Page 741 - Disaster Accident
5 dead in road accident in J&K
Five people have been killed and seven injured in a road accident in Jammu and Kashmir's Samba on Friday.Dr H.Singh, Medical Superintendent, district hospital, said, "We have done the postmortem of deceased and have handed over their bodies to their families. Some injured have been referred to better hospitals for treatment."More details awaited.
One dead as Cyclone Mekunu hits southern Oman
Cyclone Mekunu lashed southern Oman with high winds and rain, killing at least one person and wounding three a day after wreaking havoc on the Yemeni island of Socotra. Oman's directorate general of meteorology said the centre of the cyclone struck west of Salalah, the second largest city in the Gulf state, late Friday accompanied with strong winds, torrential rains and high tides. "Latest observations show that the centre of the cyclone hit the coast of Dhofar province," west of Salalah, the main city in the province, the directorate said in its latest warning. State-run Oman Television showed footage of large areas covered with floods in Dhofar and the nearby Al-Wusta provinces. Dozens of vehicles were seen submerged in several areas. Head of the directorate Abdullah al-Khoduri told Oman TV that the cyclone, which intensified to category 2 early Friday, was downgraded to category 1 after losing some of its strength. He said it would weaken further Saturday morning into a tropical ..
IMD issues warning about severe cyclonic storm 'Mekunu'
The Indian Meteorological Department has issued a warning regarding cyclone 'Mekunu' for Maharashtra-Goa coast.Mekunu is likely to intensify into a cyclonic storm during next 24 hours and into a severe one in subsequent 24 hours.Cyclone Mekunu neared the Arabian Peninsula on Friday as after causing damage in Oman.At least 40 people were reported missing on Socotra while some were feared dead as flash floods washed away thousands of animals and cut power lines on the isle in the Arabian Sea.Earlier, dust storms, followed by heavy rainfall and lightning, hit various parts of the country.From Delhi to West Bengal to Andhra Pradesh, many states witnessed the loss of lives and properties.
Massive forest fire breaks out in J&K's Rajouri
A massive fire broke out in a forest in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri on Friday.Locals said that the situation was out of control as the fire was spreading rapidly, adding that even the officials were finding it difficult to contain the fire."Officials are working to control the fire, but it is difficult to do so as no fire tenders can reach here," locals said.This comes merely two days after Indian Air Force helicopters doused a forest fire that broke out in Trikuta Hills of Katra district, using under-slung Bambi buckets.According to forest department officials, the soaring temperature and the lack of rainfall are the main reason behind the rise in the incidents of forest fire.
Cuba plane crash toll rises to 112 with death of survivor
The Cuban Health Ministry says the toll from the crash of a passenger jet in Cuba has risen to 112 after another survivor of the catastrophe died. A ministry statement says Emiley Sanchez de la O succumbed to her extensive injuries early Friday after nearly a week of treatment. The 40-year-old woman was one of three people who initially survived the May 18 crash of the Boeing 7373-200 jet shortly after takeoff from Havana. A 23-year-old who lived through the crash died earlier this week, and authorities have identified the only living survivor as 19-year-old Mailen Diaz. The plane was being operated by a Mexican charter company for state-owned airline Cubana when it abruptly plunged in a fireball in Havana's rural outskirts. The cause remains under investigation.
Bangladesh Coast Guard ship visits Chennai port
Bangladesh Coast Guard ship Tajuddin today arrived here to enhance inter-operability in maritime search and rescue between the two countriess. Bangladesh and India have signed a memorandum of understanding to maintain maritime safety between two Coast Guards. The aim of the visit was to develop working level cooperation between the Coast Guards of the two countries and enhance inter-operability in maritime search and rescue, anti-piracy operations, an official release said. The ship's crew were given traditional reception upon their arrival. The Bangladesh Coast Guard personnel would be calling on important dignitaries during their brief visit to city and a friendly volleyball match between the two Coast Guards are also planned on May 27. The crew would also visit maritime rescue and coordination centre, Coast Guard air station and pollution response team in Chennai.
Air India grounds several passengers due to overbooking
Air India grounded several passengers at Indira Gandhi International Airport on Friday after its Delhi -Rajkot flight was found to be overbooked.The airlines refused to allow few passengers to board AI-495 flight scheduled for around 5 pm.The deboarded passengers were sent to their respective destinations through an alternative flight.A spokesperson of the national carrier said, "In practice, we booked over 10 percent passengers, in this case, passengers be accommodated in the next flight."Reportedly, the passengers protested against the move at the airport terminal.
MMRC to install 240 pumps to control flooding during monsoon
The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC), which is implementing the Colaba-Bandra-Speez metro project, will be installing 240 pumps where the metro works are being carried out to control flooding during the monsoons. "The construction has been organised in a manner that wherever the existing infrastructure of the utilities has been taken away, we have diverted properly to avert incidents of flooding due to the ongoing construction," MMRC Director (Projects) S K Gupta here. As many as 240 pumps will be installed at various sites to control flooding, he said.
Railways decides to strengthen mechanism to ensure food safety
Days after 14 people complained of discomfort following breakfast on board the Puri-Howrah Shatabdi Express, the railways today decided to deploy 300 health inspectors, conduct more surprise tests on samples and create a databank of vendors across its network to ensure the quality of food served. At a high-level meeting, it was also decided that food safety officers (FSO) will cover each division of the railways, besides directing all vendors to register themselves online with food safety regulator, FSSAI. "We discussed ways to strengthen the entire ecosystem of food being served and sold by railways. It was decided to ensure that all vendors register with FSSAI online for better monitoring," FSSAI CEO Pawan Agarwal told PTI. He said at present, some of the vendors have paper registration of their license and efforts are being made to shift the registration process online. The online registration will begin in the next 15 days, the railways said in a statement. "It has been decided in
15 people injured as fire spreads after LPG leak
Fifteen persons suffered burn injuries in a fire that broke out following a leak from a cooking gas cylinder in east Delhi's Shahdara, police said on Friday.
Cyclone Mekunu to be 'extremely severe' on landfall in Oman
Cyclone Mekunu neared the Arabian Peninsula today as its outer bands dumped heavy rain and bent palm trees in Oman, a sign of the approaching storm's power after earlier thrashing the Yemeni island of Socotra. Already at least 40 people, including Yemenis, Indians and Sudanese, were reported missing on Socotra, where flash floods washed away thousands of animals and cut power lines on the isle in the Arabian Sea. Officials feared some may be dead. The cyclone is expected to make landfall early Saturday near Salalah, Oman's third-largest city and home to some 200,000 people close to the sultanate's border with war-ravaged Yemen. Conditions quickly deteriorated in Salalah after sunrise Friday, with winds and rain beginning to pick up. Strong waves smashed into empty tourist beaches. Many holidaymakers fled the storm yesterday before Salalah International Airport closed. The Port of Salalah a key gateway for the country also closed, its cranes secured against the pounding rain. Streets
Two Punjab engineers suspended after molasses discharge into Beas
Punjab Environment Minister Om Prakash Soni on Thursday suspended two engineers of the Environment Department for laxity after discharge of molasses into the Beas river from a sugar factory in Gurdaspur district led to an environmental disaster causing death of thousands of fish and contaminating the river water.
Fire in Hotel Grand, no casualties
A fire broke out today in the Hotel Grand at Vasant Kunj and five fire tenders were rushed to the spot, police said. "There was a fire near the boundary wall near a tin shed, and fire tenders doused it immediately. There were no casualties," an official from the fire department told PTI. In 2008, a major fire broke out in the five-star hotel and nearly 250 guests, including foreigners, had to be evacuated.
Overbooked Air India flight leaves passengers behind
Some passengers of an Air India Delhi-Rajkot flight were left aggrieved today at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here after the airline denied boarding to them on the ground that the flight was overbooked. The airlines did not allow some passengers to board the Rajkot-bound flight scheduled for around 5 pm from here. Confirming the incident, an Air India spokesperson said it was a "rare occurrence" and that only two passengers were affected. They are being send to their destinations through an alternative flight. The passengers are believed to have protested the incident at the airport terminal, the spokesperson said. The spokesperson said usually up to 10 per cent extra booking is allowed to ensure optimum capacity utilisation and keeping in mind the last minute cancellations. "In this particular sector, 2-3 per cent extra booking was allowed and in this particular flight all the passengers reported for the journey, thus leading to this incident," the spokesperson said.
Private hospitals remain shut in Odisha
Healthcare services were affected in Odisha as thousands of private clinics, hospitals and diagnostic centres remained closed on Friday, officials said.
Parts of UP receive light to moderate rainfall
Dust storm and thunderstorm accompanied with light to moderate rains has occurred in isolated places in Uttar Pradesh even as heatwave condition prevailed in some other parts of the state. Yesterday, day temperatures were above normal in Allahabad, Moradabad and Meerut, while Jhansi was the hottest place in the state where the mercury touched 46.6 degrees Celsius, the meteorological department said. Heatwave conditions are very likely to prevail at isolated places over the state tomorrow while rain and thunderstorm are likely to occur at isolated places in the state on May 27 and May 28. The weatherman has forecast heatwave conditions in Jhansi, Mahoba, Hamirpur, Banda, Fatehpur, Jalaun, Agra, Firozabad, Etawah, Mainpuri, Kannauj, Aurraiya and adjoining areas.
PowerGrid to restore damaged transmission line by early next month
State-run Power Grid Corporation today said it will complete by the first week of next month the restoration work of transmission lines damaged in windstorms. "Work for restoration of balance 12 transmission lines is in full swing with mobilisation of 39 gangs consisting of 1,000+ persons and is expected to be restored by the first week of June 2018," PowerGrid said in a statement. PowerGrid has restored 54 transmission lines on war footing within 24 to 30 hours that had been damaged in the severe windstorms of speed up to 130 km/hr that hit several parts of India this month. About 66 transmission elements, including several sub-station equipment, were reported damaged. The company said swift action taken by it for the restoration of lines/substation equipment minimised the impact of line trippings on the national grid and it was able to meet the power demand of 160 GW of the country, which is the highest so far. PowerGrid Chairman and MD I S Jha told PTI that the company has reviewed
Tests show food not contaminated: Railway on Shatabdi Express incident
Railways today said it found no evidence of food contamination after 14 passengers complained of discomfort folowing breakfast on board the Puri-Howrah Shatabdi Express. It claimed that the passengers could have suffered from indigestion as they had self-cooked meal late in the night at a hotel before they boarded the early morning train. At least 14 passengers were admitted to Railway Hospital at Kharagpur when they complained of uneasiness and started vomiting after allegedly eating the non-vegetarian food served on the train on Wednesday. "A detailed investigation has found that the 14 passengers were travelling together and they had eaten a meal cooked by themselves late at night. "They had checked out of the hotel at 4:30 am and it seems that their discomfort was caused by indigestion. Also, the sample test we conducted on the food they had eaten showed no abnormalities," said Director, Information and Publicity, Railway Board, Ved Prakash. Prakash claimed that according to food .
Delhi may face blackout due to coal shortage: Minister
Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) may face a blackout as power plants in the region do not have reserve coal for "more than one day", Delhi Power Minister Satyendar Jain said on Friday.
UAE issues Kerala travel warning over Nipah virus
The UAE has asked its citizens to put off unnecessary travel to Kerala where a Nipah virus outbreak has claimed 11 lives while at least 40 others are in quarantine, the health ministry said in a statement. The virus, which commonly affects animals such as bats, pigs, dogs, and horses, can spread to humans and cause serious illness among humans. In Kerala, the Nipah virus has so far claimed 11 lives and the state government has stepped up efforts to contain the outbreak. The UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention (Mohap) in a statement said that it was closely monitoring the situation. "The ministry works with its strategic partners to assess the risk of importation of Nipah virus (NiV) cases to the country and put the necessary control measures. Also, Mohap is in continuous coordination with the World Health Organisation (WHO) to implement the global recommendations," read the statement. "Mohap alerts the people travelling to Kerala to be aware of possibly of contracting the infection .