Page 583 - Disaster Accident
Death toll in Italy bridge collapse rises to 37
The death toll in the collapse of a bridge in the Italian city of Genoa rose to 37 even as rescuers continue to search for possible survivors, Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said on Wednesday.
Express train hits cement mixture machine left on track
The Chennai-Howrah Coromandel Express today rammed into a cement mixture machine left on the track at a manned level crossing near Balasore station, a railway official said. No one was, however, injured and train services on the busy route under South Eastern Railway remained unaffected, the official said. Some workers pulling the machine manually had left it on the track and fled after the gateman downed the level crossing bar to let the train pass. Soon after, the train approached the gate and dashed against the machine, the official said. The train was detained for sometime at Balasore station for inspection by engineers to ascertain whether any damage had been caused to its engine. After a short while, the train was given green signal to proceed. The railway engineers also inspected the accident site and cleared the spot, the official said.
Country standing with all its might to help people facing flood fury: PM
In the wake of severe floods in Kerala and other parts of the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said the entire country is standing with all its might to help people who have lost their kin and faced hardships due to the calamity. Heavy rains battered north India yesterday leading to flash floods in Jammu and Kashmir, killing four people, even as the death toll in Himachal Pradesh reached 19. Landslides have also been reported in several areas in Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir. At the same time, the death toll in Kerala has risen to 44 as there is no let up in the rains and the operations of the Kochi airport have been suspended till Saturday. "These days, we are hearing news of rains from different parts of the country. At the same time, there is also news of floods," Modi said during his last Independence Day speech before Lok Sabha elections from the Red Fort. "Due to excess rainfall floods, families, who have lost their closed ones and had to go through hardships, the
Rain fury in Kerala: Kochi airport shut till Saturday, 12 districts on red alert
Rain fury today continued unabated in Kerala, where 47 people have died so far, with the Kochi international airport announced shut till Saturday after water gushed inside the airport area and train services remained suspended in many parts of the state. A red alert has been sounded in 12 of the 14 districts. Operations at the Kochi airport have been suspended till August 18 and flights were being diverted to various airports. Airlines including IndiGo, Air India and SpiceJet have announced suspension of their operations to Kochi. "All flights to/fro Kochi, stand cancelled till Aug 16, 2018 due to runway unavailability owing to flood situation. For cancellations/rescheduling, please visit bit.ly/2ndGnZ8 We hope everything gets normal soon," IndiGo said in a tweet. Air India tweeted, "In view of suspension of operations at @KochiAirport, penalties on no-show, date/flight change or cancellations on all confirmed tickets to and from Cochin are waived off. Pax may contact #airindia ...
Cloudburst in J&K's Kupwara; 1 dead
One person was killed and several buildings and shops were damaged after a cloudburst struck the Karnah area in Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwara district, police said today. Satpal Singh, a resident of Miran Sahib in Jammu, was swept away in a flash flood after the cloudburst hit Kuchi Ban, in Karnah, yesterday, a police official said. He said the body of Singh, a tanker driver, was recovered later. Meanwhile, 80-year-old Mangta Awaan died of a cardiac arrest on hearing about the damages caused by the flash floods, the official said. Three government buildings, three houses and 10 shops were completely destroyed, while another 13 houses, five government buildings and 50 shops suffered partial damages.
Celebrate Independence Day by helping flood-hit: Pinarayi
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday urged people to contribute generously in the wake of the state's worst flood disaster in 94 years even as he took the Independence Day salute here in pouring rain.
IMD issues red alert for several districts in Kerala
India Meteorological Department has issued red alert (heavy to very heavy rainfall in most places) for Wayanad, Kozhikode, Kannur, Kasargode, Malappuram, Palakkad, Idukki and Ernakulam Districts in Kerala until Thursday.Kochi airport will also remain shut until August 18, 2 pm due to the incessant rainfall in the state.The heavy rainfall has claimed the lives of as many as 39 people. On Tuesday, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had informed that as per the preliminary report, the total damage due to floods in the state is estimated to be worth Rs 8316 crore.Vijayan requested for an additional Rs 400 crore from the Home Ministry to carry out immediate relief and rehabilitation work in the state.The state government had also requested the Centre to declare the calamity a 'rare severity' and provide the required funds and assistance within four weeks.Earlier on Sunday, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, after meeting flood victims in Kerala and taking an aerial overview of the ...
Search for survivors after deadly Italy bridge collapse
Italian rescuers searched through the night for any survivors under the shattered remains of a motorway bridge in Genoa as investigators probed what could have caused such a catastrophic collapse. More than 30 people were killed on Tuesday when a vast span of the Morandi bridge collapsed during a heavy rainstorm, sending about 35 cars and several trucks plunging 45-metres (150 feet) onto railway tracks below. Rescuers spent the night within the tangled remains of the bridge under floodlights and there are fears the toll could rise in what the Italian government has called an "immense tragedy". The collapse came as the bridge was undergoing maintenance work and as the Liguria region, where Genoa is situated, experienced torrential rainfall. "Unfortunately there are around 30 dead and many injured in a serious condition," Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said on Wednesday, vowing that those responsible would "pay, pay everything, and pay dearly". On Wednesday morning, sources in the ...
ISRO to send Indian into space by 2022
State-run Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will fly an Indian astronaut into space for the first time by 2022, an official said on Wednesday.
No let up in torrential rains in Kerala, Kochi airport shut
The death toll in Kerala has risen to 44 as there is no let up in heavy rains and the operations of the Kochi airport have been suspended till Saturday. Flights are being diverted to other airports as the state has been battered by torrential rains since August 8. In Munnar, a man hailing from neighbouring Tamil Nadu was killed and six persons were rescued after a mound of earth fell on a hotel last evening, official sources said. In a similar incident in Kondotty, a heavy mound of earth fell onto a concrete house at 1 am today, claiming a couple's lives. A search is on for their six-year-old child who was asleep in the same room with them, district authorities said. A fisherman was electrocuted in Thrissur as he came in touch with a snapped electric wire. Kochi airport operations have been temporarily suspended till Saturday 2 pm since the inflow of water is still on a rising trend, a Kochi airport spokesperson said. "We are working hard to drain out the storm water. All are ...
Heavy rains hit Kerala, Cochin airport shut
Heavy rains again hit Kerala on Wednesday killing four more people and taking the death toll to 43 since August 8.
3 killed in Pakistan I-Day celebrations
At least three people were killed and over 45 injured in different incidents of aerial firing and firework displays during Independence Day celebrations in Pakistan on Tuesday, the media reported on Wednesday.
Cochin Airport suspends operations till afternoon
Cochin International Airport today suspended all flight operations till 2 pm as water level has increased in the airport area following continuous rains and the opening of dam shutters in Periyar river. The decision to suspend the operations was taken after shutters of the Idamalayar and Cheruthoni dams, part of Idukki reservoir, were opened last evening to release excess water. The airport is situated near the Periyar river bank. "Operations suspended to/from Cochin International Airport till 1400 hrs...due to flood level in and around Airport," an airport spokesperson said this morning. The Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL), which decided to suspend the arrival operations at 4 am to 7 am today as a precautionary measure, took the decision to shut the airport till afternoon after reviewing the situation. The arrival operations at the airport were suspended for two hours on August 9 in view of possible inundation in the airport area. The operations were resumed later ...
22 killed in bus crash in Ecuador
Twenty-two people were killed and 18 others injured on Tuesday when a bus overturned on a mountain road near Quito, officials said.
Bus crash in Ecuador kills 24 people, injures 19
At least 24 people were killed and another 19 injured when a bus careened into another vehicle at high speed and overturned on a highway near Ecuador's capital, officials reported. The Colombian-registered bus was travelling to Quito when it hit a smaller vehicle in an area known as dead man's curve yesterday, Ecuadorean authorities said. Col Wilson Pavon, head of Ecuador's transit police, said the majority of the passengers aboard were Colombians, but that Venezuelans were also among the dead. Three people, including two minors travelling in the smaller vehicle were also killed. A small fleet of ambulances and first responders rushed to the crash site about two hours from Quito before dawn. They found the severely wrecked bus overturned and several homes adjacent to the highway damaged and strewn with metal debris. It's the second highway tragedy in less than three days in Ecuador. On Sunday, 12 people were killed and another 30 injured when a bus carrying fans of the Ecuadorean ...
At least 35 killed after bridge collapses in Italy
A section of Morandi motorway bridge collapsed in the Italian city of Genoa on Tuesday, killing at least 35 people.Angelo Borrelli, head of the Italian Civil Protection Agency, confirmed that other 13 people were injured in the incident, with the number of casualties expected to grow further.Borrelli further revealed that around 30 vehicles and many heavy-duty trucks were present when the Morandi Bridge--located in the west of the port city of Genoa--collapsed."Around 30 vehicles and several heavy-duty trucks were on the affected section of the Morandi Bridge, which lies to the west of the port city of Genoa, when it gave way," CNN quoted Borrelli, as saying.However, the police reported that the violent storms were partly to blame for the disaster. They also said that maintenance work was underway to consolidate parts of the bridge.The motorway bridge, which was opened in 1968, believed to be a major highway for residents and tourists in the city of Genoa.
10 killed in nursing home fire in Chile
At least 10 elderly women died early on Tuesday in a fire at a nursing home in the Chilean town of Chiguayante, officials said.
Evacuation of 5,000 persons begins as Kerala dams' level rises
With increased water flow into the Idamalayar and Idukki dams in Kerala late Tuesday night due to incessant rains, authorities began to evacuate about 5,000 persons living in and around the two reservoirs, a police official said.
30 dead in Italy motorway bridge collapse 'tragedy'
About 30 people were killed today when a giant motorway bridge collapsed in heavy rain in the Italian city of Genoa in what the government called an "immense tragedy". The collapse, which saw a vast stretch of the A10 freeway tumble on to railway lines in the northern port city, came as the bridge was undergoing maintenance work and as the Liguria region, where Genoa is situated, experienced torrential rainfall. "Unfortunately there are around 30 dead and many injured in a serious condition," Interior Minister Matteo Salvini told reporters. Rescuers scouring through the wreckage, strewn among shrubland and train tracks, said there were "dozens" of victims, as rescue helicopters winched survivors on stretchers from the ruined bridge. Cars and trucks were tangled in the rubble and nearby buildings damaged by vast chunks of concrete, according to an AFP photographer at the scene. The incident -- the deadliest of its kind in Europe since 2001 -- is the latest in a string of bridge ...
Rain fury in north India, toll reaches 19 in Himachal
Heavy rains lashed north India leading to flash floods in Jammu and Kashmir, where four people were killed, even as the death toll in Himachal Pradesh reached 19. Landslides were reported in several areas in Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir. A five-year-old boy drowned in Himachal Pradesh's Kangra district this morning, taking the death toll to 19 in the last two days, an official said. The highest casualty was in Solan district (eight), followed by Mandi district (four), three in Kangra district, two in Hamirpur district and one each in Bilaspur and Una districts. Four people were killed in flash floods and three others suffered injuries following unabated rains in Jammu region. Over two dozen houses and scores of vehicles were damaged by the gushing waters. While two persons died in Udhampur district two others were injured -- one person each died in Jammu and Poonch districts -- since yesterday, they said. As per reports two dozens houses and structures suffered damaged due to ...