Page 337 - Disaster Accident
N Korea food production down in 2018: UN body
Food production has fallen this year in isolated, nuclear-armed North Korea, according to the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization. Rice and maize are the North's main staples, but rice output was expected to be below average because of erratic rains and low irrigation supplies, the FAO said in its quarterly Crop Prospects and Food Situation report. Unfavourable weather conditions also diminished maize yields, it added. As a result the country would need to import 641,000 tonnes of food in the coming year, up from 456,000 tonnes this year, when it bought 390,000 tonnes and received 66,000 tonnes in food aid. There was a widespread lack of access to food in the North, it said in the document. "Food insecurity continues to remain a key concern, with conditions aggravated by the below-average 2018 main season output," it said. Agricultural production is chronically poor in the North, which only has a limited supply of arable land. The country has periodically been hit by famine, and ..
Train crashes into overpass in Turkish capital; 4 dead
A high-speed train hit a railway engine and crashed into a pedestrian overpass at a station in the Turkish capital Ankara on Thursday, killing four people and injuring 43 others, officials and news reports said. The train was en route from Ankara to the central Turkish city of Konya. Ankara Gov Vasip Sahin said the high-speed train crashed into an engine that was checking the tracks at a station in Ankara. Rescue teams sent to the scene were looking for more survivors, he said. "Our hope is that there are no other victims," he said. Private NTV television said at least two cars derailed. Parts of the overpass collapsed onto the train. Several ambulances and rescue teams were sent to the scene.
13 killed in Vietnam flood
At least 13 people were killed due to a flood in Vietnam, authorities said on Thursday.
20 trains cancelled for 2 months in UP
The North-Eastern Railways (NER) has cancelled 20 trains, including eight trains plying in Uttar Pradesh's Gorakhpur and Basti divisions, due to fog and inclement weather, an official said on Thursday.
Fadnavis seeks Centre's assistance for drought mitigation
Singh assured Fadnavis that Central Government will stand with the Maharashtra government and provide all assistance needed for drought mitigation and will soon convene a meeting after getting report from Ministry of Finance.In October, the Maharashtragovernment declared 151 talukas (administrative divisions) in 26 different districts drought-hit. Out of 151, 112 talukas have been declared severely drought-hit while the remaining 39 talukas are affected by medium drought.The government also asked all the concerned ministers to visit the affected areas and make a report. It also asked the concerned officials to analyse the damage to the crop between June to September, decrease in the groundwater level due to the deficient rain in the season.
Canada to cap pilot flight hours to address fatigue concerns
MONTREAL (Reuters) - Canada is introducing new regulations to limit the maximum number of hours that commercial pilots can fly and cap the time they remain on duty, Transport Minister Marc Garneau said on Wednesday.
Scooterist dies after ramming into Zareen Khan's car in Goa
A scooterist died in the North Goa's beach village of Anjuna, after ramming into a car owned by Bollywood actress Zareen Khan, police said on Wednesday.
Doctor's car hits three women in central Delhi; one dead
A woman was killed while another two were injured after a car driven by a doctor allegedly hit them in central Delhi, police said Wednesday, adding that he was nabbed while trying to flee the spot. The accident took place Tuesday near the Rani Jhansi Road flyover. The deceased was identified as Shanno Devi while the other two who suffered injuries in the accident were Kripali Devi and Geeta, both in their 50s. Police said the locals rushed the victims to the Bara Hindu Rao Hospital, where Shanno Devi was declared brought dead while the injured women were discharged after treatment, a senior police officer said. Investigation revealed that the accident took place barely 20 metres away from the flyover when the three victims were on their way home from a factory in Sadar Bazar they worked at. The accused, identified as 47-year-old Ambuj Garg who works at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, drove away from the accident spot but was nabbed a few metres away, police said. Geeta alleged that Garg was ..
Irdai allows single personal accident cover for multiple vehicles
Come January 1, customers will not have to purchase separate compulsory personal accident (CPA) cover for each new vehicle they buy, as per a notification of insurance regulator Irdai. Insurance regulator Irdai has decided to unbundle the compulsory personal accident (CPA) cover and allow the issuance of a standalone CPA cover for owner-driver. Currently, a vehicle buyer has to buy a CPA for every vehicle he or she purchase. In September this year, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) had raised the minimum insurance cover for owner-driver to Rs 15 lakh for an annual premium of Rs 750. Earlier, the capital sum insured (CSI) for two-wheelers and private cars/commercial vehicles was Rs 1 lakh and Rs 2 lakh, respectively. "Since a general personal accident cover also includes cover against motor accidents, if an owner-driver already has a 24 hour personal accident cover against Death and Permanent Disability (Total and Partial) for CSI of at least Rs 15 ...
Germany opens negligent homicide probe in Mali Airbus chopper crash
German prosecutors said Wednesday they had opened a probe against three individuals for negligent homicide in the 2017 crash of a German military helicopter in a UN operation in Mali. "A case on the suspicion of negligent homicide has been opened against three people who are said to have carried out" work on the Airbus helicopter, prosecutors in the southern town of Kempten said. Earlier, European aircraft maker Airbus said a probe had found that "an improper setting of the helicopter controls was identified by the investigation as one of the factors in the chain of events which have led to this catastrophic outcome". Two German UN peacekeepers were killed in July 2017 when their Tiger helicopter crashed as they were monitoring fighting in northern Mali. UN sources in the area quickly ruled out it was shot down, and the German army has since been looking into the reasons for the crash. German prosecutors said a report from the German Military Aviation Authority has found that "works ..
Car falls into river in Uttarakhand's Chamoli; one dead
One person was killed and another injured Wednesday evening when their car fell into the Nandakini river in Chamoli district, officials said. The car was returning from a marriage ceremony when it slipped off the road and rolled down around 35 metres into the river, the district disaster management office here said. The car with its two occupants met with the accident on the Ghat-Sitel motor road, killing one person and leaving the other badly injured, it said. The injured was first rushed to the Ghat community health centre, from where he was referred to a hospital in Srikot. The deceased was identified as Chandra Singh Bisht and the injured Jaiveer Singh, the disaster management office said.
U.S. probe cites "ineffective" safeguard in Husky oil refinery blast
HOUSTON (Reuters) - An "ineffective" safeguard failed to prevent an explosive mixing of air and fuel at a Husky Energy refinery in Superior, Wisconsin, leading to a blast and fire in the plant's gasoline-producing unit in April, a U.S. industrial safety group said on Wednesday.
IndiGo aircraft grounded in Kolkata, investigation by AAIB on
An IndiGo aircraft which made an emergency landing at the Kolkata airport after smoke filled its cabin mid-air has been grounded, airline officials said Wednesday. The incident took place Monday and the aircraft is on ground (AOG) at the NSCBI airport in Kolkata at present, the spokesperson said. The aircraft will require engine replacement and it will be done in Kolkata, a senior official of the airline said. The Jaipur-Kolkata IndiGo flight with 136 passengers on board made an emergency landing in Kolkata after smoke incident, prompting the government to order a probe. Officials of the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), India, have already reached Kolkata to carry out a detailed investigation and prepare a report on what happened on Monday, a DGCA official told PTI. The AAIB will submit its report to the ministry directly, he added. The AAIB is a division of the Ministry of Civil Aviation which investigates aircraft accidents and incidents in the country. According to a .
Project to prevent flooding in Kochi airport region: Ker CM
Kerala government would soon implement a project to prevent inundation of the Kochi airport and nearby areas as witnessed during the August deluge, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said Wednesday. The airport, one of the busiest in the country, was rendered non-functional for two weeks from August 14 due to the unprecedented flooding triggered by torrential rains. While making it clear that the inundation of Kochi airport area had nothing to do with the airport construction, Vijayan said the government would soon implement a project to prevent recurrence of such flooding. "The project is designed based on the studies jointly carried out by the state Irrigation department and Kitco, a premier technical consultancy firm. "Dutch Engineering experts too were consulted before giving shape to the plan of action which the government will implement on a war-footing," the chief minister said, inaugurating the renovated heritage terminal of the Cochin International Airport Ltd ...
Odisha govt slashes bus fares across categories
The Odisha government on Wednesday reduced bus fares across categories following a fall in price of diesel. According to a notification issued by the State Transport Commissioner, the fares have been slashed under the automatic fare revision mechanism. The fare for ordinary and express buses has been cut by 2 paise per kilometre, while for deluxe and AC deluxe buses, it has been slashed by 4 paise per km. The passengers travelling in the ordinary buses will now have to pay 68 paise per km as against 70 paise per km earlier. Similarly, the fare will cost 71 paise per km in express buses against the earlier price of 73 paise per km. The deluxe category buses will charge 97 paise per km as against Rs 1.01 earlier, while the AC Deluxe buses will charge Rs 1.19 instead of the current Rs 1.23 per km. This is the second reduction in bus fares by the state government in the last 15 days.
Metro pillar develops cracks, trains slowed down at damaged
: A metro rail pillar in the busy Trinity Station here has developed cracks, compelling the Bengaluru Metro Rail authorities to slow down the speed of the trains at the damaged portion. Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy said he has directed the authorities to suspend the services till the damaged portion was repaired. "I am aware of the crack in a portion of the metro rail route. Technical experts on the subject have carried out an inspection. I have given a slew of directions. One is that the metro rail services should be stopped because it should not cause any trouble to the public," Kumaraswamy told reporters in Belagavi. The Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) has raised a steel platform for the engineers to carry out tests. It said the affected portion was small and would not affect the safety of the structure. "The affected portion is very small and will not affect overall safety of the structure. The tests are being carried out as a matter of abundant ...
Railways sanction Rs 3,700 crore for CCTVs
The government on Wednesday said the railways had sanctioned Rs 3,771 crore to set up CCTV cameras at railways stations and train coaches to enhance safety and security of passengers.
Woman dies after roof collapses due to heavy rains in Haryana
A 42-year-old woman died Wednesday when the roof of her cattle enclosure collapsed due to heavy rains in the area, police said. The incident took place in Samleti village near Ambala Cantonment when, the woman, Veena, and her relative Karamjeet, were taking out the cattle from the enclosure, they said. The roof which was not in a good condition collapsed, killing the woman on the spot and injuring Karamjeet, police said. She was taken out of the debris by the neighbours who then took her to a hospital where doctors declared her brought dead, while the injured was admitted to the Civil hospital, they said. The woman's body was handed over to her family after postmortem.
Four die in UP accident
Four persons, including three women, were killed in Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur district on Wednesday after a speeding truck rammed into an auto-rickshaw in which they were travelling, police said.
Black box-like audio-video recording system installed in trains: Gohain
Devices similar to black box in aircraft have been installed in some trains to record the sequence of events incase of any accidents, the Railway Ministry informed Parliament Wednesday. Replying to a question in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Railways Rajen Gohain said railways has started installing loco cab audio video recording system (LCAVR) to record everything if there is an accident. "Similar to a black box, the Indian Railways has started installing loco cab audio video recording system in diesel and electric locomotives. This system provides invaluable data to investigators which will help them in understanding the sequence of events leading to an accident and for identifying operational issues and human factors," he said. Twenty six locomotives have already been installed with the system, he said. Gohain said Rs 100.40 crore has been sanctioned in the budget 2018-2019 for acquisition of 3,500 such systems.