Page 746 - Disaster Accident
2 lakh Rohingya refugees at risk from flooding, landslides: UN
About 150,000-200,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar are at risk from flooding and landslides during the monsoon season, the UN has said. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres' spokesperson Stphane Dujarric told reporters here yesterday that more than 7,000 Rohingya refugees were affected by storms or landslides earlier this month, at the start of the monsoon season. The monsoons typically deposit 2.5 meters of rain on Cox's Bazar, resulting in significant flooding. As a result, 150,000-200,000 refugees and 883 community facilities are at risk from flooding and landslides during the monsoon season, including 25,000 refugees at critical risk, he said. Dujarric said UN Agencies have ramped up preparedness activities to mitigate the effects of the rains on refugees. While Bangladesh has been dealing with monsoons annually and has developed some experience in these matters, the situation present in the refugee camps is unique in scope and volume, and the international ...
US-registered executive jet crashes in Honduras
A US-registered executive jet with at least six people on board crashed late on Tuesday at Tegucigalpa's Toncontin international airport in Honduran, officials said.
Cuba identifies remains of 50 of plane crash dead
Cuba now has identified the remains of 50 of the 111 people killed in the country's worst air disaster in decades. A Boeing 737 leased to national carrier Cubana de Aviacion crashed shortly after taking off from Havana's Jose Marti airport on Friday, with 113 passengers and crew aboard. Just two survivors remain -- both Cuban woman who are fighting for their lives at Havana's Calixto Garcia hospital. "I can inform you that we have identified 50 of the bodies through Tuesday midday," Forensics Office Director Sergio Rabell told a news conference. The Mexicans identified include the pilot, Angel Luis Nuez Santos, 53, and the co-pilot, Miguel Angel Arreola Ramirez, 40. Still awaiting identification are the remains of a couple from Argentina, a Mexican tourist, a passenger from Western Sahara, and some 50 Cubans, Rabell added. The Cuban government is investigating the cause of the crash and some of those killed have already been buried. Transport Minister Adel Yzquierdo has said one of ...
Jammu: 13 injured in Pak ceasefire violation
As many as 13 people were injured, including three serious, in Ramgarh sector of Jammu, due to ceasefire violation by Pakistan on Tuesday, said Director General of Police (DGP) of Jammu and Kashmir, Shesh Paul Vaid."Thirteen civilians injured including three serious in Ramgarh sector of Jammu International Border due to Pakistan firing in Araspura, Arnia, Ramgarh, Samba, Hiranagar sectors. Sad incident, feel bad for the injured. Police assisting in shifting of the injured to the hospital," Vaid tweeted.On Tuesday, Pakistan violated ceasefire in Hiranagar, Samba, Ramgarh, Arnia and Suchetgarh sectors of Jammu.Border Security Force jawans are retaliating immediately.Earlier today, people residing near the border areas in Hiranagar sector were forced to migrate to safe places due to the firing from other side of the border.Pakistan restored heavy shelling on the border of Hiranagar sector and possed extensive loss.Villages like Pansar, Manyari ,Rathua, Bobiya, Muthi Charu and Londi were .
Building collapses in Jodhpur; 3 rescued
Three persons were rescued from the debris after a building collapsed on a busy road in Sardarpura area here today. Teams of Jodhpur Municipal Corporation, the police and civil defence personnel, besides officials from the Jodhpur Development Authority (JDA) swung into action after receiving reports of the incident. The rescue operation, which lasted for about four hours, pulled out two men and a boy from the debris alive, the police said. "We are thankful to God that all the three persons stuck under the debris were saved," Mayor Ghanshyam Ojha said. The accident was triggered by construction work in the adjacent plot. An excavator had been digging sand just below the wall of the ill-fated building and in no time, the entire building came down. When asked about the construction activity, Ojha said, As far as the construction at the adjacent plot, its permission and compliance to the construction parameters, I have given directions to the officials. If found guilty, action would be ...
Residents in Jammu's Hiranagar migrate after Pakistan's ceasefire violation
People residing near the border areas in Jammu's Hiranagar sector were forced to migrate to safe places after Pakistan continued to violate ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) on Tuesday.Pakistan restored heavy shelling on the border of Hiranagar sector and possed extensive loss.Nearly half dozen of border villages were badly affected, in which one person was injured and three houses were burnt to ashes. Further three animals were killed and half dozen got injured.The injured person is under treatment at Sub District Hospital, Hiranagar.The firing started at 9 am today and continued till afternoon.Villages like Pansar, Manyari ,Rathua, Bobiya, Muthi Charu and Londi were badly affected due to firing.Following the heavy shelling, the district administration sent a bulletproof vehicle to border village Bobiya and evacuated the people to safe place.On Monday, residents of the Arnia sector in Jammu were forced to migrate to safer places after Pakistan continued to violate ceasefire ..
Navy conducts exercise in Western Offshore Development area
The Navy today conducted a security exercise, called "Prasthan", in the Offshore Development Area (ODA) off the coast of Mumbai. The exercise, conducted by the Headquarters Western Naval Command, is held every six months, a Defence spokesperson said. The exercise aims to integrate maritime stakeholders, including the Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, ONGC, Port Trust, Customs, State Fisheries department and Marine Police, towards refining standard operating procedures for response to various contingencies that could occur in the ODAs, he said. The exercise was conducted on the MHN platform of ONGC located about 95 nautical miles west of Mumbai, the spokesperson said in a statement here tonight. The drill focused on contingencies like collision of an adrift vessel with an oil platform, fire on an oil platform, oil spill and pollution control, casualty evacuation from the ODA, and search and rescue for a crashed helicopter. The exercise provided a realistic scenario for all ...
Congress leader seeks structural audit of Goa bridges
In the wake of collapse of an under-construction flyover in Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi district that claimed 15 lives, the Congress on Tuesday demanded a thorough structural audit of two under-construction bridges across major rivers in Goa.
Canal cleaning to shield Bangladeshis, Rohingya refugees from monsoons: UN
Rome, May 22 (IANS/AKI) A major canal dredging and renovation project is underway to protect local residents and refugees in southern Bangladesh from impending monsoon floods, the United Nations migration agency said on Tuesday.
TN asks Centre to increase supply of coal
Tamil Nadu today asked the Centre to increase the supply of coal to make thermal power stations in the state attain full capacity. State electricity minister P Thangamani, who met the union minister of coal, railways and finance Piyush Goyal in New Delhi, requested him to supply the required coal through seven additional goods trains. Thangamani said 72 tonnes of coal a day were required to meet the production of thermal power stations in the state. "As per the agreement with Coal India, coal was supposed to be supplied through 16 trains. But, it is being sent through 13 trains," he said. The minister requested Goyal to allot additional coal to enhance the production capacities of North Chennai Thermal Power Station (2x600 MW capacity) and Mettur Thermal Power Station (of 1x600 MW). Chairman and managing director of Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Ltd, Vikram Kapur was also present at the meeting.
Fear grips border villages as Pakistan Rangers pound civilian areas
An all-pervading fear on Tuesday gripped scores of residents of border villages in Jammu and Samba districts following indiscriminate shelling on civilian areas by Pakistan Rangers.
Kandahar blast: Death toll rises to 16
The death toll in Tuesday's car explosion attack in Kandahar has risen to 16, while 38 others were injured, according to media reports.Earlier, three people were killed and 25 others were injured in the car bomb blast, officials said."The huge blast occurred in Police District 14 of the city at around 12:30 p.m (local time). The whole place has now been sealed off. The blast caused a plume of gray smoke to rise above the scene," an eyewitness told Xinhua news agency.Kandahar governor's spokesman, Daoud Ahmadi said the explosives inside the vehicle went off before they could be defused, TOLOnews reported.No group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet.
Karachi: 65 succumb to deadly heat waves
At least 65 people have died in different areas of Karachi due to heatstroke, Edhi Foundation head Faisal Edhi confirmed.As per a report by local Pakistan newspaper on Monday, out of 114 bodies brought at Edhi's morgue situated in Karachi's Korangi and Sohrab Goth areas in the past three days, 65 died out of heatstroke.Edhi confirmed the most of the heatstroke victims belong to two districts named Landhi and Korangi.Most of the victims are aged between six to 78 years and have died in their homes.The situation was exacerbated by citywide power outages and due to the observance of fast during the holy month of Ramzan. During the fasting period, the practicing Muslims abstain themselves from drinking water for long periods."People died because they did not get medical help on time," Edhi further said.The Pakistan officials have issued advisories warning people to stay indoors during daytime.Some local media reports quoted Metrological Department saying that Karachi is expected to see an
Living in the shadow of death: People flee border hamlet due to Pak firing
The metallic smell of gunpowder lingered in the air and thick clouds of smoke belched from the charred houses in the Jorafarm hamlet, razed to the ground in the relentless firing by Pakistan before residents could have their Sehri - pre-dawn Ramaz meal. "What Sehri? We are alive because we fled our homes in the dark. When it was time for Sehri, we watched our hamlet being torn down by Pakistan," Jallan Din Gujjar, a resident of Jorafarm said. Pakistan today rained down mortars on the "hamlet of Gujjar milkmen", located around 400 metres from the border. The shells blew their kullas (mud houses) to smithereens, turning the hamlet into a huge heap of debris, said one of the residents. Din, who returned to the hamlet in the R S Pura sector to rescue his horses, said the border dwellers "live in the shadow of death". "We are lucky to have escaped the brutality. We have taken refuge in a government building at some distance from the hamlet," another resident said. Pakistani troops have ...
30 bus shelters with modern facilities to be set up in Hyd
Thirty bus shelters with modern facilities like air conditioning,Wi-Fi,mobile charging points, ATM, water dispensers and CCTV cameras, among others, will be set up here, Telangana Minister for Municipal Administration and Urban Development K T Rama Rao said here today. He said this after inaugurating the first Grade 1 Advanced Bus shelter at Shilparamam near Hitec city here. The Minister also inspected the baby feeding room, kiosks, and SoS button in the modern bus shelter. The exclusive baby feeding room will facilitate mothers who may have to feed their kids on the go. "This facility is not restricted only to the passengers who throng the bus shelter for boarding a bus. This is meant for mothers who pass by the area also," officials said. The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, with a view to build modern bus shelters with high quality amenities under Public Private Partnership framework, had issued notification to construct 826 bus shelters here in four packages ...
New air passenger-friendly norms soon
Domestic air passengers will soon be able to avail full refunds and additional compensation for flight delays, cancellations as the government on Tuesday put in the public domain a new 'passenger charter' for eliciting comments, suggestions before notifying them.
Two Sherpa guides killed on Everest
Two Sherpa guides working on Everest were confirmed dead today, bringing the death toll on the world's highest peak this spring climbing season to five. The two guides -- both ethnic Sherpas from the valleys that surround Everest -- were working on opposite sides of the mountain, which straddles the border between Nepal and Tibet. Experienced guide Damai Sarki Sherpa, 37, fell more than 60 metres into a crevasse yesterday as he was helping a foreign climber to a rescue helicopter on the Nepal side of the mountain. "He was rescued but had a very bad head injury. He died last night," Gyanendra Shrestha, a government official at Everest base camp, told AFP. Mingma Gelu Sherpa, of Seven Summit Adventure company, said one of their guides died last Friday. Pasang Norbu Sherpa perished just below the summit in Tibet from a suspected heart attack, his employer said today. A third guide, Lama Babu Sherpa, went missing near Everest's summit earlier this month and is presumed dead. Two other ...
Death toll in DR Congo Ebola outbreak now at 27
The death toll from Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has risen to 27, the health ministry said today, after a fatality was recorded in a city on the front line of the outbreak. The death, which involved a person confirmed by lab tests as having the viral disease, occurred in Wangata, a district of Mbandaka, the ministry said in a press release. So far, there have been 51 cases since the outbreak was declared on May 8, it said. Of these, 28 cases have been confirmed, 21 are probable and two are suspected. One of the world's most notorious diseases, Ebola is a virus-caused haemorrhagic fever that in extreme cases leads to fatal bleeding from internal organs, the mouth, eyes or ears. The outbreak began in rural northwestern DRC in a remote location called Bikoro, about 150 kilometres away. Last Thursday, a first case was reported in Mbandaka, an event that triggered international concern. The city of around 1.2 million people, lies on the Congo River, where it is a ...
SC to hear plea against NGT order on lead content in PVC pipes
The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear a plea challenging the National Green Tribunal's order by which it has put on hold its earlier direction mandating all the manufacturers of Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) pipes with lead content to carry a warning that their use was harmful to human health.
2 killed in Netherlands plane crash
Two people were killed when their small plane crashed 15 minutes after taking off from Rotterdam The Hague Airport on Tuesday.