Page 372 - Disaster Accident
California wildfires: Trump surveys ruins as death toll touches 71
United States President Donald Trump reached California to survey the ruins left behind by the state's most destructive wildfires to date on Saturday, as 71 people are reported dead due to the fires."This is very sad to see, but we're all going to work together," The Washington Post quoted Trump as saying.Pictures posted by officials from the Trump administration showed the extent of the devastation as neighbourhoods were burnt to the ground. "Total devastation in Paradise, CA. Truly heartbreaking but so powerful to see the strength of the people here. President @realDonaldTrump stood w/ @JerryBrownGov, @GavinNewsom, and Mayor Jody Jones to say we are with you and working together to help," White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders tweeted."As far as the lives are concerned, nobody knows quite yet. We're up to a certain number, but we have got a lot of people that aren't accounted for yet. Right now we want to take care of the people who are so badly hurt," Trump mentioned while ...
Trump says US to report who killed Khashoggi in 'next two days'
President Donald Trump has said that the United States would determine the killer of Saudi critic Jamal Khashoggi "within the next two days". The killing and the international uproar it triggered have frayed ties between Washington and longtime ally Riyadh, which has sought to end discussion of the murder and rejected calls for an international investigation. Speaking to reporters in Malibu, California after surveying damage from wildfires on Saturday, Trump said a "full report" on "who did it" would be completed by Monday or Tuesday.
Six members of a family killed in Gujarat road accident
Six members of a family, including three children, were killed Saturday in a road accident in Surendranagar district of Gujarat, police said. The mishap, involving a truck and the car in which the victims were travelling, took place near Chotila town, around 160km from Ahmedabad, a police official said. Members of a family, including three children and an elderly woman, were returning home after visiting a relative at Anandpur village in Chotila taluka when a truck carrying plastic materials collided with their car while overtaking it, said the official from the Chotila police station. Six of the car occupants died on the spot, he said. The deceased were identified as Niraj Gohil (38), Dinaben Gohil (35), Dhirajben Gohil (60), Nidhi (13), Shivang (6) and Ayushi (7), he said.
Sitharaman reviews operational preparedness of Indian Coastal Guard
Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday reviewed the operational preparedness, infrastructure development and coastal security mechanism of the Coast Guard during Consultative Committee Meeting of Ministry of Defence on Indian Coast Guard.Minister of State for Defence Incumbent Subhash Bhamre, MPs from Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, Director General Indian Coast Guard Director General Rajendra Singh along with senior officials of Ministry of Defence also attended the meet.The Defence Minister and the delegation were briefed about the coastal security mechanism and preparedness of Coast Guard to tackle maritime emergencies. Coast Guard's initiative of making fishermen the eyes and ears of Coast Guard were appreciated in the meeting.Sitharaman reiterated that the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) discharges a silent but invaluable service to the nation and lauded the efforts of all personnel of Coast Guard for its multiple successful search and rescue missions, humanitarian aid, assistance .
Queen Elizabeth's message for California amid deadly wildfires
Queen Elizabeth has offered sympathies to all those affected by deadly wildfires that have engulfed Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle's home state of California.The queen, in a statement issued on Friday, offered condolences to all those affected by the fire. "Prince Philip and I offer our deepest sympathies to the people of California, who continue to suffer from the devastating fires across the state," the statement read."Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of the victims, and to all those who have lost their homes and livelihoods," the statement continued.According to People, in the release, the queen also paid tribute to the courage and dedication of the US emergency services and the volunteers that have provided support to those affected during the hazard.Over 63 people have died, while more than 600 people are missing in the state. A total of 5,596 personnel have been deployed to tackle the situation on the ground.Air quality in California has plummeted, with .
16 students, driver of school bus hurt in Noida accident
One of the 16 students who was injured after their school bus hit a pillar at the busy Rajnigandha Chowk underpass in Noida on Saturday morning, continues to be under observation at a private hospital, officials said.
10-year-old boy falls in sewer in Patna, rescue operations on
A 10-year-old boy fell into a sewer here Saturday afternoon and search operations by teams of NDRF and SDRF personnel were on to locate the child, officials said. The search operations by National Disaster Response Force will continue till the boy is located, an NDRF official said. The boy named Deepak fell through a manhole in Shri Krishna Puri locality of the city at around 1.30 pm while returning home after delivering lunch to his father Guddu Ram. A nearby sump house was shut off within minutes of his fall so that the boy did not get carried away a long distance by the current, official sources said. The rescue teams were carrying out their operations from two ends and so far about 80 per cent of the total length of the sewer and the operation was being hampered by "highly muddy water and silt," they said. Local residents gathered at the spot in large numbers and alleged that the manhole had been "lying uncovered for months".
One dead, 47 injured after protests over fuel prices hit France
One person was killed in the southeastern French Isere department while 47 others were injured during protests against fuel price hikes in the country.The French radio station 'France' said that three people were seriously injured.During the protests, the agitators blocked the main transport highways, petrol stations and suburban supermarkets in some places, reported Sputnik.The protestors also blocked the way to Charles de Gaulle airport and shut down the main highways of the capital city. The mass staged a demonstration near the Elysee Palace.According to CNN, France's oil industry federation said that Paris saw a diesel price surge of 16 percent this year, rising from an average of Euro 1.24 per liter to Euro 1.48, and even hitting Euro 1.53 in October.
West Bengal: Fire breaks out at under-construction building
A fire broke out at an under-construction tallest residential skyscraper 'The 42' in Kolkata on Saturday.Three fire tenders were rushed to the spot to douse the flame. However, no casualties or loss to property has been reported in the incident.The fire broke out after the clothes hanging around the building to protect surroundings, in case of a storm, caught fire.Further details are awaited.
Gaja wreaks havoc in parts of Ernakulam district
Cyclone Gaja, which hit Kerala Friday evening, wreaked havoc in parts of Ernakulam district, district administration officials said here. At least 201 houses two fully and 199 partially were damaged in the cyclone and the estimated loss in this sector alone was Rs 38 lakh, they said Several trees were uprooted in the cyclone, which also severely damaged power infrastructure, they said. Vehicular traffic, affected due to fallen trees in high velocity winds, has been restored, officials said.
Defence Minister reviews Coast Guard's operational preparedness
Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday reviewed the operational preparedness and coastal security mechanism of the Indian Coast Guard to tackle maritime emergencies and stressed its modernization by 2022 through the ministry's Definitive Action Program which envisages acquisition of 43 ships, 20 aircraft and other facilities.
Thai officials recover boat that sank, killing 47 Chinese
Officials on Saturday recovered a boat that sank in rough weather off Thailand's southern resort island of Phuket in July, killing 47 Chinese tourists. Two tour boats sank off Phuket on July 5. Tourists from one boat were rescued, while the sinking of the double-decker Phoenix left 47 Chinese tourists dead. The accident was one of Thailand's worst tourism-related disasters in recent years. The boat was raised from the 45-meter-deep (148-foot-deep) sea floor on Saturday by a crane ship operated by a salvage company from Singapore, officials said. The recovery operation itself faced many obstacles. The first company, hired to salvage the boat, lost a member of its team during the operation and failed to lift the boat. A group of senior police officers witnessing the raising of the boat stood in silence for one minute in commemoration of the victims. The Phoenix, covered in brown algae and sludge, will be towed into a pier in Phuket. Police will inspect it as part of their investigation .
Central team visits drought-hit districts in Karnataka
A 10-member inter-ministerial central team (IMCT) began visiting 17 drought-hit districts across Karnataka for spot assessment of the losses incurred by farmers and the people, an official said on Saturday.
Fire in Kolkata's tallest tower, none injured
A fire broke out in Kolkata's tallest residential tower "The 42" on Saturday afternoon during construction work but no one has been reported injured, a fire official said.
Fire breaks out in Sealdah-Lalgola passenger train
A fire broke out in two compartments of a passenger train in West Bengal's Nadia district Saturday but there was no report of any casualty, railway officials said. Flames were noticed in ladies and the vendor compartments of down Lalgola passenger, when the Sealdah-bound train was approaching Dhubulia station, the officials said. The passengers immediately pulled the chain to stop the train. The incident took place at Shantinagar near Dhubulia railway station at around 11.55 am. However, none of the passengers was reported to be hurt, they said. Eye-witnesses said a few passengers including women jumped from the slow moving train out of fear and received minor injuries. Soon after the train was stopped near Shantinagar, local people rushed to the spot and helped passengers to disembark from the train and douse the fire. Later, a fire tender from Krishnagar also reached the spot and brought the fire under control. The police personnel from Dhubulia police station also ...
Two Sabarimala pilgrims killed, 10 others injured
Two Sabarimala pilgrims hailing from Tamil Nadu died and 10 others were injured when their vehicle overturned at Pullupara, bordering Kottayam-Idukki districts Saturday, the police said. The pilgrims were from Kancheepuram. The deceased were identified as Karthikeyan (35) and Babu (31), police said. The injured have been hospitalised. Two pilgrims managed to escape without any injuries, police said. There were 14 people, most of them pilgrims, in the vehicle. The accident occurred when the brake failed and the driver rammed the vehicle against a boulder to stop it and it overturned, they said.
N T Rama Rao's grand daughter files nomination papers
N Suhasini, a grand daughter of TDP founder N T Rama Rao, Saturday filed her nomination as the party candidate for Kukatpalli Assembly segment in Hyderabad for the December 7 assembly polls in Telangana. Suhasini is the daughter of N Harikrishna, a son of NTR. Harikrishna died in a road accident recently. Her brothers Kalyan Ram and junior NTR are popular Telugu film heroes. She was accompanied by her uncle and top Telugu hero N Balakrishna while filing her nomination. Before filing her nomination, she paid her respects to her grandfather and father at their samadhis in the city. Suhasini said she entered politics inspired by the ideals of her legendary grandfather, father and uncle N Chandrababu Naidu (TDP Chief and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister). TDP is contesting the polls as part of the "grand alliance" comprising TDP, Congress, CPI and Telangana Jana Samiti (TJS).
Fire in Kolkata's under-construction tallest building
A fire broke out in the under-construction tallest tower of Kolkata on Saturday evening, but there was no report of any casualty, police said. The fire broke out at around 4.55 pm in the eighth and ninth floor of 'The 42' -- a 62-floor residential skyscraper in the city's central business area of Chowrighee, a senior officer of the Kolkata Police said. Three fire tenders were pressed into service to douse the fire, which is now under control, Mayor Sovan Chatterjee, who paid a visit to the site, told reporters. The building is named after its address: 42, Jawaharlal Nehru Road. "The fire seems to have spread through the nylon nets used to guard the air-conditioning machines. Our officials have responded quickly and the fire is under control now," Chatterjee added. The city was witness to two major fire incidents in recent times. A fire broke out at the 150-year old Bagree Market in Burrabazar, one of the largest wholesale hubs of the country, in September and gutted a large number of .
Pay "personal attention" to tackle water scarcity: Pawar to CM
NCP president Sharad Pawar has written to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, asking him to undertake concrete action in view of "drought" situation in the state and pay "personal attention" to tackle the problem. Pawar noted there was shortage of water and that livestock is under threat due to lack of fodder. "The state government needs to undertake concrete action programme keeping the seriousness of the drought in mind...you please pay personal attention into it," Pawar has said in the letter written to the CM Friday. Along with the letter, Pawar has also suggested the chief minister ways to tackle the current situation. The former Union agriculture minister observed that Maharashtra is faced with water shortage due to subnormal rainfall. He said kharif (summer) crops stand damaged, while cultivation of rabi (winter) crops is in trouble due to scanty rainfall. "I hope timely action will be taken to tackle the drought situation and hope people of the state ...
Cyclone toll climbs to 33, relief work on war footing says CM
: The death toll in cyclone 'Gaja' has touched 33 and left a trail of destruction across Tamil Nadu with 30,000 electricity poles and over a lakh trees getting uprooted, Chief Minister K Palaniswami said Saturday. He maintained that the impact of cyclone was less as 82,000 people were evacuated to 471 relief centres well in advance. However, 20 men, 11 women and 2 boys died in cyclone related incidents, he said. As of now, 1,77,500 people have been housed in over 351 camps, the chief minister said, adding food, and medical amenities were being provided to them by the government. The Chief Minister, speaking to reporters at Vanavasi near Salem, said that cattle, including goats, and wild animals including deer, have perished. "It has now been estimated that uprooted trees alone were 1,27,000. There is a possibility of the numbers going up," he said. While 30,000 electricity poles have either got mangled or fallen down, 105 sub-stations (electricity distribution stations) .