Page 640 - Disaster Accident
13 killed in lightning strikes in Odisha
As many as 13 persons were killed and four injured in lightning strikes at different places in Odisha, officials said on Friday.
Landslide blocks Srinagar-Jammu highway
A massive landslide in Jammu and Kashmir's Ramban district today blocked the only all-weather road linking the Valley to rest of the country, leaving many passengers stranded, an official said. The landslide, triggered by rains, struck the Srinagar-Jammu national highway at Digdole near Ramban town around 2 pm. Hundreds of vehicles, including a Jammu-bound convoy carrying Amarnath pilgrims, were stranded, a traffic department official said. The official said a cab was passing through the road at the time of the incident, causing some damage to the vehicle, but the passengers escaped unhurt. The agency maintaining the highway are trying to reopening the road as early as possible, the official said. A landslide also occurred last evening along Mughal road -- the alternate link connecting the twin districts of Poonch-Rajouri in Jammu region with south Kashmir's Shopian, a official said. The road was made operational for one-way traffic this morning and no vehicle was allowed from Jammu ..
Toll climbs to 41, central ministers to visit flood-hit areas
The death toll in rain related incidents in Kerala, has gone up to 41, with two people losing their lives in house collapse early today. A man and his son were killed when their dilapidated mud hut collapsed in the heavy rains early today in Thrissur district, according to sources in the cell monitoring rain related incidents. One person was missing in Alappuzha district. A central team led by Union minister of state for Home, Kiran Rijiju and Tourism minister K J Alphons, will be visiting the worst hit Kottayam and Alappuzha districts besides Chellanam in Ernakulam tomorrow, sources said. As many as 1.18 lakh people have sought refuge in 606 relief camps across Kerala, as rains continued to lash several parts of the state in varied intensity, official sources said. A total of 50,836 people are now in 212 relief camps opened in Alappuzha while 37,657 are in 164 camps in neighbouring Kottayam, the two worst-hit districts in the state, till this morning, they said. There ...
Ten dead including child in Ukraine bus accident
Ten people including a child died and another ten were injured when a passenger bus collided with a truck in northwestern Ukraine today, officials said. The bus was travelling from the capital Kiev to the western city of Rivne when it hit a truck parked on the side of the road in Zhytomyr region in northwestern Ukraine, the state emergency service said. Ten passengers were hospitalised. Officials did not say what caused the accident. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko expressed his condolences to the victims' families, while local authorities declared Saturday a day of mourning in the Zhytomyr region. Earlier Friday, five people were killed and another 12 injured in southern Ukraine when a passenger bus collided with a parked vehicle, police said. All the victims were nationals of neighbouring Belarus. Blatant disregard for traffic rules and bad roads kill thousands of people in Ukraine every year. Around 3,500 people died in road accidents in the ex-Soviet country last year.
Several injured in northern Germany bus assault: Reports
Several people were injured in an assault by a man wielding a knife on a bus in northern Germany, police and witnesses said today. The packed bus was heading in the direction of Travemuende, a popular beach close to the city of Luebeck, when a man pulled a weapon on passengers, local media Luebecker Nachrichten reported, quoting an unnamed witness. The daily said the perpetrator has been detained, while police quoted by national news agency DPA said there were no fatalities.
Uttarakhand HC asks state govt to start multi-speciality hospital at Bhowali
The Uttarakhand High Court today directed the state government to start a multi-speciality hospital at Bhowali on the premises of the TB sanatorium there within six months. In an order on a PIL highlighting shortage of doctors, staff, space and equipment at the three government hospitals in Nainital district, the division bench of Justice Rajiv Sharma and Justice Lokpal Singh asked the state government to start a multi-speciality hospital at the Bhowali T B Sanatorium within six months. The court also observed that in view of the frequency of road accidents in the state whose victims need immediate care, there should be fully equipped trauma centres in each district. As the state shares international borders with China and Nepal, the infrastructure thus raised may become useful in times of an emergency, it said. The court directed the state government to construct new buildings for the Multi-Speciality Hospital as per the norms of Indian Public Health Standards by initiating the ...
45 per cent drop in stubble burning in Punjab
The Punjab government claimed on Friday that there has been a 45 per cent drop in stubble burning cases in the state during the 2017 paddy harvesting season as compared to 2016.
Pothole deaths: SC summons Delhi police chief
The Supreme Court on Friday said it was "frightening" that a large number of people were dying in road accidents caused by potholes and summoned Delhi's Commissioner of Police for non-removal of encroachments and traffic bottlenecks despite several recommendations.
At least 13 die when duck boat capsizes in Missouri lake
At least 13 people, including children, died after a boat carrying tourists capsized and sank on a lake during a thunderstorm in a country music mecca in southwest Missouri, authorities said today. Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt Jason Pace said four people remain missing today after the Ride the Ducks boat sank on Table Rock Lake in Branson yesterday evening. He said 14 people survived, and that seven of them were injured. Patrol divers found two more bodies early today, raising the death toll from 11 to 13, Pace said. A spokeswoman for the Cox Medical Center Branson said four adults and three children arrived at the hospital shortly after the incident. Two adults are in critical condition and the others were treated for minor injuries, Brandei Clifton said. Stone County Sheriff Doug Rader said yesterday that stormy weather likely made the boat capsize. Another duck boat on the lake made it safely back to shore. Steve Lindenberg, a National Weather Service meteorologist in ...
Three more deaths in Kerala even as rains lessen
Even the incidence of rains that caused huge damage across Kerala have come down, three more deaths were reported on Friday, taking the death toll to 20 since the last two weeks.
7 killed in lightning strikes in Odisha
At least seven people were killed and eight injured when lightning struck in two districts of Odisha today, officials said. Four people, including a woman, were killed in Mayurbhanj district, while three others lost their lives and eight were injured in Balasore, the officials said. In Mayurbhanj, those who lost their lives were Sushila Rana (62), Sarathi Mohanto (65), Rajendra Behera (35) and Kuni Mohanto (17). All of them were working in the paddy fields when lightning struck during rain. In Balasore, the deceased have been identified as Madhu Behera (40) and Rudraraj Behera (24) and Basanti Mohanty (52). The injured have been admitted to a hospital in Basta block, the officials said. One girl student in Remuna area was injured and admitted to hospital, they added.
Death in pothole accidents on roads 'frightening': SC
The Supreme Court today termed as "frightening" the deaths in accident caused due to potholes on roads across the country and said that number of fatalities in such incidents was more than those in terror attacks. While hearing a matter related to road safety in India, a bench comprising Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta also said that persons who have lost their lives as a result of accidents caused due to potholes should be entitled to compensation. The bench said it was a matter of "common knowledge" that a large number of people have died in accidents caused due to potholes on roads and authorities, who were supposed to maintain the roads, were not doing their duties properly. Referring to media reports, the bench said, "So many people are dying in the country due to accident caused by potholes on roads. Reports say that more people have died due to accident caused by potholes than the deaths in terrorists attacks". It asked the Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety, headed
Family of four buried alive in landslide
A Nepalese labourer and her child were killed today when the rubble from a landslide fell over their tin shed in Joshimath area of Chamoli district, authorities said. The woman's husband and another child were still missing. A heap of rubble fell on their tin shed after the landslide was triggered by a cloudburst this morning and buried the whole family, Joshimath SDM Yogendra Kumar said. The landslide occurred between Juma and Bhapkund near the border village of Jhelum at around 6 am, he said. The bodies of the mother and a child were recovered while the debris was still being scoured by the BRO and SDRF personnel in search of the remaining two, the official said. The couple from Nepal worked as labourers for the BRO and was living in the tin shed along with the children, he said. Tamak, a stream in the district which was in spate following heavy rains, had also damaged the Joshimath-Malari border road and a few residential houses.
Gunmen kill radio commentator in Philippines
Assailants have shot a Filipino radio commentator about a dozen times while leaving for work in a northeastern province in a new fatal attack in a country with an alarming record of killings of journalists. Police Chief Superintendent Arnel Escobal says 38-year-old Joey Llana was maneuvering his van near his home in Daraga town in Albay province on his way to his radio station when he was repeatedly shot and killed at dawn today. The attackers escaped. Escobal says an investigation is underway to determine the motive of the killing. The International Federation of Journalists condemned Llana's death, which the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines says will be the 12th fatal media attack under President Rodrigo Duterte if it turns out to be work-related.
No plans to provide emergency buttons in washroom of trains, Gohain tells RS
The railways is not considering providing emergency push buttons in the washroom of trains as an additional measure for women's safety, despite a suggestion from the Ministry of Women and Child Development to do so, Minister of State for Railways Rajen Gohain told the Rajya Sabha today. "Suggestions had been received from the Ministry of Women and Child Development with regard to strengthening security of women passengers which, inter-alia, included provision of emergency button in trains. Since Emergency Alarm Chain System is already available in coaches, provision of emergency push button in all coaches is not being considered at this juncture," he said. Two women, including a student of an agricultural university, were found dead in the toilets of two trains in Assam earlier this month. While the student of Assam Agricultural University in Jorhat was found dead in a toilet of Kamakhya Express on July 10 morning, the body of an elderly woman was found in a toilet of the Avadh Assam .
Ryanair cancels Ireland-UK flights as pilots strike
Ryanair pilots unhappy over pay and other work conditions carried out further strike action today, unions said, resulting in the cancellation of 24 flights between Ireland and the UK. "Second 24-hour strike by @IALPA Ryanair members under way," the Irish pilots' union tweeted in reference to a first stoppage last week. Ryanair earlier this week hit out over the latest strike, saying it affected about seven per cent of passengers flying between Ireland and the UK. Friday's walkout comes ahead of the cancellation of 600 Ryanair flights in Europe due across Wednesday and Thursday owing to strikes by cabin crew staff in Spain, Portugal and Belgium. The Dublin-based carrier has said that about 100,000 passengers will be affected by next week's strikes. Cabin crew in Italy are also striking but a spokesman for the airline said this was not expected to affect the "Italian-based schedule". Unions are asking that Ryanair staff be employed according to the national legislation of the country ...
Shimla: Fire in a building; none injured
A fire that broke out in a building near a petrol pump here was put out in time today morning, officials said. As many as four fire engines and 17 fire fighters were sent to put out the blaze that started at around 9.45 am in the building in Sanjauli. No one was injured, they added. It took one-and-a-half-hours to extinguish the fire before it could spread to the nearby petrol pump and a shopping mall, the officials said, adding that the cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained. Furniture and other valuables worth around Rs 2.5 lakh inside the building -- owned by petrol pump owner D D Mehta's wife, Priya Mehta -- were gutted. But property worth Rs 15 crore was saved by timely action, the fire officials said.
1.18 lakh people in relief camps as rains lash several parts of Kerala
As many as 1.18 lakh people have sought refuge in relief camps across Kerala, as rains continued to lash several parts of the state in varied intensity, official sources said here today. The second spell of monsoon rains, since July 9, has so far claimed 39 lives in the southern state. The South-West Monsoon had set in over Kerala on May 29. A total 50,836 people are now in 212 relief camps opened in Alappuzha while 37,657 are in 164 camps in neighbouring Kottayam, the two worst-hit districts in the state, till this morning, they said. There was no respite from waterlogging at many places in the districts. People including women and children, moving in waist-deep water, is a common sight now in many places. As major roads are flooded and even state-run KSRTC buses have stopped services in many places, people were stranded in many areas of Alappuzha, including Muttar and Kainakari. Scarcity of safe drinking water and possible threat of water-borne disease are also a cause of worry for .
Odisha govt alerts collectors as IMD forecast heavy rainfall
With the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasting heavy rainfall across the state in the next two days, Odisha government today asked all the district collectors to remain alert to the possible flood situation. "IMD sources indicate that under the influence of a low pressure area formed over the north-west Bay of Bengal and neighbourhood and associated cyclonic circulation, heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely to occur in different districts with extremely heavy rainfall in some places during the period from July 20 to 22," the Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) B P Sethi informed the district collectors through letters. A copy of such letters is made available to the media. Keeping this situation in view, the SRC said, he had directed all the district administrations to remain prepared to meet any flood/waterlogging situation in the district. The SRC also directed the collectors to ensure round-the-clock functioning of the district Emergency Operation Centres .
Four of family injured as part of ceiling falls on them
At least four members of a family, including two women, were injured when a part of the ceiling of their flat collapsed on them while they were asleep early today, officials said. Their flat is located on the third floor of Navdarshan building opposite Naupada police station. The incident took place around 2.45 am, they said. Santosh Kadam, chief of the Regional Disaster Management Cell (RDMC) of Thane Municipal Corporation said all the injured were admitted to a hospital following the incident. "The building was 35 years old and is in a precarious condition," he said. The injured were identified as Narmada Shelar (75), Mukesh Shelar (50), Milind Shelar (40) and Madhuri Shelar (37). All of them suffered injuries on their heads, the officials said.