Page 875 - Disaster Accident
IAF airlifted 234 stranded passengers from Udhampur to Ladakh
As many as 234 stranded passengers were airlifted by the Indian Air Force (IAF) from Udhampur district to Leh in Ladakh region, a defense spokesman said today. Ladakh region remains cut-off for over five months annually owing to heavy snowfall in Zojila pass area, along 434-km Srinagar-Leh National Highway, the only road linking the frontier region with rest of the state, the spokesperson said. The IAF operated its special aircraft IL-76 popularly called as 'Gajraj' to airlift the stranded passengers on requisition by the state government, the spokesman said. He said that a lot of civilians were left stranded in Jammu region due to recent snow and inclement weather in the LehKargil sector. This is the second operation undertaken by the IAF in the past nine days. On February 19, the IAF had airlifted around 233 passengers from Udhampur to Ladakh. Air Force Station Udhampur was the staging base for this rescue activity, the spokesman said. He said that special arrangements were made by .
Indian-origin family from Mauritius among missing in Leicester fire
An Indian-origin family, which had moved to the UK from Mauritius, is among five people who are missing in a major fire that claimed five lives in the city of Leicester on Sunday evening. Mary Ragoobeer, 46, and her two sons Shane, 18, and Sean, 17, who lived in a flat in the destroyed building have been named as missing by the Leicestershire Police. The Indian-origin owner of the affected building, Hardeep Singh, said that the Ragoobeer family had moved into the flat, above a Polish supermarket, around a year ago. "I called Jose after I heard about the blast. He was at work and he was safe, but I dont know about the rest of the family. There was a gas boiler in the flat, in the bathroom at the back of the property, and a gas cooker," he told the Mirror. Leah Beth Reek, 18, who is Shanes girlfriend, is also missing, as is 22-year-old Viktorija Ljevleva who is thought to have been working in the supermarket at the time of the explosion. Police said: "Human remains relating to five ...
Indian-origin man pleads guilty to drink-drive killing of 3 teenagers in UK
An Indian-origin man has admitted killing three teenage boys as they walked to a birthday party while he was driving more than two and a half times over the alcohol limit in London last month. Jaynesh Chudasama appeared at the Old Bailey court in London yesterday, where he pleaded guilty to charges of three counts of death by dangerous driving on January 26 evening when the fatal collision occurred near a bus stop at Hayes, West London. The court heard that traces of cannabis had also been found in the 28-year-old's system. The London-based car hire worker was travelling at 71 mph on a 60 mph zone when he hit the teenagers, who died instantly. The Metropolitan Police had earlier named the victims of the crash as Harry Rice, 17, and 16-year-olds George Wilkinson and Josh McGuinness. The boys were part of a large group on their way to a friend's birthday party when they were killed. Chudasama was attempting to overtake another car when he lost control and struck the boys head on, the ...
Bihar hit-and-run case: Opposition protests in assembly
Opposition RJD and Congress members on Tuesday staged protests in the Bihar Assembly demanding arrest of BJP leader Manoj Baitha whose vehicle was reportedly involved in an accident that killed nine school children on Saturday in Muzaffarpur district.
Fire scare on Telangana CM's chopper
A fire scare on the helicopter of Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao minutes before it was to take off in Karimnagar district set the alarm bells ringing on Tuesday, officials said.
Clipboard sucked into plane engine: Australia regulator
A clipboard left behind during pre-flight checks was sucked into the jet engine of an international passenger plane, Australian safety regulators said today. Ground staff put the bundle of paperwork on the engine cowling after loading luggage -- but seemingly forgot to pick it up again. A worker conducting final safety checks spotted the misplaced documents, but assumed they would be retrieved before take-off. When the engines were started, they swallowed the clipboard, spraying bits of paper all over the tarmac as the aircraft began taxiing into position. However, no-one told the flight crew until the Sydney-bound plane was in the air, forcing the pilot to return to Auckland. "The engine was inspected by engineers and paper was found throughout the engine. They also found... a piece of sheared metal," the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) said in a report. Qantas-owned Jetstar, which was operating the October 27 flight last year, has since updated its procedures to include ...
Cambodia bus crash kills driver, injures 19, mostly tourists
Nineteen people, mostly foreigners, have been injured and the driver of the bus they were on killed in a collision with another vehicle in eastern Cambodia. Police Col Sam Nal said those injured in the pre-dawn accident today in Kampong Cham province were four Germans, three Britons, three Thais, two people from France, two Israelis, a Chinese and four Cambodians. Most had only slight injuries but two are in critical condition. The bus they were on was heading to the capital, Phnom Penh, from Siem Reap - site of the Angkor Wat temple complex - when it collided with a minibus. Serious road accidents have become increasingly frequent in recent years in Cambodia. According to an Interior Ministry report, more than 1,500 people were killed in traffic accidents last year.
Cop among 5 killed in Maharashtra road accident
Five persons, including a police officer, were killed when a speeding jeep rammed into a stationery car on the outskirts of the town here early on Tuesday, police said.
Former Akali MLA injured in road accident
Senior Akali leader and former MLA Sarabjit Singh Makkar and his wife were among four persons who sustained injuries in a road accident near here today, police said. Police said that Makkar, his wife Rupinderjit Kaur Makkar, brother-in-law Sukhdev Singh Aujla and gunman Kuldip Singh were injured when their SUV ran into a truck from behind near Divine Public school on the outskirts of Phagwara. The injured were rushed to a local private hospital from where they were referred to a Jalandhar hospital, police said. Dr Satnam Singh Parmar, Surgeon of Gandhi hospital , said that Makkar suffered fractures on his right arm and right hip while his wife suffered from a hip dislocation. He said that other two occupants of the SUV sustained minor injuries. It was learnt that Makkars were returning from a month-long foreign tour. They were coming from New Delhi to their native place Jalandhar when the accident occurred, police said. Urban Estate Police Post in-charge Assistant Sub- Inspector (ASI)
ExxonMobil shuts LNG plant in Papua New Guinea; reports of casualties
MELBOURNE (Reuters) - ExxonMobil Corp has shut its liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in the wake of a powerful earthquake in Papua New Guinea's remote highlands region that cut off roads and damaged buildings, with unconfirmed reports of 20 or more deaths.
31 killed in 7.5-magnitude Papua New Guinea quake
At least 31 people were killed and over 300 others injured after an earthquake measuring 7.5 on the Richter scale hit Papua New Guinea. the US Geological Survey (USGS) said on Tuesday.
Fire engulfs Australian warehouse, homes evacuated
A huge fire broke out at a chemical warehouse in the Australian city of Perth sparking warning of a mass evacuation in the area.
Texas launches Harvey recovery tracker 6 months after storm
Texas launched a public online tool to track incoming and outgoing funds for Hurricane Harvey recovery on Monday, six months after the storm hit and two months after The Associated Press reported that it did not have one. Gov. Greg Abbott called the tracker which provides a county-level view of the more than $13 billion in flood insurance payouts, hotel vouchers and other forms of federal aid that has been disbursed so far "a good start in achieving transparency" in a statement from the Texas A&M University System-based Commission to Rebuild Texas. The tracker contains data from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Texas General Land Office. Additional information from other agencies will be added as it is provided to the commission, the statement said. The AP reported in December that the absence of such a tool could hinder coordination and encourage fraud. Abbott spokesman Matt Hirsch said in December that a funds tracker was in the works, but did not know what it ...
More than 30 believed dead in PNG quake: report
More than 30 people are believed to have died after a powerful earthquake struck Papua New Guinea's mountainous interior, a report said today as details of "extensive" damage began to emerge. The 7.5-magnitude tremor struck 90 kilometres south of Porgera in the Pacific nation's Enga province early yesterday, with two strong aftershocks rattling the rugged region. Phone lines were largely cut, but the PNG Post Courier newspaper cited Hela provincial administrator William Bando as saying there were casualties. It reported that at least 13 died in the Southern Highlands capital Mendi while 18 others were believed to have been killed in nearby Kutubu and Bosave. Some 300 people were injured, it added, and properties damaged, with reports of landslides and sinkholes. The Papua New Guinea Today website, quoting Catholic priest Pius Hal, said at least 10 died, including four children, in quake-triggered landslides. AFP was unable to confirm the death toll. A government assessment team was ...
MP: Two injured as Para-glider crashes minutes after take-off
On the last day of the 'Jheel Mahotsav' here, two people were injured after a para-glider crashed as soon as it took off.The two onboard, identified as Mansi and Rajendra, were rescued immediately by a safety team, and escaped with minor injuries. The two were then taken to a hospital in the vicinity by an ambulance.The crash took place reportedly due to a technical fault and the two on board fell from a height of 25 feet."The incident happened during 'Jheel Mahotsav' in Gandhi Sagar. One of the para-motors crashed due to technical fault. Two people received minor injuries in the crash," Mandsaur Superintendent of Police (SP) Bharat Bhushan told ANI.On a related note, the Jheel Mahotsav, which commenced on February 10, was organised by the state tourism department, and includes a number of activities and adventure sports.
Shallow 6.1-magnitude quake hits off eastern Indonesia
A 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck off eastern Indonesia today, the US Geological Survey said, but no tsunami warning was issued and there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage. The quake was measured at a depth of 11.9 kilometres (seven miles) with its epicentre in the Seram Sea around 194 kilometres northwest of Ambon, the capital of Maluku province, according to USGS. "The earthquake does not have tsunami potential. I am still gathering more information regarding damages and casualties," Mochammad Riyadi of Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) told AFP. Maluku is a large archipelagic province. The nearest major island is Buru, some 50 kilometers south of the epicentre. "There's no damage at our place and I don't think there's any damage out there because of the quake," Hentihu, a resident of Namlea, a small town on Buru island, told AFP. Residents of Ambon, a city with a population of 330,000, also told AFP they were little affected by the ...
Fire breaks out at shopping centre in Mumbai
A major fire broke out on Monday at a Shopping Centre in Mumbai.The Gokul shopping centre is located on S.V. Road, Borivali West.However, no casualties have been reported. Further details are awaited.
Avalanche warning issued in J-K
The Jammu and Kashmir government today issued a medium and low-danger avalanche warning for various parts of the state and advised people to take precautionary measures. On the basis of information received from Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment, a medium-danger avalanche warning has been issued for the next 24 hours for Baramulla, Gulmarg, Furkian-Z Gali in north Kashmir, an official spokesman said. He said a low-danger warning has also been issued for Poonch, Rajouri, Reasi, Ramban, Doda, Kishtwar and Udhampur in Jammu region and for Anantnag, Kulgam, Budgam, Ganderbal, Kargil and Leh in Ladakh-Kashmir division. The Jammu-Srinagar National Highway, the only all-weather road linking the Valley with the rest of India, was also covered under the low-danger warning, the official said. He said the disaster management authority has advised people in these areas to take precautionary measures.
Rahul points fingers at Nitish over Muzzafarpur accident
Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Monday pointed fingers at Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over Muzzafarpur accident in which nine students were killed.Rahul tweeted: "A drunken Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader killed nine innocent children in Bihar where liquor is banned! Nitish ji, is it realty of your liquor ban? Your conscience is shielding whom- accused BJP leader, or reality of Bihar's liquor ban?"On 26 November 2015, Nitish Kumar announced that alcohol would be banned in the state from April 1, 2016. Kumar officially declared the total liquor ban on April 5, 2016.Nine children were killed and 24 others were injured on Saturday when a car rammed into a government school building at Ahiyapur in Muzaffarpur.After the accident, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav alleged the vehicle involved in the Muzaffarpur accident belonged to a BJP General Secretary.However, Bihar's Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi on Monday said strict action against will be taken against
22 shanties gutted in Bhubaneswar
At least 22 houses were gutted as a fire broke out in a slum at Rasulgarh here, the police said. The incident took place after an angry slum dweller torched his own house following a quarrel in the family. The fire spread to other houses, fire brigade sources said. Two fire tenders doused the blaze and no casualty was reported. Most of the residents residing at the shanties were from outside the state and are said to be vendors, the police said.