Page 393 - Disaster Accident
6.0-magnitude quake hits Philippines
An earthquake measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale jolted the Philippines' Lanao del Norte province on Sunday, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said.
Ultralight 'supermaterial' made using plastic bottle waste
Scientists have developed a way to convert plastic bottle waste into flexible and durable aerogels that could be used for heat and sound insulation in buildings, oil spill cleaning, and as a lightweight lining for firefighter coats and masks. Plastic waste is toxic and non-biodegradable. Such waste often ends up in oceans and landfills, affecting marine life and causing problems such as groundwater contamination and land scarcity. Globally, the annual consumption of plastic bottles has been rising steadily, and it is expected to exceed half a trillion tons per year by 2021. "Plastic bottle waste is one of the most common type of plastic waste and has detrimental effects on the environment," said Hai Minh Duong, an associate professor at National University of Singapore (NUS). Plastic bottles are commonly made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which is the most recycled plastic in the world. "Our team has developed a simple, cost-effective and green method to convert plastic ...
10 dead in Sicily floods
Ten people, including a family of nine, have died in floods around Palermo on the southern Italian island of Sicily, rescue services said Sunday as fierce storms continue to exact a deadly toll. They said the bodies of the family, including children aged one, three and 15, were found in their house in Casteldaccia next to a small river which had burst its banks. Three other members of the same family were able to escape, according to the Agi news agency. Separately a man was found dead in his car while two other people are missing. Earlier this week in Sicily, floods closed many roads and mayors ordered schools, public parks and underpasses shut. Italy, especially in the north and around Venice, has been hit by a series of strong storms which have claimed at least 20 lives and caused massive damage and disruption. Trees covering the mountains in the Dolomites range were reduced to matchsticks, flattened by winds that tore through the Veneto region on Thursday. "It's like after an ...
NGO launches unique 'Drive Safe Daddy' campaign to check drunk driving
A Delhi-based NGO has launched a unique campaign called 'Drive Safe Daddy' to check drunk driving and to aware motorists about the need to drive with care and caution, according to a statement issued Sunday. The campaign involves some students of the Delhi University and they will be interacting with drivers at IGL CNG gas stations across the city. "As the festive season and the Diwali fervour grips the city, roads in Delhi become more prone to accidents and tragedies as a result of drunk driving, which is at its peak during this time of the year," the statement said. Prince Singhal, road safety expert and founder of the NGO called 'Community Against Drunken Driving', said the campaign has been launched to reach out to the common man to sensitise them on the need of driving safely. According to Singhal, every year the rate of fatal accidents increases by about 22 -25 per cent during Diwali and the rising liquor sales and the incidence of drunk driving tragedies are enough to prove ...
10 dead in Sicily floods: rescue service
Ten people, including a family of nine, have died in floods around Palermo on the southern Italian island of Sicily, rescue services said Sunday. They said the bodies of the family, including children aged one, three and 15, were found in their house in Casteldaccia next to a small river which had burst its banks. A man was found separately in his car while two other people are missing, they said, as Italy grapples with fierce storms which have already claimed at least 20 lives this week.
15 killed in China highway accident
At least 15 people were killed and 44 others injured after a heavy truck lost control and crashed into dozens of vehicles waiting at a toll booth on a highway near China's Lanzhou city, the police said on Sunday.
9-yr-old girl killed, 3 injured in landslide in J-K
A nine-year-old girl was killed and three members of a nomadic family were injured when a landslide struck their tent in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir, a police official said on Sunday. A Bakarwal family had set up a 'dera' (tent accommodation) at Chatyar village near a shrine which came under a landslide triggered by incessant rains at around 11.30 pm Saturday, he said. Shabina Kousar died on the spot, while three members of her family were critically injured and were taken to a hospital. The nomadic Gujjars and Bakarwals have begun their bi-annual seasonal migration from the higher reaches of Kashmir to summer zone Jammu last month owing to early snowfall this season but have set up temporary accommodations at various places due to inclement weather. Heavy rains lashed wide parts of the Jammu region, while some high altitude areas experienced moderate to heavy snowfall over the past three days.
14 killed in a road accident in China
At least 14 people were killed while 27 others sustained injuries in a 31-vehicle pile-up on an expressway in China's Gansu Province, local authorities said.According to news agency Xinhua, the incident took place on Saturday evening.One of the rescuers said that a heavy truck lost control and crashed into a line of vehicles waiting outside a toll station on the Lanzhou-Haikou Expressway. The station is close to Lanzhou, capital of Gansu.The cause of the accident is yet to be known and a probe has been initiated in the matter.More details are awaited.
At least 14 killed in China highway accident
Authorities in China say at least 14 people have been killed and 27 injured in a highway pile-up. The accident Saturday night happened after a heavy truck lost control and crashed into a line of vehicles waiting at a toll station in the northwestern province of Gansu. Last week, 15 people were killed after a bus to plunged off a high bridge into China's Yangtze River in the western city of Chongqing. In that previous crash, an eight-second surveillance video released by police showed the driver and a passenger arguing and grappling with each other in the moments before the bus suddenly veered across oncoming traffic and off the bridge.
UP cows get Radium bands to avoid accidents
In a bid to reduce road accidents caused by stray animals, Uttar Pradesh police has started a drive of tying radium bands on the horns and necks of stray cattle.The reflective tapes ensure long-distance visibility, especially caused by fog during the winters.Talking about the initiative , Superintendent of Police Dharamvir Singh, told ANI, "There has been an increase in road accidents of stray cattle during the night. So we decided to tie radium bands on their horns and belts on their necks to save them and avoid accidents."This move comes with the onset of the winter season when numerous cows lose their lives or get injured as a result of coming in contact with vehicles due to the lack of visibility.Tying radium bands will make it easier for vehicle drivers to spot the cattle from far away and hence help in averting such unfortunate accidents.
Lion Air crash: Diver dies in search of missing plane parts
An Indonesian diver on Saturday lost his life while recovering parts of the Lion Air plane which crashed off the coast of Jakarta with 189 people aboard on October 29.Quoting sources, Geo News reported that the diver, Syachrul Anto, 48, who died on Friday, was part of the team searching for debris of the jet in the Java Sea. It is believed he died from decompression."He was found by the SAR team, fainted. He was treated by our doctors after he regained consciousness, we sent him to the chamber for decompression. We have all the equipment, however, God's will says differently," national search and rescue agency head Muhammad Syaugi said at a press conference.The Lion Air plane scheduled from Jakarta to Sumatra plunged into the water just minutes after take-off, killing everyone on board.Officials this week retrieved the flight data recorder but are still searching for the second black box, the cockpit voice recorder, which could answer the question as to why the brand new Boeing-737 ...
2 dead after Amazon building collapse in severe weather
Two people were killed when part of an Amazon distribution warehouse collapsed amid severe weather, a spokeswoman for the retail giant said Saturday. The men worked for an outside company and not Amazon, spokeswoman Rachael Lighty said. No one else was injured when severe storms with strong winds tore through Maryland Friday evening, she said. "First responders remain onsite assessing the damage. The safety of our employees and contractors is our top priority and at this time the building remains closed," Lighty said in an email. News reports cite Baltimore fire officials as saying one man was found under debris Friday night and later pronounced dead, while a second man's body was recovered under rubble early Saturday. Officials say a 50-foot wall at the warehouse collapsed. Photos from the scene appear to show the collapsed wall was about two stories tall. Baltimore fire officials didn't respond to phone or email messages from The Associated Press. The National Weather Service had ...
300 stranded on Jammu-Srinagar National Highway due to snowfall rescued
Over 300 passengers, including dozens of security personnel, were rescued Saturday night after they were caught in heavy snowfall near the Jawahar tunnel on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway, police said. Senior Superintendent of Police (Ramban) Anita Sharma said the 270-km highway, connecting Kashmir with rest of the country, was closed for traffic tonight after heavy snowfall and multiple landslides rendered it unsafe. "A rescue operation was launched after information was received that a large number of passenger vehicles were stranded in avalanche prone areas on the other side of the Jawahar tunnel," Sharma told PTI. She said so far about 300 Jammu-bound passengers have been rescued from the Kashmir side of the Jawahar tunnel and the Verinag Zing area, where more than one feet of snow had accumulated on the ground. All the rescued passengers were brought to Banihal and provided accommodation inside shelter sheds, hotels, sarais and religious places, she said. Four buses, a tempo
One ITBP jawan dead after bus plunges into gorge
One Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) jawan died while two others got injured in Uttarakhand's Pithoragarh district after the bus they were travelling in, fell into a gorge on Saturday.The ITBP bus was on its way from Haldwani to Mirthi when it plunged into a 100-feet deep gorge at the Berinag Motor Marg in Thal.The cause of the accident is said to be the dilapidated state of the road. The injured jawans have been taken Muwani Primary Health Centre (PHC).The rescue operation, which has now been concluded, was carried out by the Thal police.
Several flights cancelled after fresh snowfall in Srinagar
Heavy snowfall in Jammu and Kashmir's Srinagar on Saturday led to the cancellation of several flights at Srinagar Airport.The snowfall and the bad weather in the Valley also caused disruptions to the citizens, leading to severe traffic jam, water-logging and power cut in maximum areas of the city.Srinagar Airport officials announced a list of the cancelled flights and the flights that were diverted to Jammu Airport on their official Twitter handle.Flights of all major airlines have been cancelled. The cancelled flights include Vistara flights-- UK 611 (Departure) and UK 612, Jet Airways flights-- 9W 638 (Departure), SpiceJet flights-- SG 939 (Departure), SG 130 (Departure), SG 964/253.One GoAir flight G8 213 was diverted to Jammu but eventually got cancelled. Apart from that, four other GoAir flights- G8 912, G8 287, G8 224, and G8 697 have also been cancelled.Four IndiGo flights 6E 478, 6E 2694, 6E 559, and 6E 2197 were also cancelled. An Air India flight, AI 826 is on standby at the
Chopper carrying pilgrims to Badrinath makes emergency landing
A helicopter ferrying pilgrims to Badrinath shrine in Uttarakhand was briefly trapped in bad weather on Saturday and made an emergency landing at Gauchar, officials said.
Defence Minister to celebrate Diwali with troops in Arunachal
Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will celebrate Diwali with troops in forward areas of Dibang Valley in Arunanchal Pradesh, said a defence official on Saturday.
Two dead in Amazon.com warehouse's partial collapse in Baltimore - governor
(Reuters) - At least two people died in the partial collapse of an Amazon.com Inc distribution warehouse in Baltimore caused by severe weather, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan and the company said on Saturday.
Crashed Indonesian plane's fuselage found, missing black box heard
Divers searching for wreckage belonging to Lion Air flight have found the fuselage of the crashed airliner and said they heard a signal from its missing cockpit voice recorder, the head of Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency said on Saturday.
3 killed, 1 injured as bikes collide in HP
Three people were killed and one person was injured when two motorcycles collided-head on in Jawalamukhi sub-division of Himachal Pradesh's Kangra district Saturday evening, police said. The accident occurred in Purtiyala village at 4.05 pm, they said. Two people died on the spot, whereas the third person succumbed to injuries at a hospital here.