Page 52 - Disaster Accident
Nearly half of rural Afghans face food insecurity: UN
Nearly half of all rural Afghans now face some level of food insecurity, a UN agency said Monday, as a historic drought and deteriorating security grip Afghanistan. Described by some locals as the worst in a lifetime, Afghanistan's drought had a devastating effect on rural populations last year, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in an overview of Afghanistan aid operations in 2018. "With crops failing and limited water supplies, as well as increased malnutrition and illness, hundreds of thousands of people left their homes to seek help near major cities," OCHA said. The misery was only compounded this spring when rains finally did come, as downpours led to deadly flooding in provinces across the country. OCHA found that the number of people in need of some form of food assistance in Afghanistan rose from 3.3 million at the start of last year to a projected current level of 13.5 million -- or 47 per cent of the population -- as of February ...
IAF An-32 goes missing in northeast, no trace of wreckage (Fourth Lead)
An Indian Air Force (IAF) An-32 transporter with 13 people on board went missing while flying from Assam to Arunachal Pradesh on Monday but there was no trace of the plane or its wreckage despite many hours of search.
IAF aircraft goes missing with 13 on board (Third Lead)
An Indian Air Force (IAF) An-32 transporter with 13 people on board went missing while flying from Assam to Arunachal Pradesh on Monday but there was no trace of the plane despite many hours of search.
AN-32 aircraft with 13 on board missing; IAF says no wreckage sighted
A Russian-origin AN-32 transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force with 13 people on board went missing Monday afternoon around 33 minutes after taking off from Jorhat in Assam for Arunachal's Menchuka near the border with China, officials said. The IAF said the aircraft took off from Jorhat 12.27 pm for the Menchuka advance landing ground in Shi-Yomi district in Arunachal Pradesh, and its last contact with the ground control was at 1 pm. "Some ground reports were received on possible location of a crash site. Helicopters were routed to the location, however, no wreckage has been sighted so far," the IAF said in a statement. It said a total of eight aircrew and five passengers were onboard the aircraft and that the IAF is coordinating with Indian Army as well as various government and civil agencies to locate the missing aircraft. The IAF has deployed C-130J and AN-32 aircraft besides two Mi-17 choppers while the Indian Army has pressed into service advance light helicopters to locate .
One dies in cloudburst in Uttarakhand
One person died while another went missing after a cloud burst hit areas close to Almora and Chamoli districts here on Sunday.Tripti Bhatt, Commandant of State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF), told ANI, "Based on the information received, a team of SDRF and district police has rushed to the spot. The body of an old man has been retrieved from the spot."Following the inclement weather condition, one person is said to be missing from the area and search operation is underway, she added.Earlier today, an alert was issued in Almora district with the water levels in the Ramganga river rising after the cloud burst.In Kheeda village of the district, water flooded many houses due to continuous rain in the area. Besides, many cow-shelters have reportedly been affected and loss to livestock occurred due to sudden rain.SDRF teams are keeping a watch on the situation.
Massive safety breach: 'Hole' detected in Air India aircraft
New Delhi [India], June 3 (ANI): A massive security lapse was detected on an Air India flight after a gaping hole was found in the aircraft carrying around 225 passengers. The flight was cordoned off as soon as it landed in San Francisco.The flight, AI-183, had taken off from New Delhi on Sunday and the route is considered as one of the world's longest.Air India has begun an internal investigation into the incident."Boeing B777 aircraft, VT-ALH arrived in SFO on AI 183. During walk around inspection on arrival, a small cut/crack on bottom right corner of left side to entry door. Air India is trying to get help from the local Aircraft Maintenance Repair Agencies for the repair, failing which men and material would be sent from India," Air India spokesperson Dhananjay Kumar told ANI.Sources in Air India said that "crew members of the aircraft are to be questioned regarding the massive safety lapses.
Electricity supply still to fully resume in cyclone-hit Odisha areas
Even a month after Cyclone Fani that ravaged coastal Odisha, basic services like electricity are yet to be fully restored in several areas.
14 killed, 8 injured in van-truck collision in Pak's Balochistan province
Fourteen people, including five children, were killed and eight others injured on Monday when a van carrying passengers collided with a truck in Pakistan's Balochistan province, police said. "Both the vehicles were over-speeding and the drivers lost control over them and they collided," senior police official Murad Jamali said. The incident happened at Alikhail area of Qila Abdullah district in Balochistan province. The van was en route to Zhob from Quetta "As many as 14 people died in the accident," Jamali said, adding that those killed included five children and a woman. Five members of a family are also among in the deceased, he said. The eight injured have been shifted to the civil hospital in Quetta, he said. Police have cordoned off the area and further investigation into the matter was underway. Road accidents are common in the province. Most of the mishaps are caused due to reckless driving and bad roads. Earlier in April, 12 people were killed and 17 others injured when a ...
Fire breaks out in the laundry room of a plush hotel in west Delhi
A fire broke out in the laundry room of a plush hotel in west Delhi's Janakpuri, officials of the Delhi Fire Service (DFS) said Monday. No injury or casualty was reported, they said. The fire department said they received a call about the blaze at 6.34 am after which six fire tenders were rushed to the spot. "The fire broke out in the laundry room situated on the second floor of the Piccadily hotel. The fire was brought under control by 6.55 am," a senior fire official said.
Former Arsenal player Reyes laid to rest in Spain after car crash
Hundreds of mourners attended the funeral in Spain on Monday of former Real Madrid and Arsenal forward Jose Antonio Reyes, who was killed in a weekend car crash. Reyes' coffin, drapped in the flag of his boyhood club Sevilla, was carried through the streets of his hometown of Utrera before the funeral service at a local church. The 35-year-old former Spanish international died Saturday in an accident on the main road from Sevilla to Utrera. The crash and resultant fireball also claimed the life of one of his cousins while another passenger was still in hospital Monday, according to police. Images from the scene of the crash show the burnt-out car flipped on its roof. Daily newspaper Diario de Sevilla reported Reyes was driving over 200 kilometres (125 miles) per hour at the time of the accident while sports daily Mundo Deportivo, citing a police report, said he was going at 237 kilometres per hour. Contacted by AFP, a spokesman for Spain's Guardia Civil police force which is ...
Railway staff rewarded for averting major fire on goods train
A railway employee was Monday rewarded for timely detection of hot axle in a goods train thereby averting a major fire. L S Asokan, a pointsman, detected the brake binding in the train passing through Samalpatti and carrying coal to Mettur dam on May 26 and informed the station superintendemnt of Samalpatti. On reaching the next station at Dasampatti, the guard and the loco pilot of the train found the hot axle in the 13th wagon from the engine and immediately detached the wagon for further examination. A hot axle may lead to fire due to friction, a press release from the railways said. Appreciating the efforts of the pointsman, divisional railway manager U Subba Rao handed over Rs 1,000 in cash along with a certificate of appreciation acknowledging Asokans exemplary dedication, the release said.
IAF An-32 aircraft carrying 13 missing; Rajnath Singh apprised of situation
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday talked to Vice Chief of the Indian Air Force (IAF), Air Marshal Rakesh Singh Bhadauria regarding the missing IAF An-32 aircraft. Singh was apprised of the situation and the steps taken by the IAF to find the missing aircraft."Spoke to Vice Chief of @IAF_MCC, Air Marshal Rakesh Singh Bhadauria regarding the missing IAF AN-32 Aircraft which is overdue for some hours," Singh tweeted."He has apprised me of the steps taken by the IAF to find the missing aircraft. I pray for the safety of all passengers on board," he added.An Indian Air Force An-32 transport aircraft with 13 personnel including seven officers and six air warriors on board went missing on Monday afternoon in Arunachal Pradesh after getting air-borne from Assam's Jorhat.The aircraft took off from Jorhat at 1225 hours and was headed for Menchuka Advance Landing Ground (ALG) in Arunachal Pradesh. The last contact between the aircraft and ground agencies took place at 1300 hours.Indian ...
IAF aircraft with 13 on board missing
An An-32 aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) with 13 people on board went missing in Aruanchal Pradesh on Monday after taking off from Assam, an IAF official said.
5 injured in Venice as cruise ship slams into tourist boat
A towering, out-of-control cruise ship rammed into a dock and a tourist riverboat on a busy Venice canal on Sunday morning, injuring five people, officials said. The collision sparked new calls for placing restrictions on cruise ships in the famed city. The crash happened about 8:30 am (0630 GMT) on the Giudecca Canal, a major thoroughfare that leads to St. Mark's Square in the northeastern Italian city. The MSC Opera cruise ship, apparently unable to stop, blared its horn as it slammed into the much smaller River Countess boat and the dock as dozens of people ran away in panic. In videos of the crash, people were seen rushing to disembark from the moored riverboat over a short gangplank, and at least two people were left caught on the walkway as the vessel was dislodged from the pier. Elisabetta Pasqualin was watering plants on her terrace when she heard warning sirens and stepped out to see the crash. "There was this huge ship in a diagonal position in the Giudecca Canal, with a ...
IAF aircraft with 13 on board missing after take-off from Assam
An Indian Air Force transport aircraft with 13 personnel on board has gone missing in Arunachal Pradesh after it took-off from Assam's Jorhat on Monday afternoon.The aircraft took off from Jorhat at 12.25 pm and was headed for Menchuka Advance Landing Ground (ALG) in Arunachal Pradesh. The last contact between the aircraft and ground agencies took place at 1 pm.Seven Air Force officers and six air warriors were on board the Antonov An-32.Indian Air Force has deployed all available resources, including Sukhoi-30 combat aircraft and C-130 Special Operations aircraft, on a search mission for locating the missing aircraft.The IAF has also launched ground troops for search operations.The Soviet-era aircraft was inducted into the Air Force in the 1980s and has been undergoing upgrades. The missing plane is not part of the upgraded An-32 fleet of the Air Force.Three years ago, on July 22, 2016, an An-32 aircraft of the IAF had gone missing in the air with 29 people on board. The aircraft was
AN-32 plane with 13 people goes missing
An AN-32 aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) with 13 people on board went missing on Monday after taking off from Jorhat in Assam.
Odisha: 8 die, 6 injured due to thunderstorm, lightning
As many as eight people died and six injured due to thunderstorm and lightning in different parts of Odisha during the intervening night of Sunday and Monday.Two deaths have been reported each from Koraput, Kendujhar, Jajpur and Ganjam districts of the state.The six injured include three each from Koraput and Dhenkanal districts.Two women of a family and a child injured at P K Bhadra village in Narayan Patana block in Koraput.The India Meteorological Department had on Sunday issued warning on thunderstorm and lightning for 22 districts of the state.
6.0 earthquake jolts Indonesia, no casualty reported
An earthquake measuring 6.0 on the Richter Scale rattled Indonesia's western North Sumatra province on Monday.The quake strike at 12:57 pm with the epicenter at 30 km southwest of Nias Selatan and the depth at 19 km under the sea bed, reported Xinhua.No casualty or damage to the property has been reported yet.An aftershock of 5.5 magnitude jolted the province seven-minutes after the main shock.Indonesia is highly susceptible to earthquakes and tsunamis as it lies in the highly seismic 'Ring of Fire', an area in the basin of the Pacific Ocean.In December 2004, a devastating 9.1 magnitude quake off the Sumatra island triggered strong tsunami waves in the Indian Ocean, killing over two lakh people in dozens of countries, including many in India and Sri Lanka.
People seek divine intervention for rains in Jammu
As the country faces severe heat wave with temperature soaring beyond 45 degree centigrade in many places, people have begun seeking divine intervention to bring rains here in Jammu. Jammu-based organisation Dogra Front-cum-local Shiv Sena chief Ashok Gupta conducted special prayers and 'yagna' at a temple here Monday to propitiate the 'rain gods'. He held special worship with various rituals and 'japa' to pacify Lord Indra to bring rains and provide the much-needed relief to the people from extreme heat wave here. This is not for the first time that people are seeking to invoke gods for rain by organising special prayers in temples in Jammu. The heat wave coupled with the power and water crises has made the life of the people across the country particularly in Jammu hell, Gupta told reporters after the prayers. "We organised prayers, special poja and japa to propitiate Lord Indra to bring rains in the country and give relief to the people. We are seeking blessings of Lord Indra," he .
3 killed in accident in Firozbad
Three persons were killed when their motorcycle collided with a pick-up van in the district on Monday, police said. The accident occurred on Noorpur road in Jasrana area, they said. Pradeep (35), Atul (40) and another unknown youth were going to Shikohabad on a motorcycle when the speeding van rammed into their vehicle, police said. The bodies have been sent for post-mortem and the pick-up van seized, they added.