Page 354 - Disaster Accident
Lion Air jet should have been grounded before fatal flight, Indonesia says
A Lion Air jet that crashed last month should have been grounded over a recurrent technical problem and never permitted to make the fatal flight, Indonesian authorities said Wednesday in a report that took aim at the carrier's poor safety culture. The Boeing 737 MAX vanished from radar about 13 minutes after taking off from Jakarta on October 29, slamming into the Java Sea moments after it had asked to return to the capital. The preliminary crash report from Indonesia's transport safety agency did not pinpoint a definitive cause of the accident, which killed all 189 people on board, including an Indian pilot, with a final report not likely to be filed until next year. But investigators said that Lion Air kept putting the plane back into service despite repeatedly failing to fix a problem with the airspeed indicator in the days leading up to the fatal flight. Its second last flight was from Denpasar in Bali to Jakarta. "During (that) flight, the plane was experiencing a technical ...
Palaniswami inspects Gaja-hit areas in TN
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami Wednesday visited Nagapattinam district, which was ravaged by cyclone Gaja, and distributed relief materials to the victims. Accompanied by his deputy O Panneerselvam, ministers and officials, Palaniswami visited a relief camp in Vailankanni area and interacted with the affected people. The chief minister assured the victims of all possible assistance. Palaniswami also inspected the repair work of the damaged TNEB sub-station in Kameswaram village. Earlier, he held a meeting with District Collector C Sureshkumar and other officials to review the relief and rehabilitation works. He distributed relief material, including rice, to over 400 cyclone victims. Palaniswami's visit was originally scheduled for last week, but his chopper could not land due to inclement weather. Cyclone Gaja crossed the Tamil Nadu coast between Nagapattinam and Vedaranyam on November 16. It claimed 63 lives and left behind a trail of destruction.
Indonesia says Lion Air jet not airworthy on flight before crash
JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesian investigators said on Wednesday a Lion Air Boeing 737 jet that plunged into the sea, killing 189 people onboard, was not airworthy on a flight the day before it crashed on Oct. 29.
Flight control problems reported before Lion Air crash - investigators
JAKARTA (Reuters) - A pilot of a doomed Lion Air jet told air traffic control that the plane was experiencing a "flight control problem" shortly before it crashed into the Java Sea last month, Indonesian investigators said on Wednesday.
Indonesia safety agency recommends Lion Air improve safety culture
JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia's transport safety committee (KNKT) on Wednesday recommended that Lion Air improve its safety culture after a Boeing 737 operated by the airline crashed into the sea last month, killing all 189 on board.
Flooding, traffic chaos as heavy rains lash Sydney
Flights were cancelled, railway lines closed and motorists stranded on flooded roads, as a month's worth of rain fell on Sydney early Wednesday, leaving emergency services battling to respond. Severe thunderstorms and heavy rainfall lashed Australia's largest city, with the local Bureau of Meteorology reporting more than 106 millimetres of rain fell in some places within a few hours. The city usually sees an average of 84 millimetres for the entire month of November. One person was said to have died in a storm-related traffic accident and two police officers were injured by a falling tree while performing a rescue, including one female constable who sustained a broken leg. The emergency services said they had carried out 12 flood rescues by mid-morning. "The conditions we are experiencing today are some of the worst I've ever seen, and I am appealing to everyone, motorists and pedestrians alike, to take care," said assistant police commissioner Michael Corby. The police urged ...
Flash floods cause havoc in Sydney
Over 500 Australians called for emergency assistance in just two hours after storms lashed Sydney and nearby regions, equalling rainfall of its monthly average in that time, causing floods, power cuts and flight delays on Wednesday, Met said.
Aircraft wheel collapses on landing in Myanmar
The front wheel of a training aircraft of the Myanmar National Airlines collapsed as it touched the tarmac at the airport in Mon during landing, official said on Wednesday.
Blast kills 22 near north China chemical plant: official
An explosion and fire near a chemical factory left at least 22 people dead and 22 others injured in northern China on Wednesday, authorities said. The incident near Hebei Shenghua Chemical Co. in Zhangjiakou, a city some 200 kilometres (124 miles) northwest of Beijing, also burned 50 large and small trucks, the local propaganda department said on its Weibo social media account. The injured were taken to hospital for treatment following the blast, which occurred at 00:41 am, according to the statement. The charred and smoking remains of trucks and cars were scattered on a road as firefighters worked at the scene, according to photos posted on Twitter by state broadcaster CGTN. "On-site search and rescue work and investigation of the cause of the accident are still under way," the propaganda department said.
Blast near chemical plant kills 22 in north China
A blast near a chemical plant in Zhangjiakou city, in north China's Hebei province, has killed 22 and injured 22 others early Wednesday morning, local authorities said.
Explosion near chemical plant in China leaves 22 dead, injures many
An explosion near a chemical plant in North China's Zhangjiakou has left 22 people dead and 22 more injured, local authorities reported.According to sputnik, the fire after the explosion has also destroyed 38 trucks and 12 cars.The search and rescue operation, as well as the investigation into the cause of the explosion, are ongoing.
Cyclone Titli: BJP Odisha-wing reviews relief work operations
A five member team of the Odisha-wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by MLA Rabi Naik and Pradeep Purohit, on Tuesday visited areas affected by Cyclone Titli and subsequent flood and met with the people to assess damages and inspect relief works undertaken by the state government.Besides Naik and Purohit, Lekhashree Samantsinghar, Golak Mohapatra and Thakur Ranjit Dash were also present. The team visited several places in both Ganjam and Gajapatai district."Even after 45 days of the Cyclone Titli, many parts of Chikiti in Ganjam district continue to be disconnected from administration and development, Local MLA Usha Devi is a minister in the Naveen Patnaik-led government. She is yet to visit the affected areas," Samantsinghar said.The team also visited Kumbhardih and Guruda areas in Patrapur block of Ganjam."The victims of Titli cyclone have still not received compensation or assistance for reconstruction of their broken houses and schools even after 45 days though state ...
Indonesia due to release preliminary Lion Air crash report
Indonesian investigators are expected Wednesday to release a preliminary report into the Lion Air plane crash last month that saw all 189 on board killed when the nearly new jet slammed into the sea. The Boeing 737 MAX vanished from radar about 13 minutes after taking off from Jakarta on October 29, crashing into waters off Indonesia's northern coast moments after it had asked to return to the capital. The findings are not expected to pinpoint a definitive cause of the accident, but may shed more light on why one of the world's newest and most advanced commercial passenger planes fell from the sky. So far, investigators have said the doomed aircraft had problems with its airspeed indicator and angle of attack (AOA) sensors, prompting Boeing to issue a special bulletin telling operators what to do when they face the same situation. An AOA sensor provides data about the angle at which air is passing over the wings and tells pilots how much lift a plane is getting. The information can be
Afghanistan faces exceptional levels of drought, food insecurity: UN
UN officials and agencies on Tuesday spoke of exceptional levels of drought in Afghanistan affecting millions of people in the country.
Fire in engineering company godown, no casualty
A fire broke out at a godown of an engineering company in south-western part of the city on Tuesday evening, fire brigade sources said. There was no report of any casualty in the blaze. The fire that broke out at around 8:15 pm at the godown located on Hide Road in Garden Reach area was put out by six fire tenders in one-and-a-half hours, the sources said. The cause of the fire was being investigated.
ADB to provide USD 75 mn loan for water supply project in Karnataka
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide a USD 75 million (around Rs 532 crore) loan for a water supply project in four coastal towns of Karnataka. The project would ensure round the clock water supply in four towns -- Kundapura, Mangalore Puttur and Udupi. The fund will also be used to improve sanitation infrastructure for Mangalore town, said an official release. The programme, approved by ADB Board in 2014, aims to improve urban water resource management in selected river basins in Karnataka through modernisation and expansion of urban water supply and sanitation infrastructure and strengthening institutions to improve water use efficiency, water resource planning, monitoring and service delivery. The USD 75 million tranche 1 loan is helping strengthen urban water supply and sanitation services in three other towns of the State - Byadagi, Davangere, and Harihar. An agreement regarding the tranche 2 loan of the programme was signed here on Tuesday. Apart from providing ...
Railway offers free transport of cyclone relief to TN
: The Indian Railway announced Tuesday that it would transport relief material free of cost to cyclone-affected districts of Tamil Nadu till December 10. Government organisations and others deemed fit by the divisional railway managers can book relief material for transport free of cost, a communique issued by the railway board, a copy of which was released to the media here by the Tamil Nadu government. Passenger trains and parcel vans are among the categories that are allowed to transport relief assistance without payment of freight charge, the communique said. However, it should be ensured that the consignor and consignee is a District Magistrate or a Deputy Commissioner in whose jurisdiction the dispatching or the receiving station is situated, it added.
Railways offers free transport of cyclone relief to TN
: The Railways announced Tuesday that it would transport relief material free of cost to cyclone-affected districts of Tamil Nadu till December 10. Government organisations and others deemed fit by the divisional railway managers can book relief material for transport free of cost, a press release said here. Passenger trains and parcel vans are among the categories that are allowed to transport relief assistance without payment of freight charge, the release said. However, it should be ensured that the consignor and consignee is a District Magistrate or a Deputy Commissioner in whose jurisdiction the dispatching or the receiving station is situated, the release added.
'India to depend on imported coking coal for targeted steel output'
Despite efforts to cut down imports of coking coal, India will have to "heavily depend" on imported coking coal for its plan to produce 300 million tonnes of crude steel by 2030-31, experts said on Tuesday.
343 died, Rs 1,600 crore lost in HP due to rains, untimely snowfall this monsoon: CM
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said Tuesday the state had suffered a loss of Rs 1,600 crore since July 1 this year due to monsoon rains and untimely snowfall in tribal areas that also claimed 343 lives. The chief minister said this while presiding over the meeting of an inter-ministerial central team at Mandi, which is on a state visit to assess the damages caused to the state due to untimely snowfall and heavy rains. Thakur said the Public Works Department (PWD) suffered major losses due to damages to roads and bridges. The total losses on this account have been assessed at around Rs 930 crore. He said 405 incidents of landslides and 34 cloudbursts were reported in the state. The Irrigation and Public Health department suffered losses worth Rs 430 crore while damages to agriculture crops and infrastructures cost Rs 130.37 crore, he added. The chief minister said that 343 people lost their lives due to flash floods, landslides, cloud bursts and road accidents -- all ...