Page 838 - Disaster Accident

NHAI awards contract for National Highway project in Punjab

The work of two-laning with paved shoulder /Four-Laning of Ramdas to Gurdaspur section of NH-354 (old SH-21) has been awarded to M/s. Ceigall India Ltd-Inderjit Mehta Constructions Pvt. Ltd. (JV) at a cost of Rs. 149.49 crore. The length of the stretch is 47.492 km.

53 dead, many missing in Siberia shopping mall fire

At least 53 people were killed when a fire ravaged a busy shopping centre in an industrial city in Siberia, with many more reported still missing today, including children. Images on Russian television showed thick black smoke pouring out of the Winter Cherry shopping centre in the city of Kemerovo, which also houses a sauna, a bowling alley and a multiplex cinema and was packed with people yesterday. "The deaths of 53 people have been confirmed," a spokeswoman for Russia's Investigative Committee, Svetlana Petrenko, said in a statement. A previous toll put the number of dead at 37 with 69 missing, including 40 children. The preliminary findings of an inquiry said the fire started around 1100 GMT in one of the cinema halls and destroyed more than 1,000 square metres of the centre, news agencies reported. "The roof collapsed in two theatres in the cinema," the Investigative Committee said. The local office of Russia's emergency services ministry said the fire broke out on the third and

Seriously injured patient left upside down, dies

A seriously injured man was left on an inclined stretcher upside down outside a hospital here by an ambulance driver, who was apparently angry over the patient vomiting and defecating in the vehicle. The man died later and a case was registered against the ambulance driver. The man was brought from Natukkal in Palakkad district after being injured in a road mishap on March 20. He was admitted to Thrissur Medical College Hospital on Saturday where he later died. A case was registered under IPC 336 (endangering the life or personal safety of others) against the ambulance driver, who was reportedly angered over the patient vomitting and defecating in the vehicle. Malayalam Television channels aired visuals of the man lying on an inclined stretcher in front of the hospital with his head down. Police today said the deceased was yet to be identified.

Soldier killed in J&K road accident

A soldier was killed and nine others were injured on Monday in a road accident in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district, police said.

53 killed in Russian shopping mall inferno

At least 53 people, including 11 children, were killed and 16 people were reported missing in a massive blaze that broke out at a shopping mall in Russia's Kemerovo city, according to authorities.

Death toll rises to 53 in Russia shopping mall fire: agencies

At least 53 bodies have been recovered from a fire that swept through a busy shopping centre in an industrial city in Siberia, Russian news agencies said today. Many people are also still missing from the blaze that broke yesterday in the city of Kemerovo, the agencies quoted emergency services as saying. A previous toll put the number of dead at 37 with nearly 70 missing, including 40 children.

58 pilgrims injured in UP road accident

Fifty-eight pilgrims returning from the Ajmer Sharif Dargah in Rajasthan were injured in a road accident on Monday in Uttar Pradesh's Kannauj district, police said.

Man drives burning truck away from petrol pump to save lives

Exhibiting tremendous bravery, a truck driver in Madhya Pradesh's Narsinghpur drove a burning petrol tanker away from a petrol pump in an attempt to save lives.The petrol tanker caught fire on Sunday while it was being emptied at a petrol pump.The truck driver sustained burn injuries while driving the burning truck away from the petrol pump. He was later admitted to a hospital.The fire was later doused by the fire department.

37 killed in Russia shopping mall inferno

At least 37 people including children were killed and 69 others reported missing after a massive blaze broke out at a shopping mall in the Russian city of Kemerovo, authorities said on Monday.

37 dead, scores missing in Siberia shopping mall fire

At least 37 people were killed when a fire ripped through a busy shopping centre in an industrial city in western Siberia, with scores more reported missing, including children. Images on Russian television showed thick black smoke pouring out of the Winter Cherry shopping centre in the city of Kemerovo, which also houses a sauna, a bowling alley and a multiplex cinema and was packed with people yesterday. "At this time, we can confirm the deaths of 37 people in the fire at the Kemerovo shopping centre", Russia's Investigative Committee said, according to TASS news agency. Investigators had initially reported five people dead including a child and another 30 people injured and taken to hospital. As the new death toll was announced, a source in the local rescue services said 69 people including 40 children were reported missing, the RIA Novosti agency reported, while the Investigative Committee said it was "verifying information that 35 people could be missing". The preliminary ...

37 dead in Russian shopping mall fire

At least 37 people were killed in a fire in a shopping mall in the south central Russian city of Kemerovo on Sunday, while many others are missing, officials said.

37 killed in Russian mall blaze

37 people were killed in a massive fire that engulfed Zimnyaya Vishnya (Winter Cherry) shopping mall in Kemerovo in Siberia on Sunday.The fire started on the fourth floor and consumed an area of about 1,600 square meters. It is yet to be ascertained as to what caused the fire. An investigation has been launched by the Russian authorities.According to first deputy governor of the Kemerovo region Vladimir Chernov, 13 bodies were found in one of the movie halls.There were earlier reports of people jumping out of windows as they tried to escape the flames as fire crews evacuated hundreds of people.Earlier, there were reports that 69 people, including 40 children went missing after the blaze broke out in the mall, a spokesman for the firefighting operation's headquarters who was quoted by TASS as saying.Also, 12 people were reported dead, including four children and 42 others were injured.However, according to latest figures by firefighters, more than 30 people have been wounded in the ...

6.4 magnitude earthquake rattles Indonesia

A strong earthquake of magnitude 6.4 struck off the coast of eastern Indonesia's Tanimbar Islands on Sunday, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said.The quake, which was initially reported at a magnitude of 6.5, was centred 138 miles (222 km) northwest of Saumlaki in the Tanimbar Islands. A tsunami alert has been issued, the USGS added.As of now, no casualties or loss of property has been reported.Indonesia has been rattled by earthquakes in the past.The country is located in the Ring of Fire, an area in the basin of the Pacific Ocean, which is vulnerable to frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

Saudi air defence intercept missile over Riyadh: state media

Saudi forces intercepted a missile over the capital Riyadh today, in an apparent Huthi rebel attack which coincides with the third anniversary of the Saudi-led coalition's intervention in Yemen. Witnesses reported loud explosions and bright flashes in the sky, but there were no immediate reports on any casualties. "Saudi air defence forces intercept a missile northeast of Riyadh," Saudi state news channel Al-Akhbariya said. Since November, Yemen's Iran-aligned Huthi rebels have fired multiple missiles into Saudi Arabia, all of which Saudi forces say they intercepted. On November 4, Saudi Arabia thwarted a rebel missile attack on Riyadh international airport that Crown Prince and Defence Minister Mohammed bin Salman said "may amount to an act of war" involving Iran. The Huthis expelled pro-government forces from the capital in September 2014 and went on to seize swathes of the impoverished Arabian Peninsula country. This prompted the Saudi-led coalition to intervene militarily in Yemen

6.4 quake off eastern Indonesia, tsunami alert lifted: seismic monitors

A 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck off eastern Indonesia in the early hours today, triggering a brief tsunami alert that was swiftly lifted, according to seismic monitoring organisations. The quake struck deep at some 171 kilometres below the surface of the earth in the Banda Sea, the US Geological Survey said. A tsunami alert was initially triggered by the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System (IOTWMS). However IOTWMS followed up with a second bulletin that said there was "no threat to countries in the Indian Ocean". The quake's epicentre was located in a sparsely inhabited part of the Banda Sea, 222 kilometres northwest from Indonesia's Tanimbar Islands and 380 kilometres from Ambon, the capital of Maluku province. A similar 6.1 magnitude quake hit close to today's epicentre on 26 February and caused no damage. Indonesia sits on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, a seismic activity hotspot. It is frequently hit by quakes, most of them harmless. However the archipelago ..

Runaway car kills 23 in Mozambican capital

At least 23 people were killed and about 30 were injured on Sunday dawn when a light vehicle rammed into a group of people at an on-site party by the Number 4 National Road near Luis Cabral region in Mozambican capital Maputo.

Triveni Express engine derails near Bareilly junction

The engine of Triveni Express derailed near Uttar Pradesh's Bareilly junction on Sunday.The train that was coming from Lucknow derailed at Chanahati.Soon after the incident was reported to the railway control office, the concerned officials reached the spot and at present are looking into the matter.Other trains have been stopped for precaution.No loss of life or property has been reported yet.The reason behind the derailment is yet to be ascertained.Further details are awaited...

China issues three-day smog alert

China has issued its third major "orange alert" this year, as pollution levels rose up after capital Beijing was named as the country's top city for reducing air pollution last week."The orange alert will run from Monday to Wednesday," the Beijing environmental protection bureau said in a post on its Weibo account on Sunday."The central part of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region is expected to see medium to heavy pollution over the three days," it added.It is the second smog alert issued for Beijing within this month. Two previous orange alerts were issued in January and March, both of which lasted for three days, The Independent reported.China has a four-tier colour coded pollution warning system, where red is the most severe, followed by orange, yellow and blue respectively.When an orange alert is issued, all factories in the country such as furniture, cement and other heavy industries are required to reduce their output to 50 percent from 80 percent.Last week, the ecology and ...

Telangana: 10 die after auto falls into well, CM offers condolences

Ten people lost their lives on Sunday as an autorickshaw, with 14 passengers aboard, lost control and fell into a well beside the road in Telangana's Nizamabad.According to Ramana Reddy, Circle Inspector, Armoor police station and Mendora police station, four women and six children died while four others managed to escape from the well.The bodies of the deceased have been recovered from the well and shifted to a local government hospital for Periodic Medical Examination.A case has been registered and police are investigating the matter.Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao expressed shock over the death of the passengers in the accident and conveyed his condolences to the bereaved family members.

Five dead, 30 wounded in Siberia shopping mall fire

Five people including a child have died and another 30 were wounded in a major fire in a Siberian shopping centre, Russia's Investigative Committee said today. "Three women, a child and a man have been killed" and 30 people hospitalised following the blaze in the Winter Cherry shopping centre in Kemerovo, an industrial city in central Siberia, it said in a statement. Firefighters were still battling to get the blaze under control this afternoon, after more than 200 people were evacuated from the building, it added. The Investigative Committee earlier said that three children and a woman had died. Authorities believe the fire broke out in the centre's cinema and caused the roof to collapse above two auditoriums. The flames spread across more than 1,000 square metres (11,000 feet) in the building, which has a bowling alley, sauna and several restaurants, Russian media reported.