Page 784 - Disaster Accident
Death toll from surprise snowstorm in Swiss Alps rises to 7
Swiss authorities say a seventh person has died after getting trapped in the Alps overnight by an unexpected snowstorm. Swiss police said today that a 42-year-old Italian died in a hospital, but provided no further information. A total of 14 hikers from two groups were in the Pigne d'Arolla region of Switzerland, about 10 kilometers (6 miles) west of the famed Matterhorn, when the bad weather hit on Sunday. They spent the night out in freezing temperatures with no shelter before authorities mounted a rescue operation Monday involving seven helicopters. Five other hikers have died in the hospital while being treated for hypothermia. A guide fell to his death before the rescue. Several more people from the stranded groups remain hospitalised.
2 killed when military cargo plane crashes in Georgia
An Air National Guard C-130 cargo plane crashed today near the airport for Savannah, Georgia, killing two, authorities. Chatham County Deputy Coroner Tiffany Williams says police tell her two people have been killed in the crash. Williams said she didn't have any other details on the deaths. The plane crashed at the intersection of two roads, the Chatham County Emergency Management Agency said in a tweet. A photo tweeted by the Savannah Professional Firefighters Association shows the tail end of a plane and a field of flames and black smoke as an ambulance stands nearby. The only part of the plane that remained intact was the tail section, said Chris Hanks, the assistant public information officer with the Savannah Professional Firefighters Association. The tail section was sitting on Highway 21 and the ground in front of it was black and littered with debris, he said. Firefighters had put out the blaze but were still using a mixture of water and foam to take care of any remaining hot
Delhi student's death: School van was plying illegally, says report
A school van in which a seven-year-old girl was travelling when it met with an accident, leaving her dead and 16 other students injured, was plying "illegally" while the driver of the tanker that ploughed into it was drunk, a senior official said.
Heavy rain lashes Delhi-NCR, brings respite from heat
A squall and dust storm followed by heavy rain lashed the national capital and the National Capital Region (NCR) on Wednesday, bringing the minimum temperature to 22 degree Celsius.However, the maximum temperature touched 38.3 degrees Celsius.The gusty winds toppled and fell trees at many places, blocking portions of roads that resulted in traffic jams in several areas.15 flights arriving at Delhi Airport have been diverted due to sudden change in weather.Earlier in the week, the Met Department said that dust storm and thundershower activities will also be expected over Punjab, Haryana, North Rajasthan and West Uttar Pradesh.
Military plane crashes near airport in Georgia
The Air Force says an Air National Guard C-130 cargo plane has crashed near an airport in Savannah, Georgia. In a tweet, the Chatham County Emergency Management Agency says the plane crashed Wednesday at the intersection of two roads. The Savannah Morning News reports the plane was from the Air National Guard 165th Airlift Wing. It crashed around 11:30 am (local time). There was no immediate word of injuries. A photo tweeted by the Savannah Professional Firefighters Association shows the tail end of a plane and a field of flames and black smoke along the side of a road as an ambulance stands nearby.
Grass fire near runway at city airport
A fire was spotted in a stretch of grass beside the secondary runway at Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport (NSCBIA) here today, an Airports Authority of India (AAI) official said. The incident happened around 1.35 pm but there were no reports of any casualty, the official said. Flight operations also remained unaffected, he said. "A grass fire much beyond runway number 19R was reported today. The fire was doused within five minutes," the Director of NSCBIA Atul Dixit said. "No injuries were reported and no operations were affected. The reason behind the fire was unknown," the airport director said. The fire was possibly caused by crackers used to scare away birds from the runways, an AAI official at the airport said.
Southwest plane with cracked window diverted to Cleveland
A Southwest Airlines plane flying from Chicago to New Jersey has been forced to land in Cleveland after one of its windows cracked. There were no reports of injuries after Flight 957 landed safely today morning. Dallas-based Southwest says that the plane diverted to Cleveland for a maintenance review after the issue on one of the multiple layers of window pane. The emergency landing comes two weeks after a Southwest Airlines plane made an emergency landing in Philadelphia after an engine explosion and a blown out window. A woman who was partly sucked out of that window was killed.
Nitish lays foundation stone of 'Bihar Sadan'
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said today his government is working to make all buildings earthquake-resistant in the state as it is prone to natural disasters. He made the statement while laying the foundation stone for the 'Bihar Sadan' in Dwarka here. It will become the state's third guest house in the national capital after 'Bihar Bhawan' and 'Bihar Niwas'. Kumar said buildings based on modern techniques have been coming up in the state for the last few years and they are being "discussed" at the international level. In this context, he mentioned the Bihar museum, Samrat Ashok Convention Centre and a memorial to Mahatma Gandhi. The construction of Bihar Sadan, which will be 10-storeyed and spread across two acres, is likely to be completed by Gandhi's birth anniversary next year.
Around three terrorists trapped in ongoing Shopian encounter
Around three terrorists have been reportedly trapped near Tourkewangam in Shopian district in an ongoing encounter between security forces and terrorists.Earlier today, a gun battle broke out after the terrorists attacked an Army patrol party at Tourkewangam in the district.No casualties have been reported yet.More details are awaited.
Tasks force on disaster risk reduction submits report to Rajnath
A task force set up by the Home Ministry to provide suggestions on disaster risk reduction today presented its report to Home Minister Rajnath Singh here, the ministry said. The report on 'Establishing a Coalition on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI)' provides a step-by-step implementation plan and analysis in order to build and operationalise a coalition, an official statement said. The study includes a business case for the coalition, analysis of best practices of international partnerships in disaster risk and other thematic areas lead by India, and a preliminary design of the coalition besides others. The task force was headed by Preeti Saran, Secretary (East), Ministry of External Affairs. During the Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (AMCDRR) held in New Delhi in November 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had outlined a 10-point agenda for disaster risk reduction. Under the first agenda, the prime minister had said that India will work with other ...
8 killed in lightning strikes in West Bengal: Govt
At least eight people were killed and several others injured in separate incidents of lightning strike and a wall collapse, the West Bengal government said today. However, police in Murshidabad district reported four more deaths - two in Khargram, one in Bharatpur and one in Sagardighi. While three people were killed at Kaligunje in Nadia district, two died in Deganga and one at Amdanga in North 24-Parganas district, one died at Kumargunje in North Dinajpur and one at Domkal in Murshidabad, said Javed Jhan, the disaster management minister. Most of the victims were struck by lightning, while two people died after a portion of a wall collapsed and fell on them, the minister said. Four people were injured in Purulia and two others were injured at Khargram in Murshidabad district, where about 150 families were affected. Relief materials have been rushed to the affected people by the district authority, the minister said. According to the police, a 12-year-old boy was killed in ...
CG rescues 10 stranded fishermen at sea
Ten fishermen, who were stranded at sea for the past seven days after their boat developed a major technical fault off Kasaragod, were today rescued by the Coast Guard. A defence release said the fishing boat AL Ameen had reported loss of propulsion. It had dropped anchor in rough sea about 70 km south west of New Mangalore and sought help. Coast Guard vessel Amartya was sent for search operations and to render assistance. The stranded boat was located and necessary assistance provided to the fishermen. A fisheries department vessel was then sent from Kasaragod yesterday which towed the stranded boat to safety. Amartya also provided support, the release said. The fishing vessel reached Nileshwaram fishing harbour early today, the release added.
Four-year-old killed in house collapse
A four-year old child was killed and three other members of his family were injured when a concrete house collapsed in Odisha's Ganjam district, police said today. The house collapsed at Punanda village, about 40 km from here last night when the family was sleeping inside it, the police said. The slab of the 20-year old house may have collapsed due to the recent rains in the village leading to the tragedy, they said. Police and block level officers rushed to the spot and hospital, where the injured have been admitted. Rs 2000 have been provided to the parents of the deceased under Harish Chandra Yojana for cremation, the block development officer of Sheragada, Suranjan Sahu said.
44 missing in Sao Paulo blaze building collapse: firefighters
Forty-four people were listed as still missing today after a 24-storey building used by squatters in central Sao Paulo was engulfed in fire and collapsed, the Brazilian city's fire department said. In the immediate aftermath of the disaster yesterday only three were unaccounted for, including one man who was seconds from being successfully rescued by firefighters before the building suddenly crashed down. "The fire department is continuing to search, currently with 31 vehicles, 78 firefighters," the department tweeted. "44 missing." There was no indication whether the large number of missing were considered likely to have been killed and buried under the rubble, or whether they simply were not there at the time. The building, a disused former police headquarters, was occupied by 146 homeless families, officials say, blaming lack of even basic fire prevention measures for the accident. Officials have not given a specific cause for the blaze. Sao Paulo is Brazil's financial capital and .
Over 40,000 lightning bolts kill 14 in AP
As many as 14 people were killed in 41,025 lightning strikes in different districts of Andhra Pradesh, the state Disaster Management Department said today. Yesterday, Guntur district recorded the highest number of deaths at six, followed by Vizianagaram (3), West Godavari (2), Srikakulam, Visakhapatnam and East Godavari (one each), a release from the department said. Cloud-to-ground strikes happened in 11 out of 13 districts till 11.40 pm on May 1, the release said, citing reports from Earth Networks, which operates weather and climate sensor networks worldwide. Nellore recorded the highest number of lightning strikes at 11,955, Prakasam (4,725), Srikakulam (4,703), Guntur (4101), Vizianagaram (3901), East Godavari (3216), Krishna (2925), Visakhapatnam (2698), Chittoor (1706), West Godavari (768) and Kadapa (327), the release said. "Owing to sudden change in weather, heavy rain and strong gales occurred in the Bay of Bengal. That had caused the lightning strikes and ...
NDMA plans to create uniform, credible database on disasters
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) is planning to develop a uniform and credible database on man-made and natural disasters in collaboration with global bodies like the UNICEF and the UNDP, the Home Ministry said today. The issue was discussed at a workshop organised by the NDMA with participation of the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR). The two-day workshop is aimed at developing a consensus among various stakeholders on disasters and thresholds, and to develop standardised systems for data collection, updation and validation to ensure accuracy and quality, an official spokesperson said. Such a database would help track our progress towards achieving the targets of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR). Once ready, this database would be able to provide real-time disaggregated data, and this ...
Parijat Industries bags British Safety Council Award 2018
Parijat Industries (India) Pvt Ltd, leading agrochemical company, has received an award from the British Safety Council for innovative safety practices and deployment in health and safety category for the year 2018. This is the second year running that Parijat has received this award from the British Safety Council.The award recognises exceptional performance of health and safety professionals who have played a significant role keeping their work place safe and healthy.The International Safety Awards is an annual scheme constituted by the British Safety Council to recognise and reward good Health and Safety management by organizations of all sizes and sectors that have demonstrated to the satisfaction of the independent judges, their commitment to preventing workplace injuries and work-related ill health around the world during the calendar year."Parijat stands firmly committed to Plant Safety and correct use and handling of pesticides. Receiving this award for the second consecutive .
Parijat Industries bags 2018 British award
Parijat Industries (India) Pvt Ltd, leading agrochemical company, has received an award from the British Safety Council for innovative safety practices and deployment in health and safety category for the year 2018. This is the second year running that Parijat has received this award from the British Safety Council.The award recognises exceptional performance of health and safety professionals who have played a significant role keeping their work place safe and healthy.The International Safety Awards is an annual scheme constituted by the British Safety Council to recognise and reward good Health and Safety management by organizations of all sizes and sectors that have demonstrated to the satisfaction of the independent judges, their commitment to preventing workplace injuries and work-related ill health around the world during the calendar year."Parijat stands firmly committed to Plant Safety and correct use and handling of pesticides. Receiving this award for the second consecutive .
40 students, teachers injured in Nepal bus accident
At least 40 people, mostly students and teachers, sustained injuries when their bus met with an accident in Nepal's Bara district near the Indian border early this morning. The accident occurred in Churiyamai area as the bus, heading towards the popular tourist spot of Pokhara from Jhapa district, was hit by a truck at 2:00 am, according to Makawanpur District Police Office. The students and teachers in the bus were on their way to attend a programme in Pokhara Metropolitan City. One of the injured has been flown to Kathmandu for treatment, six are undergoing treatment in Bharatpur and 33 others have been admitted to hospital in Makawanpur, said the police. However, the condition of all the injured is said to be out of danger.
Udhampur plunges into darkness after heavy rain, storm
Jammu and Kashmir's Udhampur on Wednesday plunged into darkness after heavy rain and storm lashed the district.Due to the current change in temperature, a light to moderate rain and thundershowers will commence over the Western Himalayas from today.This sudden change in weather brought relief to people in the district from the scorching sun.Jammu and Kashmir has been witnessing light rainfall and will continue to brace the same weather from May 3 to May 6.The weather report states that dust storm and thundershower activities are also expected over Punjab, Delhi, Haryana, North Rajasthan and West Uttar Pradesh.