Page 627 - Disaster Accident
Window falls from US military copter near Tokyo
A window fell off a US military helicopter on Friday at a US base near Tokyo, Japanese Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera said.
Plea in HC seeks fixing of doors in suburban doors in Chennai
A petition has been filed in the Madras High Court today seeking a direction to fix doors on suburban and MRTS trains to ensure safety of commuters in the wake of the recent accident that claimed five lives at St Thomas Mount here. The public interest litigation (PIL) filed by K Sathish came up for hearing before a division bench comprising Justice M Venugopal and Justice Nirmal Kumar. The bench issued notice to the additional government pleader and the railways standing counsel to file a counter by August 7. The petitioner referred to the accident on July 24, in which five people were killed and 10 others injured while travelling on the footboard of a suburban train. He submitted that the railways was not taking any effort to prevent such accidents and sought fixing of doors on the compartments like the ones that the Metro Rail has.
Typhoon barrels towards flood-hit western Japan
A powerful typhoon is on track to batter parts of western Japan that were hit earlier this month by devastating flooding and landslides, Japanese officials warned today. Typhoon Jongdari is currently packing winds of nearly 200 kilometres (125 miles) an hour and is forecast to hit the country's main island tomorrow night, Japan's Meteorological Agency said. It is taking a relatively rare northwest course, which will put the disaster-hit areas directly in its crosshairs. Most typhoons that cross Japan track northeast. Authorities are warning of heavy rain, landslides, strong winds and high waves, and urging people to consider early evacuation. Today the storm was about 1,200 kilometres southwest of Tokyo, heading towards Chichijima Island, but it is expected to barrel towards the western Chugoku region by late tomorrow. The region was hit earlier this month by record rainfall that caused flooding and landslides, killing around 220 people. It was Japan's worst weather-related disaster ..
Train services affected in Asansol division
Train services in Asansol division of Eastern Railway (ER) were affected due to subsidence of land below railway tracks near Kulti station today following heavy rain, an ER statement said here. Earlier, the railways said a landslip at the edge of a minor road overbridge near Kulti station had affected the train services. Patrolmen of the railways noticed the subsidence this morning and immediately informed the higher authorities, the statement said adding that the incident occurred due to heavy rain for the last two days. Train services in the Up direction from Howrah and Sealdah via this route have been suspended after the incident, it said. Train movement is being maintained normally in the Down line. Restoration work of the tracks has started on war-footing and the tracks are expected to be fit for train movement by the evening, it said. Up trains scheduled to pass through Asansol-Dhanbad Section were run via diverted route. Important trains, including two Rajdhani ...
We should be ready to pay more for water in future: Parrikar
Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar today told the Legislative Assembly that tariff on drinking water in the state was "subsidised" and people should be ready to "pay more for it" in the future. He also informed the House that the state government had appointed a consultant to map the existing water supply and its report would be considered while laying new pipelines. He said that the government was in the process of augmenting water supply by 152 million litres per day (MLD) in the state. "The water provided to consumers is at a much subsidised rate. We get only Rs 150 crore from consumers annually while the actual expenditure is Rs 800-900 crore," he informed the House. "But in the future, we should be ready to pay more for it after providing some water, up to certain units, at a cheaper rate," the CM said. He was responding to a question on water supply tabled by Congress legislator Philip Neri Rodrigues during the monsoon session of the Assembly. He ruled out that ...
Boeing's Apache, Chinook helicopters for India complete inaugural flights
American defence major Boeing has carried out the first flights of the Apache and Chinook military helicopters and delivery to the Indian Air Force will commence next year, officials said today. India is procuring 22 AH-64E Apache attack choppers and 15 CH-47F(I) Chinook heavy-lift helicopters from Boeing. "First flight of India's Apache and Chinook helicopters are important milestones towards strengthening Indian armed forces capabilities," Boeing India President Pratyush Kumar said in a statement. Officials added that the delivery of the military helicopters are likely to begin next year. According to Kumar, India will receive the most advanced versions of both the AH-64E Apache and the CH-47F Chinook helicopters. "Indian industry partners such as Dynamatics are building large sections of Chinook, and the Tata Boeing joint venture in Hyderabad is building the complete fuselage of the Apache," he said in a statement. The government had finalised the contract for IAF's 22 Apaches and .
One killed, 6 injured in mortar blast along IB in Jammu
One person was killed and six injured as an old mortar exploded along the International Border (IB) in Arnia sector of Jammu district today, a police officer said. Some labourers were working in the fields of Jabowal border belt, when the blast took place, he told PTI. In the blast, one person was killed and six were injured, the officer said, adding the injured were hospitalised.
Yamuna flowing 16cm below danger mark
The water level in river Yamuna here has reached 203.84 metres and is expected to touch the warning mark by Saturday morning, an official said on Friday.
2 minors die in roof collapse
Two children, aged four and six, were killed and three others injured when the roof of a house collapsed after heavy rainfall in Uttar Pradesh's Meerut district, police said today. The incident happened late last night in Bhagwanpur village -- about 14 km from here -- when the duo were sleeping with their parents in a room of the house, a police official said. The deceased have been identified as Sumeya (6) and Amjad (4), the official added.
Several killed as rains continue in UP
Heavy rains battered Uttar Pradesh over the last 24-hours and claimed several lives, an official said on Friday.
Over 13K passengers stranded at Chinese airport
Thunderstorms early on Friday left around 13,000 passengers stranded at the Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport in China's Sichuan province.
Railways inducts 5 new track maintenance machines
The Indian Railways inducted five new track maintenance machines, which will completely mechanise the monitoring, relaying and maintenance of tracks for the safety of commuters."Inducted 5 new track maintenance machines which will completely mechanise the monitoring, relaying & maintenance of tracks for the safety of commuters," Union Railways Minister Piyush Goyal tweeted on Thursday.Indian Railways had earlier introduced a state-of-the-art integrated track maintenance technology by way of inducting thirteen 09-3X Dynamic Tamping Express machines.The new machines include three highly efficient Dynamic Track Temping Machines, one Ballast Cleaning Machine and one Points and Crossings Tamping Machine.Also, coaches have been refurbished indigenously at a cost of Rs. 18 lakh per coach for taking care of the accommodation needs of the staff of the track machines.Addressing a press conference at the event, Goyal, who flagged off the machines, reiterated that safety was the main priority
Rain hits life in Ghaziabad, other NCR towns of western UP
Heavy rains paralysed normal life in Ghaziabad and other National Capital Region (NCR) towns in western Uttar Pradesh. Vasundhara, Khoda and Greater Noida (West) were the worst hit localities in the city.
Water level in Yamuna likely to touch warning mark tomorrow
The water level in Yamuna river is likely to touch warning mark tomorrow with 1.31 lakh cusec water being released from Hathnikund Barrage due to heavy rainfall in the hills. An official said that the Flood and Irrigation Department of the Delhi government expects that the released water is likely to reach the national capital by tomorrow following which an alert has been sounded. The official said the water level in Yamuna was 203.65 today, which is considered normal in the season. The water level is expected to reach 204.00 on Friday which is the warning level, official said. The danger mark is 204.83.
NDRF to rescue four stranded people in Himachal's Sirmaur
A National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team was called in Himachal Pradesh's Sirmaur district to rescue four people stranded on one side of the Giri river due to high water level, officials said today. A total of six people were stranded in Paonta Sahib tehsil on Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand border following heavy rainfall, Sirmaur Superintendent of Police Rohit Malpani said. Two of them have been rescued by the police with the help of local divers, but four are still stranded, he said. The NDRF team has reached the spot and will soon start a rescue operation, he said.
Air China Paris-Beijing flight turns back over 'false' terror alarm
An Air China flight from Paris to Beijing turned back today over a terrorism threat, but Chinese state media later quoted the flag carrier saying it was believed to be a false alarm. Air China said flight CA876 had returned to Paris after the airline "received suspected terrorist information," giving no further information on the nature of the threat. "To ensure safety, CA876 flew back to Paris and landed safely," the airline said on one of its social media accounts. But state news agency Xinhua soon after issued a brief dispatch quoting the carrier's Paris office saying the terror alert was "considered false." The carrier had said earlier that it would arrange to resume the flight as soon as possible "after safety is ensured." The flight had been scheduled to depart Charles de Gaulle Airport at 12.30pm Paris time (1030 GMT). The carrier did not say how far the aircraft flew before turning back to Paris.
8 killed, 1 missing following landslide in Nepal
Eight people were killed and one was missing after a landslide, triggered by incessant rains, in central Nepal's Rasuwa district, police said today. According to the police, the landslide occurred at Timure of Gosaikunda Rural Municipality around 1 am and swept away two houses. Twelve people were injured in the landslide, they said, adding that search and rescue works were underway with the help of the police and locals. In another incident, one person died while four others suffered injuries in a landslide triggered by torrential rain in Darchula district in western Nepal yesterday. Earlier on Monday, three people were killed in a landslide in Rolpa district in western Nepal.
8 killed in Nepal landslide
At least eight people has died in a landslide in Rasuwa district in northern Nepal. Search for one more person is underway.Quoting eyewitnesses, the Rastriya Samachar Samiti (RSS) reported: One concrete house, three hotels and four vehicles were buried in the landslide that began from around four kilometres above.Apparently people died when their houses got buried in the landslide.The landslide took place last midnight at Timure in Gosaikunda rural municipality-2, as per the information given by the Chief District Officer Krishna Poudel."The search operation for the missing is underway and we have mobilised the equipment and manpower from the Rasuwagadhi Hydropower along with the security forces. We also have rescued 12 others buried in the landslide," Poudel informed ANI over the phone.The landslide last night obstructed the Syafru-Rasuwagadhi highway and disrupted electricity, telephone and customs duty task in the area. It also buried a temporary police post at Timure, the gateway .
Ghaziabad downpour: Road caves in at Vasundhara; girl killed in roof collapse
A road near Vartalok society in Ghaziabad's Vasundhara colony caved in today due to incessant rains, but no casualty or property damage was reported, even as a girl died here after the roof of a dilapidated house came down on her, police said. As a precautionary measure, owners of 80 flats in two societies in the vicinity of the road have been asked to vacate, they said. SP (City) Akash Tomar told that in sector 4 of Vasundhara, around 4,000 metre plot was allotted to a builder four years ago for the construction of a group housing society and the basement was dug up. After few months, the construction was closed down due to nonpayment of bank loan and the matter is now sub-judice. The deep excavated pit which was left for basement filled with rain water. The percolated beneath the road and a stretch of 30x40 feet caved in. The administrative officials reached the spot and asked the residents of Vartalok and Pragya Kunj to vacate 64 and 16 flats of two towers of both the societies, ..
Man held for causing major wildfire in Spain
Spanish police said today they have arrested a man suspected of causing a fast-moving wildfire that raged for two weeks and forced the evacuation of more than 100 people. The unidentified man is believed to have deliberately started the fire that broke out on August 21 last year in the county of La Cabrera in the northern region of Leon, the Guardia Civil police force said in a statement. The blaze charred over 9,000 hectares (22,000 acres) of pasture, pine, oak and shrub land, and saw more than 100 people evacuated from 11 hamlets before it was put out on September 3. "The damage caused by this fire alarmed the public, affected a large area of forest, caused serious soil erosion, damaged wells... and endangered the lives of people, local residents as well as those who worked to put it out," the statement said. Police said the man, who is from Madrid, faces a possible jail term of up to five years in jail for arson.