Page 610 - Disaster Accident
Man burnt to death as Maoists torch vehicle
Maoist guerrillas set on fire a truck in Jharkhand's Khuti district on Friday, burning to death its driver, police said.
Flood waters recede from three Assam districts
The flood situation improved in Assam 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. Yesterday eight districts and over one lakh people were affected by the flood. Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said the flood waters have overrun 153 villages in six districts - Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Golaghat, Sivasagar, Charaideo and Darrang. At least 2,000 marooned people in Golaghat district have been rescued by the SDRF which pressed into service 14 boats. The ASDMA also said that the deluge has submerged 6972.38 hectare of crop area in the six districts with 4852.18 hectare of it in ...
Landslides destroy Army transit camp, cut off road links
Landslides, owing to incessant rain in the last couple of days, have left a trail of destruction in West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh, while an Army transit camp located at Sessa was totally damaged, official sources today said. However, there were no reports of any casualty. The stretch of Bhalukpong-Charduar-Tawang (BCT) Road has been the worst-affected with reports of landslides in several portions of the road, the sources said. The Kimi-Khupi road has also been badly hit. Bhalukpong Extra Assistant Commissioner (EAC) Tomo Riba said that a massive landslide on August 1 hit the Army transit camp at Sessa and its ration store, barrack, generation room and ammunition store were buried under the debris. As many as 22 jawans and a Junior Commanding Officer (JCO) had a narrow escape while one of them sustained minor injuries. Though the BCT road was closed, landslides blocked seven locations between Pinjoli Bridge Point and Sessa and the area has been totally cut ...
Relatives refuse to accept report on missing Malaysian plane
Relatives of Chinese passengers who were aboard missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 said today they refuse to accept the latest report on the plane's disappearance four years ago and demand the search be restarted. About 100 relatives gathered in Beijing to hear chief investigator Kok Soo Chon discuss the report prepared by a 19-member international team. It reiterated Malaysia's assertion that the plane was deliberately diverted and flown for over seven hours after severing communications. But it said the cause of the disappearance cannot be determined until the wreckage and the plane's black boxes are found. Some relatives held up banners and chanted that they would "never give up before seeing our next of kin." Chinese citizens made up 152 of the 227 passengers on board the March 8, 2014, flight from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Beijing. Twelve crew members were also on the plane. Jiang Hui, whose mother was aboard the flight, said she was unhappy with the report's methods. "As we ..
Four mowed down by truck in MP
Four persons were killed and two others seriously injured on Friday when a truck ran over them and ploughed into a roadside eatery in Chhindwara district of Madhya Pradesh, police said.
Boeing, SpaceX human spaceflight postponed to 2019: NASA
NASA has confirmed a delay in the first piloted flights of Boeing and SpaceX, part of NASA's Commercial Crew programme to send humans to the International Space Station (ISS) on private US spacecraft.
MHA has not exercised its power to shut telecom services under 2017 rules: Govt
Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has not exercised its power under the Temporary Suspension of Telecom Services Rules 2017 till date, Rajya Sabha was informed today. "MHA has informed that it has not exercised its power under the Temporary Suspension of Telecom Services (Public Emergency or Public Safety) Rules, 2017 till date," Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha said in a written reply in the House. He said Centre and States are authorised to temporarily possess or suspend telecom services in case of public emergency. "The Section 5 of Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 empowers Central and State Government, on occurrence of public emergency or in the interest of public safety, to take temporary possession of licensed telegraphs and to order interception or detention or non-transmission of messages," he said. He was replying to a question on suspension of internet services in the country. He said to streamline the process of temporary suspension of telecom services, the Department of Telecom (DoT) .
'Dynamic toll for road use may reduce traffic jams'
A toll system in which drivers would have to pay a fair, dynamic fee for the use of roads may help avoid traffic jams and protect the environment, scientists say. Traffic jams are not only annoying and time-consuming, they are also costly, said researchers from the University of Cologne in Germany. The economic damage caused by congested roads in 2017 in Germany totalled approximately 80 billion euros, they said. Fees that respond to traffic volumes in real time and with site precision, taking into account factors such as vehicle type and exhaust emissions, can significantly improve traffic flow and contribute to reducing air pollution. "Currently, road users who cause traffic jams, while damaging the environment and even incurring costs, are paying just as much as those who are not involved," said Axel Ockenfels from the University of Cologne. "Without a toll, this means that the general public is subsidising these road users. That is unfair," Ockenfels said. A toll for road use ...
Bangladesh capital hit by mass protests demanding safe roads
Dhaka remained largely cut off from the rest of Bangladesh on today, with local and long-distance buses staying off the roads after five days of protests by young people demanding safer streets. The protests, which began Sunday after two college students were struck and killed by a pair of buses, eventually paralyzed the capital of 7 million, with tens of thousands of demonstrators blocking roads. Students also stopped thousands of private vehicles including those of top officials and judges demanding to see if the cars were registered and the drivers licensed. One minister had to abandon his vehicle in the street after protesters found that his paperwork was not in order, according to news reports. There was no sign of mass protests Friday, the beginning of the country's weekend, but dozens of people formed a human chain in front of the main press club in Dhaka to call for transportation reform. "We must bring changes," said Selina Akter, a mother of two schoolchildren who joined ..
21 die in northern Nigeria boat capsize: emergency services
Twenty-one people were killed when their boat capsized in an area wracked by deadly attacks blamed on cattle thieves in northern Nigeria, the emergency services said today. The vessel carrying 50 passengers overturned in strong currents in a river in the Gandi district of Sokoto state around 10:00 am (0900 GMT) on Thursday, Suleiman Karim of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) told AFP. "Rescue teams recovered the bodies of 17 women and four children on board the overloaded boat which capsized due to strong waves," he said. He said the other 29 passengers were lucky to make it to the shore. The passengers were heading to Garin Kare village on the other side of the river to check on their homes, which they deserted following deadly raids last month by suspected cattle thieves on neighbouring villages. Thousands of the villagers fled to a makeshift camp in Gandi town after the bandits' attack, in which 32 people were killed and dozens of homes burnt. Boat capsizes are common
Suicide attack hits inside Shiite mosque in eastern Afghanistan: officials
A suicide attack struck a Shiite mosque in eastern Afghanistan targeting worshippers during Friday prayers, with officials warning there were several casualties in the latest incident against the minority. "A suicide blast took place inside a Shiite mosque in the city of Gardez of Paktia province. There are casualties from the blast, but we don't know how many for now," General Raz Mohammad Mandozai, provincial police chief of Paktia, told AFP.
Liquor shop shuts down after locals protest
A liquor shop had to down its shutters following protests by locals in a remote village in Rajasthan's Barmer district. The agitation was part of a movement by the villagers against "alcohol menace" following the death of three youngsters on July 10 who were riding a motorcycle in an inebriated state and collided with a school bus. The movement is being led by 75-year old Amolakh Das Bhambhu who in a public meeting on July 16, asked people, particularly the youth, to quit alcohol, the villagers said. He vowed to leave the village and never return if people didn't pay heed to his request. His appeal moved the locals who decided to demand the closure of the liquor shop. The menace of liquor is known to all. Three families lost their young boys in a road accident which was a very unfortunate incident therefore we unanimously decided to demand the closure of the liquor shop from, Laxman Kaga, a villager said. On their representation, the district administration initiated the process and ..
12 killed, 5 injured in rain-related incidents in UP
At least 12 people were killed and 5 others injured in overnight rain-related incidents in different parts of Uttar Pradesh, raising the death toll to 175 since July 1, officials said today. Two persons each were killed in Gonda, Banda and Kanpur Dehat, while one each died in Ambedkar Nagar, Shahjahanpur, Pilibhit, Mirzapur, Lucknow and Azamgarh, they said. The death toll has risen to 175 since July 1 in rain-related incidents in the state, the officials said, adding that 139 people were injured during this period. Most of the deaths occurred due to wall and house collapse, uprooting of trees, electrocution and caving in of land, they said.
Californians displaced by fire work, wait amid uncertainty
More than 20,000 evacuees still have not been allowed to return to neighbourhoods in burnt out Shasta County, home to the sixth most destructive wildfire in California history. For too many Californians, wildfire season has turned into a series of upheavals that starts with terror of approaching flames. That soon gives way to an anxious scramble for shelter, followed by tense days of waiting. Others continue working as they live out of hotels, relatives' homes or in sleeping bags at work. Robert Tierney Jr is among some three dozen employees and volunteers at Redding's Dignity Health Mercy Medical who are coming to work even though their homes were damaged or destroyed. He says he needs to pay bills and that he's grateful for a job.
3 killed as truck falls into gorge on JK highway
Three people were killed when a truck they were travelling in skidded off the road and rolled down a gorge on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway in Ramban district early today. The truck, which was headed for Jammu from Srinagar, met with the accident at around 4 am today in the Battery Chashma area along the highway, a police officer said. Three bodies were recovered in a search operation, he said, adding that all deceased were from Srinagar.
Woman, granddaughter killed in wall collapse
A woman and her granddaughter were killed when the wall of house collapsed on them after rainfall in Pipri village of Banda district, police said today. Kusum Sahu (50) and her 9-year-old granddaughter were trapped under the debris yesterday. After being pulled out, they were rushed to a hospital. They died during treatment, police said.
Typhoon Jongdari hits Shanghai
Typhoon Jongdari made landfall in Shanghai's coastal Jinshan district at around 10.30 a.m. on Friday, according to the National Meteorological Centre.
Jet flight shoots off runway at Riyadh, no casualties
A Jet Airways Riyadh-Mumbai flight departed the runway after an aborted take off early on Friday, an official said here.
Jet Airways flight aborts take-off at Riyadh Airport, departs runway
A Jet Airways flight from Riyadh to Mumbai departed the runway, following an aborted take-off at the Riyadh Airport in the wee hours of Friday.Taking to Twitter, Jet Airways confirmed that all passengers travelling in the flight 9W 523 have been safely evacuated."All 142 passengers and seven crew members who aboard the B737-800 aircraft have been safely evacuated with no reported injuries," the official statement said.Further regretting inconvenience caused to the passengers, Jet Airways wrote, "Guests have been accommodated inside the terminal building. Our teams present on location are assisting guests in every possible way. At Jet Airways safety is of paramount importance. The airline regrets the inconvenience caused. We will issue subsequent updates as more details are available.""All our guests and crew members of flight 9W 523 accommodated inside the terminal building at Riyadh Airport have been served meals and refreshments and our teams are taking care of their requirements," .
Jet flight overshoots runway in Riyadh, no casualties
A Jet Airways Riyadh-Mumbai flight overshot the runway while trying to take off on Friday, an official said here.