Page 629 - Disaster Accident
Floods from Laos dam collapse force evacuations in Cambodia
The torrent of water unleashed in a deadly Laos dam collapse has drained into Cambodia, forcing thousands to be evacuated, as rescuers today battled monsoon rains to find scores of Laotians still missing after whole villages were washed away. Twenty-seven people have been confirmed dead, with 131 still missing, after the Xe-Namnoy dam collapsed on Monday in a remote southern corner of Laos, leaving villagers with little time to escape. It is an unprecedented accident to strike the hydropower industry in Laos, where the Communist government has dammed large sections of its myriad waterways to generate electricity that is mostly consumed by its neighbours. The search and rescue effort entered a third day today, with China, Vietnam and Thailand sending in specialists, while villagers picked through their wrecked, mud-caked homes for possessions as the flood waters receded. Carcasses of livestock floated in the knee-deep waters in a devastated village visited by AFP. Thousands of ...
TN CM condoles death of police personnel
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami today condoled the death of 15 policemen who died of natural causes as well as in accidents and announced an overall solatium of Rs 45 lakh. In a statement, the Chief Minister condoled the death of 15 policemen, who had died both due to illness and in accidents recently. He announced a solatium of Rs three lakh each to the families of the deceased personnel from the Chief Minister's Public Relief Fund.
JD(U) demands Central assistance for Bihar farmers
The Janata Dal (United) today demanded central assistance to provide relief to farmers in Bihar who are facing problems in Kharif sowing due to deficient rains. "Bihar is facing a drought-like situation," said JD(U) MP Ramnath Thakur while raising the demand during Zero Hour in the Rajya Sabha. Highlighting the plight of farmers due to deficient rains, he said they are not able to sow crops and there is also a shortage of fodder for livestock. According to him, borewells have also been affected because of drop in water level in several parts of the state. He demanded that the Centre immediately send a team in Bihar to assess the situation and also provide financial assistance for providing relief. Congress member M V Rajeev Gowda demanded government intervention to end the strike called by truckers. He said transportation of goods was being affected due to the strike. Gowda said the problem is due to problems in implementation of e-way bill under the GST. Ram Vichar Netam
Projects for 6,320 km roads awarded under Bharatmala
Projects for constructing 6,320 km of road have been awarded under the first phase of the Bharatmala project, with the financial implication estimated to be Rs 1.44 lakh crore, the government said today. Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari also informed the Lok Sabha during Question Hour that the total investment for Bharatmala is expected to be around Rs 7.50 lakh crore for constructing about 84,000 km of road. "Out of the total financial outlay of Rs 5,35,000 crore allocated for Bharatmala Pariyojana Phase-I, projects with financial implication of approximately Rs 1,44,300 crore for a length of about 6,320 km have been awarded," he said. The minister noted that these projects were awarded up to June 2018. Under the first phase, a total of 34,800 km of road, including 10,000 km of residual NHDP (National Highway Development Project) have been approved for development. The first phase of Bharatmala is to be implemented during the period from 2017-18 to ...
Recording video while driving proves fatal for man in U'khand
Trying to film his journey while at the wheel proved fatal for a 28-year-old man, whose car fell into a deep gorge when he lost control while negotiating the sharp bends of Uttarakhand's hill roads, police said. His two friends were severely injured in the accident that took place on Monday, they said. The heart-rending accident can be seen in the video found in a mobile phone recovered from the spot. The trio can be heard yelling "ohhh... we are going to die" as the driver looses control and the car falls into the gorge. Deepu Kunwar (28), who was driving the car, was killed in the accident while his friends - 25-year-old Deepu and Sanju Singh (22) - were severely injured, Nainital Station House Officer (SHO) Vipin Chandra said today. As Kunwar was engrossed in making the video, the car rolled off the road and fell into a ditch killing him. The accident occurred on Monday when the three friends were going from Nainital to Kaladhungi, Chandra said. The cause of the accident could be .
Three go missing as vehicle falls into river in U'khand
Three people went missing and five sustained injuries after the car they were travelling in fell into the Kalp Ganga river in Chamoli district today, officials said. The accident took place on the Urgam-Helang road, the district disaster management office here said. The people missing may have been swept away by the swirling waters of the river, it said, adding that search and rescue operations were underway.
Met Dept. issues heavy rain warning for U'khand
India Meteorological Department (IMD), on Thursday has issued a warning of heavy rainfall for the next 36 hours for the entire state, including Char Dham Yatra route.Heavy rains have lashed out at various locations in the state. National Highway-9 closed down at Dhaun, Champawat due to incessant rains for the past nine hours.Ramnagar too experienced a flood-like situation and roads are being blocked.Only July 23, Meteorological Department issued a heavy rain alert for the state. The State Disaster Management has also asked the district magistrates to ensure a high level of precaution, safety and traffic are maintained.Along with Uttarakhand, Delhi too experienced heavy rainfall and severe water-logging on Thursday.
Quetta blast: Death toll rises to 31
The death toll of the alleged suicide bombing near a polling station in Quetta on the Pakistan election day, has risen to 31.The blast on Wednesday ripped through voters outside a polling station near Eastern Bypass in Quetta.Geo News reported citing officials that 31 deaths included six policemen and two children.According to local officials, the bomber was trying to enter the polling booth, but when police stopped him, the attacker detonated his explosives.At least seventy of the injured are undergoing treatment at different hospitals, a hospital spokesperson said.Twenty-nine injured are being treated at Sandeman Provincial Hospital Quetta, while five of the injured were referred to CMH Quetta and 17 others were sent to BMC Hospital, Geo News reported.Authorities had not yet filed a case against the attack by Thursday morning. According to officials, the body parts of the suicide bomber would be sent to a forensics laboratory.
Rains pound Agra overnight
Heavy showers overnight pounded Agra, flooding most parts of this old Uttar Pradesh city and nearly cutting off several neighbourhoods.
Toll rises to 26 in Laos dam collapse
At least 26 people have been confirmed dead and over 100 remain missing after an underconstruction dam collapsed in Laos just days back, state-run Lao News Agency reported on Thursday.
Guatemala volcano death toll rises to 147
The death toll from the eruption of Guatemala's Fuego volcano on June 3 has risen to 147, officials said.
UN chief condemns suicide attack in Pakistan
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has condemned Wednesday's suicide attack outside a polling station in Pakistan's Quetta that killed 31 people, said his spokesman.
Greek wildfires toll rises to 81 amid search for survivors
At least 81 people died in huge wildfires around Athens, Greek authorities said today, as rescuers scoured scorched homes and burned-out cars for survivors of one of the world's deadliest fire outbreaks. Scores of locals and holiday-makers fled to the sea to try to escape the flames as they tore through towns and villages near the capital stoked by 100-kilometre-per-hour wind gusts, devouring woodland and hundreds of buildings. Greek media have described the disaster as a "national tragedy", while Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras cut short a visit to Bosnia and announced three days of national mourning. A young Irishman on honeymoon was among those who died, the British embassy in Greece confirmed. According to British media, Brian O'Callaghan-Westropp had been on honeymoon in the coastal village of Mati when his car was caught in the wildfires. Although his new wife Zoe managed to escape to a nearby beach, she was taken to hospital with burns, the reports said. Fire service spokeswoman .
Central team to visit flood-hit Kerala in 10 days: Rijiju
Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday said that the Centre has approved Rs. 80 crore for flood relief in Kerala and added that an inter-ministerial team will visit the state's flood-hit areas within next 10 days.
Ghatkopar plane crash: Prabhu assures co-pilot's husband of fair probe
The husband of a co-pilot, who died along with four others in a plane crash at Ghatkopar last month, met Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu today, who assured him of a fair investigation into the incident. Prabhat Kathuria, the husband of co-pilot Marya Zuberi, was accompanied BJP MP Kirit Somaiya, MP Gopal Shetty and part's MLA Prabhat Lodha from Mumbai during the meeting. "Met Mr. Prabhat, husband of Late Pilot Mrs. Maria who lost her life in the tragic #GhatkoparPlaneCrash, along with MP Mr. @Kiritsomaiya, MP Mr. Gopal Shetty and MLA Mr. M. Prabhat Lodha. Offered my deepest condolences to Mr. Prabhat and assured a fair investigation and action," Prabhu said in a late night tweet. In a statement issued last month, Khaturia had questioned the fitness of the aircraft. He had said "the company involved in the ill-fated plane's repairs seems to have been incapable of detecting the technical snags that could have led to its crash." Kathuria said that his wife had mentioned to him that
Greek wildfires toll rises to 79 amid search for survivors
At least 79 people died in huge wildfires around Athens, Greek authorities said today, as rescuers scoured scorched homes and burned-out cars for survivors of one of the world's deadliest fire outbreaks. Scores of locals and holidaymakers fled to the sea to try to escape the flames as they tore through towns and villages near the capital stoked by 100-km-per-hour wind gusts, devouring woodland and hundreds of buildings. Greek media have described the disaster as a "national tragedy", while Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras cut short a visit to Bosnia and announced three days of national mourning. Spokeswoman Stavroula Maliri said authorities knew of "79 dead", surpassing the 77 people killed in the previous deadliest fires in Greece, on the southern island of Evia in 2007. "We've received numerous calls reporting people missing," Maliri said. The public ERT television station reported that an elderly man hurt in the fires had also died today, though there was no immediate official ...
Greece wildfires toll reaches 80, rescue efforts intensify
The death toll in the worst forest fires in Greece in more than a decade increased to 80 on Wednesday as rescue workers intensified efforts to locate the missing.
Assam agri ministers convoy hit by dumper, 6 hurt
A security vehicle which was part of the convoy of Assam Agriculture Minister Atul Bora was hit by a dumper on NH-37 in Sivasagar district today and at least six police men in it were injured. The security vehicle, which was among the five in the convoy, skidded off the road into a wayside ditch near Jhanji Hahchora Tinali under Amguri police station under the impact of the collision, the police said. Both the driver and the handyman of the dumper fled after the incident but the police caught them and seized their vehicle. All the injured security personnel including the driver of the security vehicle were rushed to a nearby community health centre. The convoy was on way to Dibrugarh to pick up the minister who had landed at Mohanbari airport in Dibrugarh, police said. After the accident the rest of the convoy went to the airport and accompanied Bora, who inquired into the condition of the injured security personnel. Later, the damaged vehicle was pulled up, the police .
5 killed, 2 injured in rain-triggered landslide incidents in Bangladesh
Five persons, including four children, were killed and two others injured in two rain-triggered landslide incidents in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar district, about 292 km southeast of Dhaka, a fire brigade official said today. In the first incident that took place in the Cox's Bazar town, when four children -- three girls and their only brother -- were buried alive while asleep, when a huge chunk of land collapsed on their house, situated on the slope of a hill, early this morning. The children's mother narrowly survived the mudslides, assistant director of Cox's Bazar Fire Service, Md Shafayet Hossain said. The rescuers pulled the four children unconscious from a pile of mud and rushed them to Cox's Bazar General Hospital, where they were declared dead, the official was quoted as saying by the bdnews24. In the another incident, a six-year-old boy died while his father was injured after they got trapped in their house after being hit by mudslide in Ramu Upzila of Cox's Bazar district, ...
Two washed away by giant wave in Udupi
Two fishermen were washed away by a huge wave while they were trying to anchor their boat by the Padukere seashore at Malpe near Udupi today, police said. The body of one of the victims, Nitesh (29) was recovered while that of Nishant (22) yet to be traced. Fire and rescue personnel, coast guard and locals have launched a search operation for the missing person, police said.