Page 397 - Disaster Accident
Soyuz launch failure due to 'deformation' during assembly: Russian official
A Russian rocket that carried two people to space last month failed and sent the craft back to Earth because of "deformation" of a part that was made during assembly at the cosmodrome, a space official said Thursday. "The cause of a non-standard separation (of the rocket's second stage)" was a "deformation" of a part during assembly at the Baikonur cosmodrome, said Oleg Skorobogatov who headed the Russian commission probing the accident. He said this caused a booster rocket from the first stage to malfunction and hit a fuel tank which "led to the loss of stabilisation" and triggered an emergency landing. The Russian-American crew of two had to withstand a ballistic descent back to Kazakhstan on October 11, but both emerged from their landing craft safe and sound. Executive director of Russia's Roscosmos space agency Sergei Krikalyov said Wednesday that the root of the problem was a sensor that indicated the separation of the first two stages of the Soyuz rocket. Skorobogatov, who ...
Major fire at chemical factory in Jaipur, owner injured
A major fire broke out at a chemical factory on Thursday in Vishwakarma industrial area here, injuring the owner and leaving goods worth lakhs of rupees gutted, a Fire Department official said. A dozen fire tenders were pressed into service to douse the flames, Chief Fire Officer Jagdish Phulwari said. He suspected that the fire spread due to a blast in drums filled with liquid chemicals. The factory's owner has been identified as Mukesh Agarwal. The exact cause of the fire was not yet known, the official said.
Trapped in well sludge, five drown in Maharashtra
Five persons including three cleaners and two firemen who went on a rescue mission drowned after they got stuck in accumulated sludge in a well in Kalyan town here on Thursday, police said.
Over 7 million Yemeni children face 'serious' famine threat: UN
Over seven million children face a serious threat of famine in Yemen and ending the country's war will not save all of them, the UN children's agency said. "Today, 1.8 million children under the age of five are facing acute malnutrition, and 400,000 are affected by severe acute malnutrition," said Geert Cappelaere, regional director of UNICEF. "More than half" of the 14 million people at serious risk of famine in the impoverished country are children, Cappelaere told AFP late on Wednesday. "Ending the war is not enough," he said, referring to a more than three year conflict that pits the government supported by a Saudi-led military coalition against Huthi rebels. "What we need is to stop the war and (to create) a government mechanism that puts at the centre the people and children. "The war is exacerbating the situation that was already bad before because of years of underdevelopment" in the Arab world's poorest nation, Cappelaere said. He welcomed a call by the UN on Wednesday to ...
Divers retrieve 1 black box of crashed Indonesian plane
Indonesian authorities on Thursday confirmed the recovery of one of the two black boxes of the Lion Air plane that crashed in the Java Sea earlier in the week, killing all 189 people on board.
Two firemen among five die in well
Five persons, including two fire brigade personnel on a rescue mission, died in a well Thursday apparently due to inhalation of toxic gas in Kalyan in neighbouring Thane district of Maharashtra, the police said. The firemen entered the well this afternoon after they were informed that three labourers got trapped inside it, a police official said. He said the well is located adjacent to a nullah whose water is contaminated with industrial effluent, in Netivali Lokgram area in Kalyan (East). As per preliminary information, the well was filled with some chemical waste that flowed from the nullah, the official said. He said the labourers had entered the well to remove blockage that was apparently caused by the accumulated chemicals. "However, as the labourers failed to return, the locals informed the fire brigade. Two firemen descended into the well to trace the labourers, but they also got trapped," the official said. A team of fire brigade officials rushed to the spot on .
Water tanker hits Qatar Airways aircraft at Kolkata airport, none hurt
A water bowser hit a stationary Qatar Airways aircraft at Kolkata airport early Thursday when passengers were boarding the plane, but no one was injured, an official said. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner was immediately grounded for assessing the damage caused by the impact, a spokesperson of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) said. At around 2.30 am, when passengers were boarding the plane, the water cart hit the belly of the Doha-bound flight, near the landing gear, she said. "All 101 passengers and 12 crew, including two pilots, of flight QR 540 have been provided accommodation at a nearby hotel. They will be taking the 3 am flight to Doha tomorrow (Friday)," the AAI official said. She said the bowser was meant to refill the water tanks of the aircraft's washrooms. Initial inspection suggests that the water cart had technical issues, the brake wasn't functioning properly, she said, adding that the damaged aircraft will be ready for operations after repair. Meanwhile, a source in the
Odisha govt declares drought in certain pockets of state's nine districts
The Odisha government has declared drought in certain pockets of nine districts of the state and authorised the collectors to undertake relief measures following the norm, officials said Thursday. As many as 5,633 villages of 66 Blocks and 16 urban local bodies (ULBs) of nine districts - Baragarh, Bolangir, Deogarh, Jharsuguda, Kalahandi, Nabarangpur, Nuapada, Sambalpur and Sundargarh have suffered crop loss of 33 per cent and above due to moisture stress, a notification issued by the Revenue and Disaster Management department on Wednesday night said. "Accordingly, the state government has declared drought of moderate and severe natures in these areas and authorised the collectors to undertake relief measures," Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) B P Sethi said. The State Drought Monitoring Cell (SDMC) has been monitoring the drought situation, while studying different parameters as prescribed in the Manual for Drought Management, 2016. The official said according to the analysis, there
One 'black box' recovered from crashed Indonesia jet
One black box from the crashed Lion Air jet has been recovered, the head of Indonesia's National Transportation Safety Committee said Thursday, which could be critical to establishing why the brand new plane fell out of the sky. The devices record information about the speed, altitude and direction of the plane as well as flight crew conversations and could hold vital clues to the cause of the deadly accident. "We found one of the black boxes," Soerjanto Tjahjono told AFP. It was not clear whether it was the flight data recorder or cockpit voice recorder. The Boeing-737 MAX 8, which went into service just a few months ago, plunged into the Java Sea off Indonesia's northern coast on Monday, killing 189 people, just 12 minutes after taking off from the capital Jakarta en route to Pangkal Pinang city. The single-aisle Boeing plane is one of the world's newest and most advanced commercial passenger jets. Images from the crash site showed two divers swim to a support vessel and place an ...
Bus crash in Turkey kills 2, wounds 31 including soldiers
Turkey's state-run news agency says a passenger bus has crashed into the back of a truck on a highway in northern Turkey, killing two people and wounding 31 others -- including several soldiers travelling to join their army units. Anadolu Agency says the accident occurred Thursday near the town of Tosya, in the Black Sea coastal province of Kastamanu. The bus driver and his assistant were killed at the scene. The private DHA news agency said the bus was travelling from Istanbul to the city of Samsun. None of the injured passengers was in serious condition. The cause of the accident, which temporarily shut down the highway, was under investigation.
Water released for parched Marathwada amid tight security
For the third time in six years, the drought-hit regions of Marathwada will receive water released from dams in Nashik and Ahmednagar districts in Maharashtra.
Odisha declares drought in 9 districts
The Odisha government on Thursday declared drought in nine districts of the state.
Woman rescued 6 days after bizarre US road crash
An American woman was rescued six days after a road accident in which her automobile plunged 50 feet and remained hanging from a tree near Wickenburg in Arizona, the Department of Public Safety (DPS) reported.
Qatar Airways plane damaged after hitting water tanker
More than 100 passengers on board a Qatar Airways flight had a narrow escape at the Kolkata's Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport after the plane hit a water tanker during its arrival from Doha.The incident took place at 01:52 am on Thursday when Qatar Airways flight number QR 540 had just landed.According to an airport official, belly of the aircraft was damaged in the accident. All passengers and crew members were safely evacuated.The official also added that a team of engineers is inspecting the air conditioning system of the aircraft to ascertain the intensity of the damage.The plane has been taken away to the cargo area for repair.
Water tanker hits aircraft at Kolkata airport, none hurt
More than 100 passengers were stranded at Kolkata airport early Thursday after a water tanker hit a Qatar Airways aircraft, which was preparing to take off for Doha. Around 2.30am, when passengers were boarding the plane, a water tanker hit the belly of the Doha-bound flight, near the landing gear, an official of Airports Authority of India (AAI) said. The plane was immediately grounded for inspection and the passengers were safely de-boarded, he said. No one was hurt in the accident, the official noted. "All 103 passengers of the flight have been provided accommodation at a nearby hotel. They will be taking the 3am flight to Doha tomorrow (Friday)," he said. Initial inspection suggests that the water tanker had technical issues, the brake wasn't functioning properly, the AAI official added. Meanwhile, a source in the DGCA said an inquiry has been initiated into the incident. "We will take corrective measures based on the inquiry report," he said.
Fire at plastic factory in Kerala doused
After nearly 12 hours, the massive fire that engulfed two buildings of a private plastic manufacturing unit at nearby Manvilla was doused early Thursday, police said. At least 50 fire tenders from the city, Kollam and Kanyakumari battled for hours to bring the blaze under control. According to sources in the factory, the two buildings were gutted in the fire. However, the workers managed to remove plastic chairs, buckets and other finished products from the factory. Kerala Fire and Rescue Services DGP A Hemachandran told reporters that a detailed probe would be conducted to ascertain the cause of the fire. Director General of Police (DGP) Loknath Behara has constituted a special investigation team to probe the incident. "We will investigate. A forensic probe will be held," he said. At least 120 employees were inside the unit when the flames were noticed. They managed to run out of the unit, averting a major tragedy. Two persons were rushed to the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College ...
Indonesia plane crash: Black box retrieved from sea
Indonesian authorities on Thursday said that the black box of the Lion Air Flight JT610 that crashed in the Java Sea on Monday, killing all 189 people on board, was retrieved by a diver.
One 'black box' recovered from crashed Indonesia jet: official
One black box from a crashed Lion Air jet has been recovered, the head of Indonesia's National Transportation Safety Committee said Thursday, which could be critical to establishing why the brand new plane fell out of the sky. "We found one of the black boxes," Soerjanto Tjahjono told AFP. "We don't know yet whether it's the FDR (flight data recorder) or CVR (cockpit voice recorder).
Indonesia plane crash: Flight recorders retrieved from sea
Indonesian investigators on Thursday said they found the flight data recorders from the Lion Air Flight JT610, a discovery that should help explain why the new Boeing 737 crashed on Monday, killing all 189 people on board.
Woman rescued 6 days after strange Arizona road accident
A woman was rescued six days after having a road accident in which her automobile plunged 50 feet and remained hanging in a tree near Wickenburg, Arizona, the state Department of Public Safety (DPS) reported.