locals in the nation's capital will close starting midweek if the partial shutdown of the federal government drags on. So will the National Zoo and a lively ice rink near the National Mall. The attractions have stayed open by using unspent funds, but they are about to run out of that money. Museums and galleries under the Smithsonian Institution umbrella will close starting January 2, the Smithsonian said on its website. That includes the zoo, as well as the National Air and Space Museum, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the National Museum of Natural History, and several galleries, including the National Portrait Gallery, with its paintings of former presidents. Smithsonian facilities are open on January 1. The National Gallery of Art will close starting January 3, a spokeswoman said. That includes the iconic West and East buildings as well as an ice rink in the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden that ..
Nirupam seeks judicial probe into Mumbai fire mishaps
Mumbai Congress unit president Sanjay Nirupam has sought a judicial probe into recent fire mishaps in the megapolis in which "20 people died". He also sought action against Mumbai civic commissioner Ajoy Mehta. Nirupam said a comprehensive enquiry should be set up in the fire incidents that have claimed 20 lives in the past 12 days. He demanded a judicial probe under a sitting judge of the Bombay High Court. "The 15-storey residential building in Chembur which caught fire Thursday did not have any fire extinguishers in place. Residents of the building are agitated because the builder didn't obtain mandatory fire NOC and ran away," he said. Five people, including four senior citizens, were killed and two others injured in a major fire that broke out in the high-rise residential society Thursday evening. "Fire Department comes under BMC Commissioner Ajoy Mehta and the fact that people are losing their lives every day in Mumbai, indicates failure of the civic chief. Mehta ..
5 killed in China coal mine accident
At least five workers were killed, while one remained trapped in a coal mine accident in China's Fujian province, authorities said on Saturday.
Indonesian tsunami volcano lost two-thirds of its height
The Indonesian volcano which caused a tsunami that killed more than 400 people last week lost more than two-thirds of its height following the eruption which triggered the killer waves. A section of Anak Krakatoa's crater collapsed after an eruption and slid into the ocean, generating the tsunami last Saturday night. A visual analysis by the Indonesian volcanology agency found the volcano has lost more than two-thirds of its height, an official said Saturday. Anak Krakatoa which used to stand 338 metres (1,109 feet) high was now just 110 metres tall. The agency estimated the volcano lost between 150 and 180 million cubic metres of material as massive amounts of rock and ash have been slowly sliding into the sea following a series of eruptions. "Anak Krakatoa is now much shorter, usually you can see the peak from the observatory post, now you can't," Wawan Irawan, a senior official at the agency, told AFP. Before and after satellite images taken by Japan's space agency showed that a ...
Mid-air collision of 3 international flights averted, AAIB to summon pilots
The Aircraft Accident Incident Bureau (AAIB) will be summoning pilots of three international flights that narrowly escaped mid-air collision in the Delhi flight information region, sources in AAIB said on Friday.The collisions between the three airlines - Dutch carrier KLM, Taiwan's Eva Air, and US-based National Airlines were averted on December 23 following multiple auto-generated warnings by the Air Traffic Control (ATC).The three foreign airlines were flying almost at the same level which is a clear violation of mandatory separation. The US National Airlines from Afghanistan to Hong Kong was flying at 31,000 feet, the Amsterdam-Bangkok EVA Air plane at 32,000 feet and Vienna-bound Dutch KLM at 33,000 feet.As per the Directorate General of Civil Aviation's (DDGA) Aircraft (Investigation of Accidents and Incidents) Rules 2017, the AAIB is empowered to summon the pilots of foreign airlines for investigation.These rules "extend to the whole of India and apply to, and to the persons ...
Four dead as storm sweeps through central Philippines
Four people were killed in landslides and thousands of others evacuated from their homes after a storm swept through the central Philippine islands on Saturday, officials said. Three members of a family were buried in a landslide in Legazpi City southeast of Manila while a woman was crushed by another landslide in Bulan town as heavy rains brought by the storm loosened the earth, the government's office of civil defence said. Almost 12,000 people were also evacuated from their homes in the Bicol region after the low pressure area, locally named "Usman", hit the eastern side of the country on Saturday, the office said. The weather disturbance, packing maximum winds of 65 kilometres per hour, was charted as moving west across the central islands at 10 kilometres per hour and was expected to be over the South China Sea by Sunday, the government weather station said. Although Usman's winds were not too powerful, it still brought heavy rains that caused landslides and flooding in areas it .
7.2 earthquake hits Philippines, tsunami warning lifted
A powerful 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck the Philippines island of Mindanao on Saturday that prompted authorities to issue a tsunami warning that was lifted later. No damage or casualties were reported.
One killed in crane collapse in Andhra's Kakinada Port
One person was killed and 10 others were injured when two huge cranes collapsed at Andhra Pradesh's Kakinada Deep Water Port on Saturday, police said.
Five killed in coal mine accident in China
Five workers were killed while another remained trapped in a coal mine accident in east China's Fujian Province, local authorities said Saturday. The accident occurred Friday at a coal mine in Yongding District in the city of Longyan, the district's publicity department said, without elaborating on what kind of accident it was. Nine people were working underground when the accident took place. Five have been confirmed dead, one injured and two others were lifted to safety, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. The search operation to rescue the trapped miner is on. The coal mine owner has been taken into custody. An investigation into the cause of the accident is underway, the report said.
Seven killed in Haryana road accident
Dense fog claimed seven lives when an unidentified heavy vehicle hit two cars on the Chandigarh-Ambala highway in Haryana early on Saturday, police said.
7.1-magnitude quake jolts Philippines
A powerful 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck off the Davao Oriental province in the Philippine island of Mindanao on Saturday, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said.
Explosion at Jammu bus stand, no casualties
A low-intensity explosion rocked the main bus stand here, with the police suspecting that a grenade was lobbed to target the police station building in the vicinity, police officials said Saturday. No casualties were reported in the explosion that occurred around midnight, the officials said. Quoting preliminary investigations, they said it is suspected that the grenade was thrown from a moving vehicle to target the police station building, located near the main entrance of the bus stand. The grenade fell short of the target and exploded in the air, without causing any damage or casualty, the officials said. They said police immediately cordoned off the area and an alert was sounded to track the culprits. This was the second attack on the Jammu bus stand in over seven months. Earlier on May 24, two policemen and a civilian were injured in a grenade attack on the under-construction bus stand along the B C Road. The accused were subsequently arrested.
7.2 magnitude earthquake jolts southern Philippines
An earthquake measuring 7.2 magnitudes on the Richter scale struck the southern Philippines island of Mindanao on Saturday.Tremors rocked the southern island of Mindanao at about 3.40am (local time), reported the United States Geological Survey.No casualty has been reported yet.The Pacific Warning Center has also issued tsunami alerts for the Philippines and Indonesia."There is a tsunami threat for coastlines of the Philippines and Indonesia within 300 km of the 7.2 magnitude earthquake in Mindanao, Philippines. No tsunami hazard for anywhere else," tweeted Pacific Warning Center.The agency has also asked people living near the coast to stay alert and follow the instructions from national and local authorities.This earthquake has come just days after a deadly tsunami following an eruption in Krakatoa volcano hit Indonesia killing over 420 people and injuring thousands.
6.9-magnitude quake strikes off southern Philippines: USGS
A 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck off the southern Philippine island of Mindanao on Saturday, monitors said, adding that a tsunami threat was possible for parts of the Philippines and neighbouring Indonesia. The quake struck southeast of Davao City at a depth of 59 kilometres, the US Geological Survey said, while the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said "hazardous tsunami waves from this earthquake are possible" along the coasts of Indonesia and the Philippines.