Page 333 - Disaster Accident
Bus crash in snowy Serbia kills 3, injures 32
A bus skidded off the road and overturned amid wintry weather in southern Serbia, killing three people and injuring 32 others, police said. The accident happened early Sunday on the main highway in southern Serbia near the town of Leskovac. Police said the bus had Macedonian license plates and local media reported it was heading toward Austria from Macedonia. Doctors at the hospital in Leskovac say four of those hurt in the crash have serious injuries but they are not life-threatening. Serbia and neighboring countries have been blanketed with snow in the past few days, which has slowed down traffic, disrupted power supplies and blocked access to some remote villages.
Gurdwara gutted in fire in Anantnag
A gurdwara in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district was gutted in fire that broke out apparently due to an electrical short circuit on Sunday, police said. The incident occurred at the Chattisinghpora Gurdwara in south Kashmir's Anantnag district this morning, a police official said. He said fire tenders were rushed to the spot but the fire completely damaged the one-storey premises. No one was injured in the incident, he said. The official said the cause of the fire is believed to be due to an electrical short circuit. All Parties Sikh Coordination Committee (APSCC) chairman Jagmohan Singh Raina demanded the government immediately reconstruct the Gurdwara.
4 dead in Portugal helicopter crash
A rescue helicopter crashed in the mountains near Porto on Saturday killing all four people onboard.The helicopter with two pilots, a paramedic and a doctor onboard had crashed due to bad weather and was found near Salto area, reported Al Jazeera.Citing the Portuguese local media, Al Jazeera reported that the Portuguese National Institute of Medical Emergencies (INEM) helicopter was on its way back to Braganca district after dropping off a 76-year-old patient, who was suffering from heart ailment, at a hospital in Porto."The INEM medical emergency helicopter was built in 1997 and has since carried out the transport of 16,370 urgent patients, without [registering] any serious incident," wrote INEM on its official website.
Six children among 10 dead in Russia house fires
Six children and four adults died in house fires in several Russian cities on Sunday, Russian media reported. Three toddlers died in a house fire in a village in Bashkortostan, a region south of the Ural mountains, news agency RIA Novosti reported. The children, a two-year-old and two four-year-olds, were reportedly left home alone, the agency said. Interfax news agency said two more children died in a house fire on Sunday in the village of Krasny Kut, in the southern Saratov region. And the Emergency Situations Ministry in Tatarstan, a republic in central Russia, said a toddler and two adults were killed in a house fire on Sunday in Kazan, the main city. Another two adults died and three children were injured on Sunday when a dormitory caught fire in Peresvet, a town in the Moscow region, RIA Novosti said. Fire safety rules are often violated in Russia as a result of corruption, with officials often granting building permits in exchange for bribes. In March, 64 people died -- 41 of ..
Andhra coast braces for cyclone, high alert sounded
Andhra Pradesh on Sunday sounded a high alert in the coastal region as a cyclonic storm in the Bay of Bengal was heading towards it and was likely to cross the region between Kakinada and Visakhapatnam on Monday.
Indonesia's Soputan volcano erupts, ejecting thick ash
A volcano in central Indonesia has erupted, ejecting columns of thick ash as high as 7,500 metres into the sky. Mount Soputan, located on the northern part of Sulawesi island, erupted twice Sunday morning, according to the national disaster agency's spokesman, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho. He said in anticipation of hot ash and lava sliding down the slope of the volcano, local residents have been urged to avoid activities near the volcano. Soputan is one of Indonesia's more than 120 active volcanoes. Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 260 million people, is prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions due to its location on the Pacific "Ring of Fire.
Cyclone Gaja, Titli to be taken up in Upper House on Tuesday
The Calling Attention notice by Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament (MP) Dr. Vasudevan Maitreyan and others on cyclone Gaja and Titli is scheduled to be taken up in the Upper House on Tuesday.The notice which was admitted by Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu and was listed this week but could not be discussed due to disruptions.The Chairman also admitted Short Duration Discussion on prices including that of petroleum products. The leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad has raised this issue.46 people were killed after Cyclone Gaja hit 12 districts of Tamil Nadu in November. The cyclone also caused widespread damage to property and livestock.The Centre has approved Rs 353.70 crore as an interim relief fund to Tamil Nadu.While the cyclonic storm Titli that occurred on October 11 and October 12 caused an extensive damage to the houses, standing crops and plantations, thereby adversely affecting the farmers in the state of Odisha. The animal husbandry, fisheries, handloom and
India's IDRSS to be satellite communication hub in sky
As part of its proposed manned space mission, India will launch the Indian Data Relay Satellite System (IDRSS) to improve data relay and communication links with its remote sensing/earth observation satellites, said a top official of the ISRO.
Volcano erupts in Indonesia
A volcano erupted in Indonesia's North Sulawesi province on Sunday, spewing a column of ash measuring 7.5 km to the sky, a disaster agency official said.
Inter-ministerial task force on coal linkage rationalisation to meet stakeholders this week
The inter-ministerial task force studying the feasibility of further rationalisation of fuel linkages, including swapping of imported coal, may meet the stakeholders this week to take the matter forward. The development comes at a time when the import of coal has increased 9.7 per cent to 156.08 million tonne (MT) in the April-November period of the ongoing fiscal. "An inter-ministerial task force is examining the possibility of further rationalisation of coal linkages, including swapping of imported coal being transported to hinterland with domestic coal transported near coastal areas. "In this regard, a meeting with the coal consumers in the regulated sector is scheduled for December 21, 2018...to discuss the issues and way forward," according to government's notice to the stakeholders. In order to optimise transportation cost, the inter-ministerial task force was constituted by the coal ministry for a comprehensive review of existing coal sources and also for feasibility of ...
Seven killed in China mine accident
At least seven workers were killed and three others injured in an accident at a coal mine in southwestern China, state media reported on Sunday. The accident took place on Saturday in Chongqing municipality when the connecting segment of a mining skip broke, causing it to slide down the inclined shaft, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. Seven miners working in the shaft were killed. The three injured miners have been rushed to a hospital, the report said. Accidents in coal mines are common in China. However, the number of deaths have reduced at mines in recent years. In October, 8 miners were killed after a rock burst ripped through a coal mine in Yuncheng county of Shangdong province. In June, a powerful explosion in an iron mine in country's northeast Liaoning province claimed the lives of 11 workers and left nine others injured. Similarly in May, a methane gas explosion ripped through a coal mine in central China's Hunan province, killing at least five workers.
Army chief cites difficulties in putting women in combat role
Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat Saturday said there are women officers engaged in exercises like mining and de-mining operations and also manning the air defence system, but cited difficulties in assigning them frontline combat role. He said that in frontline combat there are risks of officers getting killed. "See, I am not saying a woman who has children doesn't die. She can also die in a road accident. But in combat, when body bags come back, our country is not ready to see that," Rawat said in an interview to CNN News 18. "We have women officers as engineers, they are doing mining and demining work. In air defence, they are manning our weapon systems. But we have not put women in frontline combat because what we are engaged in right now is a proxy war, like in Kashmir," he said. He cited logistical reason also behind not posting women on frontlines. "Our orders are that a lady officer will get a hut in the COB, then there are orders that we have to cocoon her separately. She will say ...
Fire at factory in Delhi; no casualty
A fire broke out at a factory in outer Delhi's Jwalapuri Saturday, said an officer from the Delhi Fire Service. No casualty has been reported. The fire broke out in the factory manufacturing plastic coolers, he said, adding they were informed about the blaze around 7.50 pm. Eighteen fire tenders were rushed to the spot. The firefighting operations are underway, the officer added.
Sonar system fails to detect trapped coal miners in Meghalaya
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) on Saturday used sonar system and underwater camera to detect 13 miners, who have been trapped inside a coal pit filled with water in Meghalaya's East Jaintia Hills district since Thursday morning.
Ukrainian fighter pilot dies in crash: Army
A Ukrainian fighter pilot died when his plane crashed during a training flight, the army said Saturday in what was the second such death in two months. The Sukhoi-27 crashed on Saturday while coming in to land in the northern Jytomyr region at around 1300 GMT, the army's central command said. On October 16, a Ukrainian and a US pilot died when their Su-27 crashed during the Clear Sky 2018 military exercises involving eight NATO countries. The drills were held as Ukrainian government forces and Russian-backed separatists in the east of the country face off in a conflict that has already claimed more than 10,000 lives.
AP govt machinery on high alert as storm set to cross between
: The Andhra Pradesh government put its machinery on high alert and positioned NDRF and State Disaster Response Force in five districts Saturday as the deep depression in the Bay of Bengal was set to intensify into a severe cyclonic storm and cross the coast between Ongole and Kakinada on Monday. The Met office said that coastal Andhra Pradesh and north Tamil Nadu are likely to experience rainfall in the next two days with the system making landfall between Ongole and Kakinada in the neighbouring state on Monday. A report from Amaravati, quoting State Disaster Management Authority Director Prasanna Venkatesh,said teams of National Disaster Response Force and SDRF have been positioned in the coastal districts of Guntur, Krishna, West Godavari, East Godavari and Visakhapatnam and the government machinery put on high alert. He said two teams of SDRF (80 members) and two of NDRF (60 members) have been deployed in these districts with all necessary equipment for evacuation ..
Karnataka temple food tragedy toll up 13; two detained
The toll has gone up to 13 from eight in the Friday's suspected food poisoning at a village temple in Karnataka's Chamarajanagar district. Two persons were detained for interrogation, a Minister said on Saturday.
Belgium road accident death linked to 'yellow vest' protest: Official
A driver died in Belgium near the border with France on Friday evening after hitting a truck which had slowed down due to a blockade by "yellow vest" protesters, a local government official said. The death takes to seven the number of people who have died in incidents linked to the anti-government protests in France which began on November 17 over rising petrol and diesel costs. Most of the deaths have been in accidents at blockades or barriers set up by protesters on roundabouts or on roads leading to motorways. On December 1, an 80-year-old woman was fatally injured by a tear-gas grenade fired by police in Marseille. The accident on Friday night happened in the Erquelinnes area of Belgium at a junction between the N40 and N54 roads "after a slowdown in France caused by the 'yellow vests'," the local government office in northern France said.
Heavy rainfall warning issued in Bengal
The Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) of Kolkata on Saturday issued a heavy rainfall warning for around 10 districts of West Bengal ahead of the approaching storm.
Death in Belgium road accident linked to 'yellow vest' protest: official
A driver died in Belgium near the border with France Saturday after hitting a truck which had slowed down due to a road blockade by "yellow vest" protesters, a local government official said. The accident happened in the Erquelinnes area of Belgium at a junction between the N40 and N54 roads "after a slowdown in France caused by the 'yellow vests'," the local government office in northern France said.