Page 794 - Disaster Accident
UP CM faces protests in Kushinagar
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath today faced angry protests during his visit here to get a first hand account of the train-school van collision that left 13 children dead. As Adityanath reached the accident spot after visiting the district hospital, an angry crowd raised slogans against railway and local authorities. The chief minister tried to pacify them using a megaphone. "Narebazi band karo, nautanki band karo" (stop raising slogans, stop this drama). I have come here to express my sympathies," he said. However, the protesters were not satisfied and some of them squatted on the railway track. They demanded that railway personnel should be posted at the unmanned crossing to avoid such accidents. Members of Bar Council, Kushinagar, also complained about the "irresponsible attitude" of the district hospital staff. "As soon as they saw 13 bodies, senior officials of district hospital at Kushinagar referred four injured children and the driver to BRD Hospital without even ..
Death toll from fire at Indonesian oil well rises to 21
The death toll from a fire at an unregulated oil well in Indonesia's Aceh province has risen to 21 following the deaths of three more victims. The head of the Aceh Disaster Mitigation Agency, Teuku Ahmad Dadek, said Thursday that 38 people are still being treated at three hospitals. Many had severe burns. The newly drilled oil well in Pasir Putih village in eastern Aceh district exploded into flames early Wednesday. Five nearby houses were engulfed. Many of the victims had been collecting oil from the gushing well. Aceh, at the northern tip of the island of Sumatra, has significant commercially untapped natural gas reserves and is dotted with illegal wells.
Railways to eliminate all unmanned level crossings by Mar 2020: Lohani
In the wake of the death of 13 children after a train rammed into their school van at an unmanned railway crossing in Uttar Pradesh today, the Railways said it will eliminate all level crossings by March 31, 2020. Railway Board Chairman Ashwani Lohani also said no step the national carrier takes could be completely foolproof against negligence of people and urged them to be careful while crossing tracks. "We are trying to eliminate UMLCs (unmanned level crossing) by 2020," he said, hours after a passenger train hit the school van killing 13 children -- all of them between the ages of 8-10 years on the spot. Eight others, including the driver of the van, were injured, officials said. Lohani said till the UMLCs are eliminated, people have to be careful while crossing tracks. "There is no substitute to that. The Railways cannot take any step that is completely foolproof against negligence," he said. The officer also said the national transporter has been aggressively removing UMLCs - ...
Rahul expresses grief over death of 13 children in Kushinagar
Congress president Rahul Gandhi today expressed grief over the death of 13 children in an accident at an unmanned railway crossing in Uttar Pradesh's Kushinagar. Gandhi also urged his party workers to help families affected by the accident in all possible ways. I am deeply pained to hear about the death of 13 innocent children in a tragic accident in Kushinagar. I urge local Congress workers to help families affected by the mishap in all possible ways, the Congress chief tweeted. Thirteen children were killed when a train rammed into their school van at an unmanned railway crossing in Kushinagar.
Five folk artistes killed as lorry mows crowd down in AP
Five folk music artistes were killed and two others seriously injured after a cement-laden lorry ploughed into a crowd at Thanavadde Palle, about 60 km from here today, police said. The accident happened while the artistes were waiting alongside the road for a vehicle to return to their village near Madanapalle, they said. After the mishap, the driver fled the scene abandoning the lorry, which had Tamil Nadu registration, they added. The injured were undergoing treatment. A search is on for the driver, police said.
N Korea's Kim sees off train returning dead Chinese tourists
North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un personally saw off a train repatriating the bodies of dozens of Chinese tourists who were killed in a bus accident as he issued a fresh apology to Beijing over the tragedy, state media reported today. Thirty-two Chinese tourists and four North Koreans perished when a bus they were travelling in plunged off a bridge south of Pyongyang Sunday night, according to Chinese officials. Two other Chinese nationals were injured. Beijing is the isolated regime's sole major ally, providing an important economic and political buffer against international opprobrium. The crash has sparked a series of rare mea culpas on North Korea's tightly controlled propaganda network in which Kim has taken centre stage both in responding to the crash and apologising to China. In two new dispatches on Thursday morning, the North's state-run KCNA news agency said Kim went to Pyongyang's station on Wednesday evening "to see off a special purpose train carrying the bodies of Chinese
Japan court upholds damages over student tsunami deaths: report
A Japanese appeals court today upheld a ruling awarding millions of dollars in compensation to families of children swept out to sea by the massive 2011 tsunami, local media said. In 2016, the Sendai district court ruled two local governments should pay a combined 1.43 billion yen ($13.7 million) to 29 plaintiffs -- parents of 23 children who were killed in the disaster. The victims, from the public Okawa Elementary School in the city of Ishinomaki, were among a total of 74 children who perished in rising waters after being told to wait for more than 40 minutes in school grounds with teachers, 10 of whom also died. The plaintiffs argued their children would have survived if they had been evacuated in time. The local governments appealed the 2016 decision, but on Thursday the Sendai High Court said the lower court ruling was correct, local media reported. "(The school) should have been able to forecast before the occurrence of the quake that a tsunami would reach the school," ...
Adityanath visits Kushinagar accident victims, orders enquiry
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday condemned the Kushinagar school van accident which claimed 11 student's lives as he visited the civic hospital to meet the accident victims.He told ANI "Today an unfortunate incident has taken place. My heart goes to the family members who have lost their children."He further informed to have spoken to state's rail minister Manoj Sinha regarding this incident and said, "The driver of the van is at fault at prima facie" who was probably driving with his earphones on.Further, there is no confirmation yet upon the age of the accused driver.The Uttar Pradesh government will take a strict action against the people responsible for the incident and required arrangements shall be made to avoid any similar incidents in the future, as assured by Chief Minister Adityanath.He further pointed out the laxity on the part of the school which admitted the students with serious head injuries to BRD medical college instead of sending them to a ...
Schoolgirl killed in road accident in Delhi
A 7-year-old schoolgirl was killed and 16 others were injured when a speeding tanker hit their van in North Delhi on Thursday morning, police said.
Kushinagar tragedy: Railways committed to eliminate unmanned railway crossings, says official (Third Lead)
Railway Board Chairman Ashwahi Lohani on Thursday said that the Indian Railways is committed to "eliminate unmanned level crossings" after 13 school children were killed and six seriously injured when a train hit their van at an unmanned railway crossing in Uttar Pradesh's Kushinagar.
13 kids killed in UP accident, CM visits spot
Thirteen children were killed and six critically injured when a train rammed into a school van at an unmanned crossing on Thursday. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath visited the accident site in Kushinagar.
Aiming to eliminate unmanned level crossings by 2020: Railway Board Chairman
Railway Board Chairman Ashwani Lohani on Thursday said that the railway is aiming to eliminate unmanned level crossings by March 2020.Lohani's reaction came after 13 school students died in the Kushinagar train-school van accident in an unmanned crossing.Addressing a presser, Lohani said, "According to latest reports, 13 school students have died in collision between a school van and train in Uttar Pradesh's Kushinagar. We are trying to eliminate unmanned level crossings.""The railway board chairman also said that a total of 109 accidents have taken place at unmanned level crossings in the country since 2014-15 and asserted that railways aim to eliminate unmanned level crossings by March 2020," he added.He further said that this is the first accident at an unmanned level crossing this year."There was a rail mitra (rail volunteer) at the spot, who tried to stop the school van, but the driver did not stop. This is the first accident at an unmanned level crossing this year," he ...
N.Korea's nuclear test caused collapse: Chinese Geologists
Chinese geologists have claimed that North Korea's nuclear test in September 2017 was so strong that it caused an on-site collapse at the Punggye-ri site, the media reported on Thursday.
President, PM condole death of children in UP accident
President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the loss of lives of 13 school children in an accident at a railway crossing in Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday.
13 children killed, 8 hurt as train hits school van at unmanned crossing
At least 13 children, aged between 7 and 11, were today killed when a train rammed into their school van at an unmanned railway crossing in Uttar Pradesh's Kushinagar area, around 50 km from Gorakhpur. Eight other children were injured in the accident that occurred early this morning, Principal Secretary (Information) Awanish Awasthi said. The children, students of Divine Public School, were killed on the spot when the Thawe-Kapatanganj passenger train crashed into the vehicle carrying them at the unmanned level crossing gate at Behpurva, officials said. The train was on way to Gorakhpur from Siwan.There were at least 25 passengers, including children, in the vehicle which was smashed under the massive impact of the accident. "It was an unmanned level crossing gate at Behpurva, with Gate Mitra (rail volunteer) deployed there. He tried to stop the vehicle but the unfortunate incident happened at unmanned gate 45 near Dudhi station in Banaras division," an official ...
Study finds link between cognitive function and crash risk
Older drivers with lower levels of cognitive function are more likely to be involved in a crash, according to a study.Researchers have a history of studying driver safety in older adults after they've been diagnosed with dementia, a decline in memory and other mental abilities that make daily living difficult.However, we have limited knowledge about the effects on older drivers whose problems with mental abilities are less severe than those associated with dementia.Recently, a team of researchers designed a study to learn more about cognitive health and older drivers' crash risks.In this study, the researchers focused on links between levels of cognitive function and crash risk among older drivers without dementia over a 14-year study period. They also assessed the link between changes in cognitive function over time and later risks of crashes.The researchers used information from the Adult Changes in Thought (ACT) study, an ongoing study of adults aged 65 and older. The researchers ..
Railway minister orders inquiry into Kushinagar train-school van accident
Railway Minister Piyush Goyal today ordered an inquiry into the Kushinagar train-school van accident and announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh for the kin of the deceased. The minister also said that the Railways will provide an ex gratia amount of Rs 1 lakh for those with serious injuries and Rs 50,000 for those simple injuries. Thirteen children were killed and eight others injured when a train rammed into their school van at an unmanned railway crossing in Uttar Pradesh's Kushinagar area, around 50 km from Gorakhpur, this morning. In a statement, Goyal said he was deeply anguished and pained by the loss of lives of young school children at an unmanned level crossing (UMLC) in Kushinagar. "My thoughts are with families of the deceased and I pray for the early recovery of the injured. Ministry of Railways will provide an ex gratia amount of Rs 2 lakh for kin of the deceased, Rs 1 lakh for those with serious injuries and Rs 50,000 for those with simple injuries," the railway minister .
Truck runs over 'Dappu' artistes in Andhra, 5 killed
Five 'Dappu' artistes were killed and three others were injured when a truck ran over them in Andhra Pradesh's Chittoor district on Thursday, police said.
Japan deports North Koreans rescued from boat: media
The last two of 10 North Koreans rescued from a tiny wooden boat drifting off northern Japan last year have been deported back to their country, a report said today. The other eight members of the crew were deported in February, but the captain was in custody facing theft charges and the last member was being treated for tuberculosis. The captain was arrested and indicted last year for stealing a power generator from a local fishery cooperatives facility on the island, part of Hokkaido -- the northernmost of Japan's four main islands. In March, he received a suspended prison sentence of two years and six months. The ten men were first spotted late last year by coast guard as their dilapidated boat drifted into waters off the island of Hokkaido. On Thursday, private broadcaster TBS showed footage of what it said was a car carrying the skipper and the last crew member to a port in Hokkaido from the immigration facility where they had been detained. From there, they were sent to Tokyo's .
Kushinagar accident: PM Modi expresses grief, assures action
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday expressed grief over the Kushinagar accident that claimed 11 students' lives and assured that the Uttar Pradesh government and Railway department will take appropriate action on it.At least 11 school students were killed after the vehicle they were travelling in collided with a passenger train at an unmanned crossing in Uttar Pradesh's Kushinagar."I am extremely saddened on hearing about the death of 11 school students in a collision between a school van and a train in Uttar Pradesh's Kushinagar. The Uttar Pradesh government and railway dept will take appropriate action," Prime Minister Modi said while interacting with the Karnataka faction through the NaMo App.Meanwhile, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal took to Twitter and expressed his deepest condolences on the concerned accident and announced an ex-gratia of Rs two lakh each to the kin of the victims."I am saddened by the news of school children dying in a train accident. I have spoken to ...