Page 717 - Disaster Accident
Massive blaze in Mumbai's Fort area, 2 fire tenders injured
Two fire tenders were injured on Saturday morning after a Level-4 fire broke out inside Patel Chambers in Mumbai's Fort area.The fire officials got injured after a part of the building collapsed, while they were dousing the fire.At least 18 fire tenders are present at the spot to douse the flame.No casualties have been reported so far.
India, Nepal joint team to assess flood-prone sites
Indian and Nepali officials will conduct an on-site inspection in Nepal's Tarai region to assess the problem of flooding that occurs every year and find ways to combat the crisis.The joint team will inspect the flood-prone area in three phases-before monsoon, during monsoon and post-monsoon."It has been decided to deploy teams to study the situation of flooding to identify the real cause of inundation," Kathmandu Post quoted an official of Nepal's Foreign Ministry as sayingDuring the 12th meeting of Nepal-India Joint Committee on Inundation and Flood Management (JCIFM) in Kathmandu, senior officials from both the countries had agreed to work on overcoming the problem caused by rivers.It was decided that four members each from both the sides will be appointed for inspection.Director of Ganga Flood Control Commission will head the Indian side, while Deputy Director General at Department of Water Induced Disaster Management (DWIDM) was chosen to lead Nepali team.Both the teams are ...
Storm, lightning in UP leave 30 dead
Heavy pre-monsoonal rains lashed many parts of Uttar Pradesh on Friday bringing relief from scorching heat but also leaving 30 persons dead in storm and lightning-related accidents, officials said on Friday.
2 brothers die in road accident
A pickup van rammed into a truck loaded with iron girders, killing two people and injuring four, police said today. The incident took place early morning today under Masuri Police Station area here. The truck driver applied break due to which pickup van driver lost his balance on steering and rammed into the truck. The heavy iron beams pierced through windshield and sliced the neck of pickup van driver Ravi Shankar and his brother Ganpat. While other passengers -- Jitendra, Ram bhool, Leela ram and a police sub-inspector -- sustained injuries, Assistant superintendent of police Aparna Gautam said. Thetruck driver fled away from the spot after the accident, the police said, adding that the truck was seized.
US grounds B-1 bombers over safety concerns
The US Air Force has temporarily grounded its entire fleet of B-1 heavy bombers over safety concerns, officials said today. The safety stand-down, ordered yesterday, follows an investigation into an emergency landing made at Midland, Texas on May 1. Four crewmembers had to land their bomber after some sort of "inflight emergency," officials said. No one was harmed. During the investigation into that incident, "an issue with ejection seat components was discovered that necessitated the stand-down. As these issues are resolved, aircraft will return to flight," the Air Force said in a statement. The B-1B Lancer is a supersonic bomber that can carry the heaviest conventional payload of all the US military's planes. It has wings that can adjust according to its speed and cargo. Though it was originally designed as a nuclear bomber it can no longer carry such weapons.
Four killed in lightning strike in Jharkhand
Four persons including a girl were killed when lightning struck them in two separate incidents in Jharkhand today, police said. A man and his daughter were working in their field at Ramtunda village of Chatra district when lightning struck them during rain, killing them on the spot, a police officer said. In another incident, two persons were killed when lightning struck near Khetko village in Bokaro district this afternoon, police said.
IAF Jaguar develops snag while landing, pilot escapes unhurt
An Indian Air Force Jaguar fighter jet developed a technical snag during landing at the Jamnagar Air Force base and the pilot's seat got "ejected automatically", an IAF official said. The pilot of the aircraft was safe, said the official. "At around 9:20 am, the pilot of a Jaguar aircraft, on a routine mission from Jamnagar, safely ejected when the aircraft developed a snag during the landing phase. It was a minor accident. Pilot is safe," said the official. He said a court of inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the incident. According to him, the plane had not crash landed as it had only developed a technical snag. There was only minor damage to the fighter jet, he said. The official said that the aircraft had developed a technical snag related to the "seat ejection system" while landing. "As per primary reports, the pilot's seat got ejected automatically when the plane landed at the airbase. It was a minor accident which may have caused some damage to the aircraft. ...
2 die in lightning strike in Odisha's Kendrapara district
Two persons were killed when lightning struck them at an orchard in Odisha's Kendrapara district today, police said. The victims were participating in a community feast at the orchard in Tanara village when they were hit by lightning, police said. The deceased have been identified as Himanshu Gahana and Sudhansu Gagana, and an unnatural death case has been registered in this connection. The next kin of the deceased would be disbursed Rs 4 lakh ex-gratia from gratuitous relief fund, said officials.
Five die in separate lightning strikes in UP
As many as five people have died in separate incidents of lightning strikes in Uttar Pradesh's Jaunpur and Rae Bareli districts, officials said today. In Jaunpur, Somaru Pal (50), Kailash Pal (42) and Surat Pal (55) died after the tree under which they had taken shelter due to a heavy downpour was struck by lightning, District Magistrate Arvind Malappa Bangari said. The incident took place in Khajura village under Sarai Khawja police station area. All three died on the spot, the DM added. In Rae Bareli, Suman (35), a resident of Tisakhanapur village under Maharajganj kotwali and Kajal (14), from Gunawar Kamangarpur village under Harchandpur police station area too were killed by lightning strikes, officials said.
Two including minor die after drowning in water tank
In a tragic accident, a man and his eight-year-old relative died after drowning in a water tank in Rajasthan's Hanumangarh district, police said. Shrawan Singh and the minor boy, Badal were fetching water from a farm near their home in Sadar police station area when the kid lost balance and fell into the tank, they said. Shrawan tried to rescue Badal but both of them drowned, they added. The bodies were fished out of the tank and handed over to their family members after post-mortem, police said.
Worker killed, 14 others injured in building collapse
A teenage construction worker was killed and 14 others were injured today when the roof of an under construction three-storeyed building collapsed about 35 km from here, the police said. The deceased has been identified as Kannan (18), hailing from Odisha. The building to accommodate a school, collapsed suddenly and 15 workers were caught under the debris. Fire and rescue personnel and police managed to pull out 15 workers. Kannan died on the way to the Pollachi government hospital where nine of the injured have been admitted, police said. Two workers with head injuries have been admitted to the government hospital here while three treated as out-patients, they said. A search is on to find whether any more workers were trapped under the debris, they said. The under construction building became sogged due to the heavy rains and the roof of the first floor caved in due to weight of construction materials stored there, police said.
Fire breaks out in 4 Gujarat godowns
Major fire broke out in four godowns in Vapi city of Valsad district on Friday.No casualties have been reported so far, according to sources.A total of five fire tenders were rushed to the spot to douse the fire in the godowns.Firefighting operation is underway.Further details are awaited.
Bengal proposes expensive UG mining for Deocha Pachami block
Challenges for the the world's second largest coal block Deocha Pachami in West Bengal seem to rise as conditions for cost effective open-cast mining is not suitable there, a state minister said today. West Bengal government has been scouting for a suitable underground mining technology to extract the coal reserve. As all the other stakeholders in the block has not taken much interest and taken an exit foreseeing issues with the block, West Bengal has got the full allocation of the coal block that is touted to change the face of Birbhum district with job creation of over a lakh people. "Open cast mining at the block cannot be possible. Then, we have to go for underground mining. There is a stone block above the coal seams," state Power Minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay said here today. "I have recently went to Poland to understand the technical know-how to extract coal under the stone block," he said adding that the project is now at its initial stage. Deocha Pachami ...
Two killed in horrific Ghaziabad accident
Two persons were killed here on Friday when their pick-up van rammed into a tractor trolley transporting iron girders protruding outside the vehicle, police said.
India's groundwater widely contaminated with uranium, say researchers
Researchers have found widespread uranium contamination in groundwater from aquifers in 16 Indian states.
Lightning kills 11 in Bihar
At least 11 people were killed and 13 injured as lightning struck parts of Bihar on Friday, officials said.
Formulating stringent law to regulate pvt hospitals: Maha govt to HC
The Maharashtra government today told the Bombay High Court that it was in the process of formulating a stringent law, on the lines of the Centre's Clinical Establishments Act, to regulate private nursing homes and hospitals in the state. Appearing for the state, Advocate General Ashutosh Kumbhakoni told the court that the draft plan for such law was already in place, and the government was in the process of finalising some amendments to it. "Some doctors and other members of the medical community had some objections and suggestions. A committee was formed to consider these objections and suggestions, and to amend the draft plan accordingly. The committee will finalise the draft plan in about three weeks, after which it will be ready to be placed before the state assembly," Kumbhakoni said. The submissions were made before a bench of justices Naresh Patil and G S Kulkarni which was hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Pune resident Atul Bhosale. In the PIL it was ..
Severe uranium contamination in India's groundwater: Study
Scientists have found widespread uranium contamination in groundwater from aquifers across 16 states in India, much above the WHO provisional standard for the country. The findings published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology Letters are the first to demonstrate the predominant prevalence of uranium in India's groundwater. The researchers from Duke University in the US unveiled new data showing that the occurrence in uranium in Indian groundwater - a primary source of drinking water and irrigation - is an emerging and widespread phenomenon. They compiled data on groundwater uranium from 16 Indian states and new data from 324 wells in Rajasthan and Gujarat that shows a high prevalence of uranium concentrations above the World Health Organization (WHO) provisional guideline value across India. The WHO has set a provisional safe drinking water standard of 30 microgrammes of uranium per litre for India, a level that is consistent with US Environmental Protection Agency .
IAF's second Jaguar crash in three days
An Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot escaped narrowly on Friday after the Jaguar aircraft he was flying developed a snag and crashed near an air base here in Gujarat.
IAF Jaguar develops snag while landing, pilot ejects safely
An Indian Air Force Jaguar fighter jet today developed a technical snag during landing at the Jamnagar Air Force base, an IAF official said. The pilot of the aircraft is safe as he ejected in time, said the official. "At around 9:20 am, the pilot of a Jaguar aircraft, on a routine mission from Jamnagar, safely ejected when the aircraft developed a snag during the landing phase. It was a minor accident. Pilot is safe," said the official. He said a court of inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the incident. According to him, the plane has not crash landed, as it had only developed a technical snag.There was only minor damage to the fighter jet, he said. The incident comes just three days after another Jaguar fighter jet crashed in Kutch in which senior IAF pilot Air Commodore Sanjai Chauhan was killed. Air Commodore Chauhan, a recipient of the Vayu Sena Medal and the Air Officer Commanding of Jamnagar Air Force Station, died when the deep penetration plane crashed in a ...