Page 813 - Disaster Accident
300 stranded passengers on J-K's Mughal Road rescued
Over 300 passengers which were stranded on Jammu and Kashmir's Mughal Road due to heavy snowfall and avalanche were rescued today, police said. For safe rescue of the passengers, a joint party trekked 8 kilometer before getting access to the stranded passengers, the police said. "In a marathon effort, around 300 passengers which were stranded on Mughal Road were rescued by the efforts of concerned authorities," the police said. The vehicles got stranded approximately 4 kilometers away from Pir ki Gali on the Mughal Road due to heavy snowfall and avalanche last night, he said. After receiving calls from the passengers, a police team, Army and Mughal Road authority was rushed to Pir ki Gali along with machinery to clear the debris dumped on the road due to avalanche and snow, he said. The operation was supervised by SSP Poonch Rajiv Pandey. The district magistrate of Poonch has directed the Mughal Road authorities to expedite the avalanche clearance works and clear the road at the ...
19 killed during thunderstorm in Rajasthan
Five children were among 19 killed due to thunderstorm and strong winds here, police said today. Most of the people died either because of collapse of walls or roof or due to tree fall, the police said, adding 13 were killed in Dhoplur and five in Bharatpur. As many as 13 people have died and around 50 injured in different cases caused by the storm last evening in Dholpur, SDM Dholpur O P Saharan said. Seven people died in five different incidents last night. Some among them were related to wall collapse, SHO, Kaulari Police Station, Paramjeet Singh, said, adding a five-year-old girl also died in the incident in Saipau area. District collector Suchi Tyagi visited the district hospital and met with the injured. Those who were killed in Dholpur were identified as Bhagwati (30), Khiloni (35), Pinki (18), Surajbhan (60), Umesh (14), Nirmala (35), Guddi (40), Suman (30), Manisha (2), Manoj (18), Ramavtaar (42), Poonam (7), Gudia (5 months) and Matlana (2). In Bharatpur district, five ...
Four labourers dead in accident in Chhattisgarh
Four labourers were killed while eight others sustained injuries when the pick-up van they were travelling in rammed into a stationary truck in Chhattisgarh's Balodabazar-Bhatapara district in the early hours today. The accident took place around 1 AM when the labourers were returning to Suhela from Palari, police said. "The van, which was carrying 18 persons, hit a stationary truck, leaving three people dead on the spot," said Nikita Tiwari, station house officer, Simga police station. Another labourer succumbed to injuries on the way to hospital, she said. Of the eight injured, three were sent to a Raipur hospital, while five persons were discharged after administering first aid, she said. The victims hailed from Jharkhand and were engaged in the work to lay power transmission lines in the district, the officer said.
Algeria in mourning after its most deadly plane crash
Algerians today mourned 257 people killed in a military plane crash the day before, the country's worst-ever aviation catastrophe, with no indication yet of the cause. President Abdelaziz Bouteflika announced three days of national mourning after the plane slammed into a field near the Boufarik airbase 30 kilometres (19 miles) south of Algiers shortly after it took yesterday. The aircraft was mostly carrying army personnel and their family members on their way back to their barracks in the country's far south. Flags flew at half mast on public buildings and foreign embassies in the capital on Thursday as government departments observed a minute's silence. There was no announcement regarding funeral arrangements, as many of the victims' bodies had yet to be identified. Several large companies took out advertising space in newspapers to offer condolences to the families of the 10 crew members and 247 passengers who died. Mosques across the country are set to hold prayers of mourning on
Nepal completes excavation of its longest tunnel
The excavation of the 26-km tunnel in Nepal that will lead to improved water services for residents of Kathmandu was completed on Thursday.
AIIB to invest USD 140M to improve rural connectivity in Madhya Pradesh
Approximately 1.5 million rural residents in Madhya Pradesh will directly benefit from improved livelihoods, education and mobility with the USD 140 million loan approved by the Board of Directors of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in a meeting held recently in Beijing.The project, co-financed with the World Bank, aims to improve the rural road connectivity and management for residents of about 5,640 villages who use the rural roads for daily activities.Livelihoods of the rural population will be improved by expanding income earning opportunities through better farm-to-market road connections.Moreover, more children are expected to enroll in higher education programs and school attendance is expected to further improve.The road maintenance pilot under the project will employ more women, contributing to gender equality and income generation."Promoting sustainable growth in India through investment in rural infrastructure will require substantial financing," said AIIB ...
Search continues on swollen US river for SUV matching missing Indian family's vehicle
Authorities in California have set up a joint incident command centre to trace the occupants of a vehicle that was swept away in flood waters, a week after four members of an Indian family went missing in the area. The search was still on just north of Leggett for an SUV that was swept away with its occupants in flood waters on Friday, which matches the description of the SUV driven by the Thottappilly family missing since Thursday, The Santa Clarita Valley Signal newspaper reported. Two adults and two children of the Thottappilly family were on their way from Portland, Oregon, in a maroon Honda Pilot to San Jose, where they suddenly stopped communicating with family in Valencia. Sandeep Thottappilly, 42, father; Soumya, 38, mother; Siddhant, 12, their son; and 9-year-old Saachi, their daughter were in the SUV when it went missing. Sandeep worked as a vice-president with the Union Bank and lived in Los Angeles with his family. Sandeep grew up in Surat city in Gujarat and settled ...
Greek fighter jet crashes in sea after patrol, pilot missing
Defence ministry officials in Greece say an air force fighter jet has crashed into the eastern Aegean Sea after returning from a patrol, and it is unclear whether the pilot survived. The officials told state-run television that the Mirage 2000-5 crashed Thursday north of the island of Skyros. They gave no information about the possible cause of the crash. Patrolling has intensified in recent weeks amid a spike in tensions between Greece and Turkey and near-daily mock dogfights in disputed airspace. Greek navy ships and army helicopters are searching for the missing pilot.
Navin asks Centre to reconsider coal mine allotment decision
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today asked the Centre to re-examine its decision to allot four coal mines to Western Coalfields Ltd (WCL), instead of Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd, which already operates several mines in the state. "It has been brought to my notice that the Ministry of Coal has decided to allot four coal mines of Odisha namely, Rampia, Dip side of Rampia, Ghogarpalli and Dip extension of Ghogarpalli to WCL instead of MCL, which is already operating several coal mines in the region, Patnaik said in a letter to Union Coal Minister Piyush Goyal. Operationalisation of coal mines requires close coordination with the local administration for land acquisition, rehabilitation and resettlement of project affected families, he said. The WCL, which is headquartered at Nagpur in Maharashtra, may not be in a position to effectively tackle the issues, which are critical to the smooth operationalisation of coal mines, the chief minister said. The MCL has achieved a ...
Egypt, Russia resume flights halted after 2015 attack
Egypt and Russia resumed direct flights today, more than two years after they were suspended in the wake of a bombing that brought down a Russian passenger plane over the Sinai Peninsula. EgyptAir said a Moscow-bound flight took off from Cairo today, and that it will operate three such flights a week. An Aeroflot flight from Moscow carrying 124 passengers arrived in Cairo early Thursday. "Even though air service between Russia and Egypt has been interrupted for such a long time, the load factor on upcoming flights is more than 85 percent," Aeroflot said in a statement, adding that both airlines would offer daily flights from June 12 to July 2 to cope with heavy demand. Moscow suspended flights after the 2015 attack, which killed all 224 people on board and was claimed by the extremist Islamic State group. Russian officials said a homemade explosive device was detonated on board the plane, which had taken off from the main Sinai resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh. Direct flights between ...
Believers Eastern Church launches rehabilitation program for Cyclone Ockhi victims
Believers Eastern Church announced the launch of a state-wide rehabilitation program for the victims of Cyclone "Ockhi".The church will distribute 100 boats, 1500 educational kits and scholarship to the victims' families and children over the next two years in the affected areas of Thiruvananthapuram, Alappuzha and Kollam. The program will benefit more than 1000 families of this region.The launch was announced in presence of Pinarayi Vijayan, Chief Minister, Kerala, P. J. Kurien, Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha, Thiruvananthapuram along with Rev Dr. K. P. Yohannan, Metropolitan, Believers Eastern Church.Other eminent dignitaries like Mathew T Thomas, the Minister for Water Resource's, Govt. of Kerala; Mayor of Trivandrum, MLA of Thiruvananthapuram East were present."Whereas the government is always doing its bit to help victims of such natural catastrophes, it is important that the civil society participants also contribute towards relief and rehabilitation measures. Our government ...
1146 pigs die of PRRS and other diseases in Mizoram since Jan
The Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) and other swine diseases have claimed 1,146 lives of pigs and piglets in Mizoram since January this year, officials said today. While the outbreak of swine diseases had affected almost all the eight districts of the state, it was mainly concentrated in Aizawl, Serchhip and Champhai districts, they said. There is no medicine to cure PRRS, the officials said, adding that the PRRS infected pigs were treated with vitamins to ensure that other diseases did not aggravate the illness.
Odisha seeks coal block allotment to MCL
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday requested the Centre to allot four coal mines of the state to Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) instead of Western Coalfields Limited (WCL) for the smooth operation of the mines.
Indian woman dies in New Zealand accident
A 22-year-old Indian woman has died in a freak accident in her own driveway here while she was assisting her sister to jump-start their car.
Crackdown on traffic rule violators in Odisha
In a major crackdown, the Ganjam district administration has imposed penalties on more than 500 traffic rule violators in a single day and sought the cancellation of driving licenses of some of them. The district road safety enforcement squad, led by sub collector (Berhampur) Sidharth Shankar Swain, carried out a surprise check on two-wheelers yesterday in different parts of the Silk City, said an official. Apart from the sub-collector, the tehsildar, traffic police personnel and Berhampur Municipal Corporation (BeMC) officials were also a part of the drive. Those found driving without a helmet and valid documents or talking over mobile phone were penalized, Swain said. "Though the exact amount of the fine collected during the raids is yet to be assessed, it is estimated to be over Rs 3 lakh," said Swain. This was the second such crackdown on traffic violators by a multi-disciplinary squad. On March 14, over 100 bikers at Haladiapadara, Lanjipalli, Gopalpur Chhaka and ...
'US defence attache involved in accident has diplomatic immunity'
An American military attache at the US embassy in Islamabad, who is charged with causing the death of a Pakistani national and injuring another in a road accident, enjoys diplomatic immunity and cannot be arrested or detained, the US said today. "The individual involved is an accredited diplomat," a US State Department spokesperson said, responding to a question on defence air attache Col Joseph Emanuel Hall who was driving a US embassy Land Cruiser that hit a motorcycle in Islamabad on Saturday, killing the motorcyclist on the spot and injuring the pillion rider. The US official was not arrested owing to their diplomatic immunity, however, the police took custody of the vehicle. Islamabad Police has urged Pakistan's interior ministry not to allow Hall to leave the country. "In accordance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, the individual, like all diplomats, is immune from the criminal, civil and administrative jurisdiction of Pakistan and cannot be arrested, ...
Blast on truck carrying explosives in northern China kills 7
Seven people were killed and 13 injured when a truck carrying more than 5 tons of explosives blew up in northern China, the local government reported today. The blast struck just before midnight on Tuesday outside an explosives warehouse, according to a statement from the Zhen'an county government in Shaanxi province posted on its official website. The warehouse operator works in using explosives for mining and construction purposes. The government statement said the cause of the explosion remains under investigation. The official Xinhua News Agency said victims included truck drivers, warehouse staff and security guards. China has made major strides in industrial safety in recent years, although large-scale accidents still occur. Some are linked to corruption and lax enforcement, such as a 2015 blast at a chemical warehouse in the port city of Tianjin that killed 173 people and was found to have flouted multiple safety regulations.
INS Magar joins Southern Naval Command
The Southern Naval Command was augmented with the arrival of INS Magar from Vishakhapatnam. The ship was welcomed by Rear Admiral RJ Nadkarni, Chief of Staff, headquarters of Southern Naval Command on Wednesday, a defence press release said today. The ship would join the first training squadron for training young officers. Over the next few weeks, it would undergo modification for accommodating sea trainees, prior to commencing her training role, the release said. Thereafter, it would be used to impart training in seamanship, navigation, ship-handling, boat-work, engineering and electrical departmental skills, among other disciplines. Also, the ship would expose the trainees to the rigorous life at sea, the release added. The ship is being prepared to increase the capacity of the training squadron to meet the rise in the training load of officer-trainees and also to cater to the maintenance requirements of the existing ships. INS Magar, a Landing Ship Tank (large) of the ..
Col Hall enjoys diplomatic immunity under Vienna Convention: US
American military attach Col Joseph Emanuel Hall at the US embassy in Islamabad, who is facing charges of killing a Pakistani national and injuring other in a road accident, enjoys diplomatic immunity under the Vienna Convention, the US said today. "The individual involved is an accredited diplomat," a State Department spokesperson said, responding to a question on Hall, who over the weekend was involved in a fatal road accident in which one Pakistani motorcyclist lost his life while the pillion rider was injured. Islamabad Police has urged the Pakistani Ministry of Interior that Hall may not be allowed to leave the country. "In accordance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, the individual, like all diplomats, is immune from the criminal, civil and administrative jurisdiction of Pakistan and cannot be arrested, detained, or banned from leaving the country," the spokesperson said. "For the safety and security of those involved, we cannot disclose the diplomat's current .
Pillar inside Taj Mahal premises collapses due to heavy rain
As heavy rain continues to lash several parts of Uttar Pradesh, a pillar of the entry gate to the world famous Taj Mahal monument collapsed on Thursday.The pillar located on the southern entry gate of the monument fell due to rain on Thursday past midnight, according to sources.No casualties have been reported as of now.In another rain-related incident, about 50 km from Agra, three children died in Mathura district on Wednesday after a tin roof of their one-room house collapsed. The incident took place when their parents, who happen to be daily wage labourers were not at home.Also, crops were damaged in several areas in Nandgaon, Vrindavan, Kosi Kalan areas of Mathura district.