Page 631 - Disaster Accident
Bodies of 17 recovered after Laos dam disaster: Thai consul official
The bodies of 17 people have been recovered after flash floods caused by a dam breach in southern Laos, a Thai consular official at the scene said today. A wall of water was unleashed Monday after parts of the dam were washed away, sending floods surging downstream, sweeping away homes and leaving an unknown number of people missing. "There are 17 bodies recovered so far, but we can not estimate the number of missing yet," Chana Miencharoen, told AFP, adding roof-level flood waters have submerged several villages near the Xe-Namnoy dam. "All the dead are Laotian... more than 6,000 are affected from eight villages near the dam," he said, from the relief centre in Attepeu province, where the disaster occurred on Monday. The remote area is only accessible by helicopter and flat-bottomed boats, with roads badly damaged by the flash flooding or completely washed away. Communist Laos is criss-crossed by a vast network of rivers and scores of dams are being built or planned in the ...
Kilauea volcano may spew lava for months
The Kilauea volcano may continue to spew lava for a long time, say the geologists monitoring the eruption of the volcano.The volcano, located in the Leilani Estates neighbourhood on Hawaii's big island, is spouting lava since May. This has forced evacuations and destroyed over 700 homes, as confirmed by CNN.The black lava has reportedly covered more than 23 square kilometers of land and has also added 700 acres of new land to the island."Given this volume and the sustained withdrawal of magma from the summit reservoir without appreciable deformation in the lower East Rift Zone, it is most likely that the LERZ eruption may continue for months to years," a report from the Hawaii Volcano Observatory said.The report also said that lava is erupting at an immensely high rate and is showing no signs of decreasing pressure. It focused on threats to areas north of the current lava flow because they have not been evacuated.The report was submitted to the Hawaii County Civil Defense to help them
Farmers suffer as Bihar faces drought-like situation
As several districts of Bihar are reeling under a drought-like situation due to the shortage of rainfall, it alleviated the farmers' suffering.As per reports, around 35 districts including Patna, Siwan, Aurangabad, Vaishali, Arwal, Bhojpur are facing the drought-like situation.One of the farmers told ANI that they are facing difficulties in sowing crops as there is a scarcity of water."We are unable to sow crops. This is for the first time that we have witnessed such situation. There's no water and we don't have any option. The Government is not helping us," the farmer said.Earlier, the Bihar Government announced to give Rs. 50 per litre diesel subsidy to the farmers and other concessions, with 75 paisa per unit electricity in tube well in view of the drought.Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will also convene a meeting of all concerned departments on July 31 to review the prevailing drought-like situation in the state.
One killed, eight injured in building collapse in Thane
A 25-year-old woman was killed and eight others, including two children, were injured when a portion of a building collapsed on an adjoining chawl in Bhiwandi town near here, an official said today. The three-storey building, located in Khoni area, had developed cracks and one its walls collapsed yesterday afternoon following which its 22 occupants were evacuated, Thane's regional disaster management cell chief Santosh Kadam said. Around 8.30 pm yesterday, a portion of the seven-year- old building crashed on a chawl (old style tenements) located next to it, trapping its residents. A woman, Khairunnisa Shaikh, residing in the chawl died in the mishap while eight others sustained injuries, Kadam said. The civic, fire brigade and local police officials rushed to the spot and carried out the rescue operation. The work to clear the debris continued during the night and was still underway, Kadam said. The injured people, including two children aged 2 and 9 years, have been ...
Bhiwandi building collapse: Maharashtra minister blames builder
Hours after a portion of a building collapsed here on Tuesday night, Maharashtra Minister Eknath Shinde cited negligence of the builder as the cause of the mishap."The building was constructed six years back and the incident proves that it was not constructed well. It has collapsed due to builder's negligence that claimed one life. Strict action will be taken," he told reporters here.A portion of a three-storey building in Rasulbagh area here collapsed on Tuesday night, leaving one person dead.A member of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) told ANI that the situation has been brought under control."The building was in a dilapidated state and was empty. It collapsed and fell on a nearby chawl, where some people were trapped. All have now been rescued, one person died," said Mahesh Nalawade.
Extreme heat damages runway, forces German airport to close
Days of extreme heat have damaged a runway at Germany's Hannover airport, forcing operators to shut it down pending repairs. Germany's ninth-busiest airport said that 41 flights are affected by the closure, which is expected to last until today. The airport's closure hits thousands of passengers during the busy summer holiday travel period. Like much of Europe, Germany has been experiencing prolonged high temperatures. The mercury is expected to keep climbing in the coming days, with top temperatures Friday reaching 38 degrees Celsius.
Bhiwandi building collapse: 1 dead, 6 rescued
One person died after a portion of a three-storey building collapsed here on Tuesday night.So far, six people have been rescued from the site.The incident took place in Rasulbagh area, after which fire tenders were pressed into action to rescue those trapped under the rubble.A National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team also reached the spot to assist in rescuing those trapped.The rescue operation is underway.Further details are awaited.
Building collapses in Bhiwandi
A three-storey residential building collapsed in Bhiwandi in Thane district tonight, police said. No casualties have been reported so far, they said. Three persons have been taken out of the debris so far, police said. It cannot be immediately known whether more people are trapped under the debris of the building located in Rasoolabagh Khadipar area of the powerloom town. Personnel of fire, police and disaster management authority have reached the spot.
AI carries out extensive servicing on B777 over reports of bed bugs
National passenger carrier Air India on Tuesday said that it has carried out extensive servicing of the Boeing 777 which was deployed on the Mumbai-Newark route after reports emerged about the presence of bed bugs in the aircraft's business class seats.
Mansarovar Yatra pilgrims stranded in U'khand evacuated
All stranded pilgrims of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra in Uttarakhand's Gunji have been evacuated and brought to Pithoragarh by Indian Air Force helicopters, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said today. As many as 115 pilgrims were stranded in Uttarakhand due to inclement weather, Swaraj had tweeted yesterday. "I am happy to inform that all Kailash Mansarovar Yatris stranded at Gunji (Uttarakhand) have been evacuated and brought to Pithoragarh by IAF helicopters. With this, normal movement of Yatris has recommenced," she said today. Earlier this month, hundreds of Indian pilgrims were stranded in Nepal's mountainous region while returning from the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra in Tibet. They were airlifted to safety after a massive evacuation drive.
HC restraint on re-construction of Chennai Silks building
The Madras High Court today stayed the ongoing construction work on a multi-storeyed building for a textile showroom here on a plea alleging violation of norms in the approval of plan and raising safety concerns. The new building of Chennai Silks is coming up in the busy T Nagar at the same location where the earlier structure of the textile major was gutted in a massive fire last year. A bench comprising justices N Kirubakaran and Krishan Ramasamy granted the interim injunction on the construction after petitioner Kannan Balachandran submitted that 40 per cent of the work on the 8-storeyed building had been completed within 20 days of getting the approval on June 21. It also granted an interim stay on the reclassification of the area into commercial area from residential area and directed the authorities concerned to appear in the court with related files and explain under what circumstances they granted the approval. The bench then posted the matter to August 3 for further ...
Dhanani writes to Rupani; seeks relief for flood-hit farmers
With heavy rains battering large parts of Saurashtra and south Gujarat, the opposition Congress today asked the state government to announce immediate relief measures for affected farmers. Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Paresh Dhanani of the Congress came down heavily on the BJP government for failing to make preparations in advance to minimise damage to crops due to heavy rains. Dhanani said he has written a letter to Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, requesting him to expedite relief measures for affected farmers. Dhahani said he recently visited some of the affected regions along with state Congress president Amit Chavda and was shocked to see the scale of destruction these areas have faced due to recent rains. He criticised the government's pre-monsoon preparedness and wondered where crores of rupees spent for the purpose went. "The government should ensure that in future Gujarat does not face so much destruction due to heavy rains," he said. In his letter to the ..
74 dead as Greece wildfires incinerate popular coastal vacation spot (Third Lead)
At least 74 people were killed, scores injured and many remained unaccounted for after wildfires spread rapidly through a popular vacationing spot on the Greek coast east of Athens, turning it into a disaster area that left the country reeling and in desperate need of firefighting reinforcements from the European Union on Tuesday.
Flames ravage Greek seaside as wildfires kill 74
Raging wildfires killed 74 people including small children in Greece, devouring homes and forests as terrified residents fled to the sea to escape the flames, authorities said today. Orange flames engulfed pine forests, turning them to ash and leaving lines of charred cars in the smoke-filled streets of seaside towns near Athens after the fires broke yesterday. Rescuers rushed to evacuate residents and tourists stranded on beaches. Others were overtaken by the flames in their homes, on foot or in their cars. AFP photographers saw the burnt bodies of humans and dogs. The charred bodies of 26 people, including small children, were discovered in the courtyard of a villa at the seaside resort of Mati, 40 kilometres northeast of the capital, said rescuer Vassilis Andriopoulos. They were huddled together in small groups, "perhaps families, friends or strangers, entwined in a last attempt to protect themselves as they tried to reach the sea", he said. Video footage showed people fleeing by .
Bodies of stringer, driver found
The bodies of a stringer of a Malayalam news channel and a car driver, who had gone missing after their country boat capsized in a canal near Vaikom, were found today, police said. The body of Saji, stringer of 'Mathrubhumi' news channel, was found soon after the diving teams of fireforce and Navy resumed search operations this morning, they said. His body was handed over to his relatives after autopsy at the government medical college hospital, Kottayam. The body of Bipin, the car driver of the channels Thiruvalla bureau, was found in the canal at 7.30 pm around 300 metres from the accident site. His body has been sent for autopsy, police said. The two, part of a media team that had gone to cover the flood-hit areas near Vaikom, were reported missing yesterday after the country boat carrying them capsized. Mathrubhumi channel's Kottayam staff reporter K B Sreedharan and cameraman Abhilash, who were also in the boat, were rescued by local people in another boat. The ...
Srinagar airport: Indigo airline passenger creates hijack scare, detained
An airline passenger was today detained at Srinagar airport here after he, at the time of landing of the aircraft, allegedly shouted that the flight had been hijacked, an official said. Lakhvinder Singh, a resident of Punjab, was handed over to police by the airport authorities after the crew of the Indigo's Chandigarh-Srinagar flight complained about the passenger, an official of the airport said. The crew complained that at the time of landing of the aircraft here, the passenger said the flight had been hijacked, the official said. He said the passenger was handed over to the police at the airport for questioning.
Woman, grandson die in road accident
A car was sandwiched between two buses leading to death of its two occupants in north east Delhi's Nand Nagri this afternoon, the police said. A hatchback car was crushed between a cluster bus that rammed into it from behind and a DTC bus which was moving ahead of it, they added. The accident occurred around 11:30 am near the District Magistrate's office, the police said. The impact of the accident was such that the car was completely mangled and the doors were jammed. With the help of locals, the police tried to pull the injured out of the car. It took them approximately 20-25 minutes to take the injured out of the car. The doors and windows of the car were broken using wooden blocks, the police said. The driver was found lying in the lap of the elderly woman who was injured in the accident as seen in a video that went viral. The injured were rushed to a nearby hospital where they were declared brought dead, the police said. The deceased were later identified as Lilavati (75) and her
60 killed as deadly forest fires rage in Greece
At least 60 people have died, scores injured and almost 700 others rescued from the sea as huge forest fires raged across Greece, authorities said on Tuesday.
Istanbul building in spectacular collapse after heavy rains
A four-storey residential building in central Istanbul today collapsed into a cloud of dust in front of watching media, after several hours perching on a ledge following heavy rains that destroyed its foundation. The building, in the Sutluce district of the Beyoglu neighbourhood, had been left stranded with several metres of its base poking over the edge after the overnight downpours washed away its base. The image of the building seemingly defying gravity for two hours as it perched on the edge of the ground attracted camera crews, municipal workers and members of the security forces. But as the pictures of the building were being shown live on Turkish television news channels, it suddenly shifted in the earth and teetered briefly before dramatically plunging onto the slope created by the mudslides. Little was left of the building by the force of the impact other than bits of rubble and a cloud of dust. The building had already been evacuated and security forces had also cordoned off
DR Congo officially declares end to Ebola outbreak
DR Congo today officially declared the end of an outbreak of Ebola, bringing the curtain down on a 10-week re-emergence of the disease which claimed 33 lives. "After an observation period of 42 days during which no new confirmed cases have been observed, and in conformity with international health regulations, I declare today, July 24 2018, that the epidemic of Ebola virus disease in province in the Democratic Republic of Congo has come to an end," Health Minister Oly Ilunga said in a statement.