Page 609 - Disaster Accident
Sunita Williams among 9 astronauts to fly into space from US soil
Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams is among the nine astronauts named by NASA on Friday for its first human spaceflight programme from the US soil since the retirement of the space shuttle in 2011.
Sunita Williams, 8 others to fly on Boeing, SpaceX spacecraft: NASA
Indian-origin US astronaut Sunita Williams is among the nine astronauts named by NASA today for its first human spaceflight programme since the retirement of the space shuttle in 2011. After years of vehicle development and building anticipation, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has now put the crew in commercial crew spacecraft. The space agency announced that the nine astronauts will launch on the first crewed test flights and missions of new commercial spacecraft built and operated by The Boeing Company and SpaceX. The eight active NASA astronauts and one former astronaut-turned-corporate crew member will launch on Boeing CST-100 Starliner and SpaceX Dragoncapsules to the International Space Station beginning in 2019. The missions will mark the first crewed launches from US soil since the end of the space shuttle programme seven years ago. In addition to naming the crews of the test flights, NASA also announced today the four astronauts who will fly aboard ..
Fire breaks out at Supreme Court judge Kurian Joseph's official residence
A fire broke out in Supreme Court judge Kurian Joseph's official residence in Lutyens' Delhi, police said today. A call was received about a fire at Joseph's bungalow around 10 pm yesterday and two firetenders were rushed to the spot, said a senior officer from the Delhi Fire Service, adding that it was doused within 25 minutes. Joseph's bungalow is located on Tughlak Road. The fire started in the prayer room, located next to the bedroom, a senior police officer said. A burning candle had fallen on a piece of cloth triggering the fire. After smoke was seen emanating from the room, the police and the fire department were alerted.
China to rebuild Nepal's 125-yr-old school damaged by 2015 quake
China has pledged to rebuild Nepal's 125-year-old first modern school that was completely damaged by the 2015 earthquake. Nepal was hit by a massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake in 2015 that left nearly, 9,000 people dead and as many as 22,000 injured. Minister for Education Giriraj Mani Pokharel and China's Ambassador Yu Hong today jointly laid the foundation stone for the reconstruction of Durbar High School built in 1892. The oldest modern school in Nepal is situated at Rani Pokhari in the heart of Kathmandu. Earlier, an agreement was reached between Nepal's Ministry of Finance and Commerce Ministry of China for rebuilding the school. Pokharel expressed hope that the school would be rebuilt soon making intact its traditional design. Yu said two of the 25 post-earthquake reconstruction projects undertaken by China have been completed, and 17 others are under progress.
Fire breaks out at SC judge Kurian Joseph's official residence
A fire broke out at Supreme Court judge Kurian Joseph's official residence in Lutyens' Delhi, the police said today. A call was received about a fire at Joseph's bungalow around 10 pm yesterday and two firetenders were rushed to the spot, a senior Delhi Fire Service officer said, adding that it was doused within 25 minutes. Joseph's bungalow is located on Tughlak Road. The fire started in the prayer room, which is located next to the bedroom, said a senior police officer. A burning candle had fallen on a piece of cloth triggering the fire. After smoke was seen emanating from the room, the police and the fire department were alerted.
Man 'jumps' in front of moving train at Mandi House metro station, dies of injury
A man died of grievous injuries after he allegedly jumped in front of a moving train at Mandi House metro station here today, officials said today. The incident occurred around 7:35 pm following which the man, identified as Vinod Kumar Pathak, was rushed to RML Hospital where he was declared brought dead, hospital sources said. The victim, in his 50s, hailed from Varanasi. Police said they were also probing if the man slipped off the platform and fell on to the tracks. He was brought to RML Hospital around 8:25 pm with grievous injuries. His head was injured too. The victim was declared brought dead. His body has been sent for post-mortem, they said. The train was coming from Yamuna Bank station and going towards Dwarka side. A PCR call was received around 7:30 pm about the incident, a senior police official said. "He allegedly jumped in front of an approaching train at Mandi House metro station," a senior DMRC official said. The hospital sources said the exact cause of the injury ...
Sunita Williams among 9 astronauts named by NASA for human spaceflight
Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams is among the nine astronauts named by NASA on Friday for its first human spaceflight programme since the retirement of the space shuttle in 2011.
Four of family die in fire mishap in Guj's Dahod
Four members of a family were killed in a fire which broke out when one of the deceased was pouring kerosene from a canister into a lighted lamp in Dahod in Gujarat, police said today. Police identified the four as Kashuben Bhuriya (45), her mother-in-law Kaliben Bhuriya and her six-year-old granddaughters Hira and Mahindra. An accidental death report taken at Jesawada police station said the fire started when Kashuben was pouring kerosene from a canister into a lighted lamp outside her house in Khajuria village yesterday night. The fire engulfed three others, all of whom were sleeping, and they died by the time local police and fire brigade personnel arrived at the scene, an official said.
Mumbai BJP leader writes to Goyal over bad food in Garib Rath Express
A BJP office-bearer along with passengers of Garib Rath Express has written to Railways Minister Piyush Goyal about the bad food served on the train. Karan Raj Singh, social media head of South Mumbai BJP unit, said he had boarded the Delhi-bound train with another worker as part of a social audit programme of the saffron party to check the quality of food in trains after they received complaints about the same from passengers earlier. But Singh had to face his co-passengers' ire as they expressed their anger against the railways minister and the BJP government over the bad food served in the train. "We had received complaints about bad food being served on board the Garib Rath Express in its AC chair cars. As part of our programme, we decided to check the same. When we were served the food, we saw insects in them and a bad smell was emanating from it," the BJP office-bearer told PTI. "Most passengers were served this kind of food and we told them that they should protest because only
Assam CM reviews flood situation
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal today reviewed the flood situation in the state and asked the Revenue and Disaster Management department to come up with innovative steps like constructing high-rise structure to give succour to the people who suffer from perennial flood. The flood situation improved in the state today as deluge waters receded from Udalguri, Barpeta and Biswanath districts, the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said. According to ASDMA flood waters receded from the three districts but entered Darrang district today taking the total number of deluge affected districts to six and the number of people affected to 87,742. The death toll in the deluge stood at 41 as no new death was reported today, it said. Reviewing the second wave of flood under which six districts of the state are reeling, the chief minister said that capacity should be built through permanent structures to save the people of the state from the annual floods. The ...
Mumbai-Dubai AI flight delayed for 10 hrs
About 150 passengers of an Air India flight from Mumbai to Dubai were left stranded at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai for 10 hours, triggering resentment and commotion. Flight AI 983 was due to depart at 8 pm yesterday, but a technical snag and the "flight duty time limitation" of the crew led to an inordinate delay. The plane finally left for Dubai at 6 am today, a spokesperson of the airline said. He added that while the technical fault was rectified, the plane was held back as the working hours of the crew had got exhausted by then. The passengers were agitated over the delay and complained that they were not informed about the departure timings by the airline staff. Some of them also complained about the quality of food served to the stranded passengers, a charge denied by the airline.
Second wave of floods hits Assam, 90,000 affected
Close to 90,000 people have been hit in Assam as a second wave of floods ravaged the state, affecting 153 villages in six districts including Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Darrang, Golaghat, Sivsagar and Charaideo.
Two women killed as train hits car at unmanned level crossing
Two women were killed and two men seriously injured today when their car collided with a passenger train engine at an unmanned level crossing, around 40 km from Vridhachalam railway station, railway sources here said. The incident took place between Pukkiravari and Mukhasaparur railway stations. Southern Railways said it has appointed 'Gate Mitras' for all the unmanned level gates over Salem division. 'Gate Mitra' N Arumugam alerted the car driver about the train arrival but the driver "has not heeded to it," a railways release said. 'Gate Mitra' is an initiative of the Ministry of Railways to enhance safety and prevent accidents at unmanned level crossing gates. The person engaged as 'gate mitra' would alert road-users about approaching trains at unmanned level crossings. The train was proceeding from Salem to Vridhachalam. While one of the injured was admitted at Govrnment General Hospital - Kallakurichi, the other was admitted at Government General ...
7 drown, 1 missing as fishing boat capsizes in West Bengal
Seven persons were killed and one went missing when a fishing boat capsized after hitting a sand dune on the Hooghly river in South 24 Parganas district today, a state disaster management department official said. Most of the people who died were fishermen, the official said. The boat "FB Paromita" capsized when it hit a sand dune while crossing the Hooghly river, he said. The bodies of the seven persons have been rescued while one is still missing, he said adding that search for the missing fisherman is still on.
MP: Six die after speeding truck ploughs into roadside eatery
The owner of a roadside eatery, his two children, and three others were killed today in Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara district after a speeding truck crashed into the eatery, police said. Amarwada police station in charge Sumer Singh Jaget said that the accident happened after the driver lost control of the truck near Salaiya area, some 75 kilometres from here. Eatery owner Shivnandan Daheria (45), his son Raja (15) and daughter Karishma (12) were killed and Daheria's wife, and two others, were seriously injured and are undergoing treatment, Jaget said. "The accident also killed three others identified as Satish, Noor Khan and Sanju Khan," he said. The driver fled from the spot and efforts were on to nab him, the official said.
Jet Airways flight from Riyadh skids off runway; passengers safe
Nearly 150 people on board a Mumbai-bound Jet Airways flight from Riyadh escaped unhurt after the aircraft went off the runway following an aborted take-off from there today, the airline said. All passengers were evacuated safely and no injuries were reported, the airline said in a tweet, adding, the exact cause of the incident is under investigation. "Our flight 9W523 with 142 guests and 7 crew members from Riyadh to Mumbai of 3rd August aborted takeoff and departed the runway at Riyadh Airport. All our guests and crew have been evacuated safely with no reported injuries," the airline . An official of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation here said the pilots aborted take off after they were informed about a "barrier" in the runway. The aircraft was taxing at 100 knot. It veered off the runway due to sudden stopping, the official said. "Currently the event involving flight 9W 523 is being investigated by local regulatory authorities and our teams are providing full co-operation ..
Truck driver shot dead in Jharkhand
A truck driver was shot dead and the vehicle set on fire by CPI (Maoists) during a 'Jharkhand Bandh' called by it to protest against alleged police atrocities, a senior officer said today. The group intercepted the truck and shot the driver last night before the vehicle was set ablaze near Aramajhi village on Khunti-Tamar road under Saiko police station of the district, SP Ashwini Kumar Sinha said. The bandh evoked a mixed response, as shops and business establishments remained open but long-distance buses and commercial vehicles were off the roads, officials said, adding, transportation of bauxite was affected.
Chandigarh gets first all-women cab service
With women safety becoming a serious concern, a city start-up on Friday announced the first of its kind e-cab service in tri-city of Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali.
Donate generously for flood relief, says Kerala CM
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan today termed the flood situation in the state the gravest in recent times and appealed to all to donate generously for taking up relief measures. Besides causing loss to property and agriculture, the recent floods following the monsoon fury have claimed more than 130 lives, the Chief Minister said in a Facebook post. Alappuzha district was the worst-hit and floodwater has not yet receded from Kuttanad in the district, he said. The state government was doing everything to help the rain-hit victims without considering financial constraints, he said. Several people have come forward to help the government in its relief work without seeking anything in return, he said, adding that support and co-operation of all were needed. A total of 5,510 people from 1,276 families was still in 42 relief camps in Alappuzha district, officials said. The government machinery was closely monitoring the water-level in the Idukki reservoir, which stood at .
UP minister mulls policy to avert building collapse incidents
After several buildings collapsed in Uttar Pradesh's Lucknow on Friday following heavy rainfall, state cabinet minister Rita Bahuguna Joshi said that a policy would be formulated to contain such incidents"We will have to formulate a policy so that such incidents do not happen in future," Joshi, who visited the incident spot, said.She also announced an ex-gratia for the victims and said, "Families of deceased will get Rs 4 lakhs by tonight and injured will be given Rs 50,000 and their treatment will be done for free."Earlier in the day, a three-storey building collapsed in Ganeshganj area of Lucknow, leaving one person dead and another injured.Three similar incidents of building collapse were also reported in Aminabad and Udaiganj and Lalkuan area following heavy rainfall.Scores of people have died in the region in the past one month due to heavy downpour. The death toll in rain-related incidents has reached 154 since last week, while the total number of people who have sustained ...