Page 882 - Disaster Accident
Ferry explosion injures 18 in Playa del Carmen, Mexico
An explosion ripped through a ferry as it unloaded passengers in the Caribbean beach city of Playa del Carmen, hurting 18 people, but authorities said none of the injuries were life-threatening. The municipal government said in a statement that 15 of the wounded are Mexicans and three are Canadians. They sustained cuts and were taken to a hospital for treatment. Videos posted online by the newspaper Quintana Roo Hoy showed the blast sending a fireball and debris flying sideways from the ferry as it was moored to the dock with people nearby. The Barcos Caribe vessel was left with a gaping hole in its starboard side next to a passenger seating area. The municipal statement said the explosion happened when passengers were getting off the boat, and the cause was not yet known. It added that service to the nearby resort island of Cozumel would continue with other ferry companies that operate from the municipal dock.
Fire in Mumbai's Goregaon doused
A major fire that broke out in Mumbai's Goregaon on Wednesday has been doused.The fire broke out at around 9:40 p.m. in a footwear factory at Kama Industrial Estate of Babulal Compound. Eight fire tenders were immediately rushed to the spot.At the time of filing this report, the firefighters doused the flames and one person was rescued safely while the another one suffered minor injuries, who were trapped inside the factory.According to the preliminary investigation, the cause of the fire is said to be short circuit. No casualty has been reported so far.
30 killed in Peru bus accident
At least 30 people have been killed and 17 others injured after a passenger bus overturned and plunged into a ravine in Peru's Arequipa region, officials said.
2 killed, 11 injured in Myanmar blast
Two women were killed and 11 others injured in a bomb blast in Myanmar's Shan state on Wednesday, an official statement said.
At least 36 dead as bus veers off cliff in Peru
Police say at least 36 people were killed when a double-deck bus veered off a highway and tumbled 200 meters (about 650 feet) down a cliff in southern Peru. Highway Police chief Jorge Castillo tells The Associated Press that the death toll could rise. Police say at least 34 people are injured. The accident took place before dawn Wednesday near the province of Camana. The cause wasn't immediately known, but accidents caused by reckless driving on poorly maintained mountain roads claim dozens of lives every year in Peru. In January 52 people were killed in the country's worst road fatality in four decades.
AITUC, CITU condemn govt decision to allow commercial coal mining by pvt firms
Central trade unions AITUC and CITU have strongly opposed the government decision to allow commercial coal mining by private firms. The Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) vehemently condemns the decision of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) to open the coal mining sector for commercial mining by private and foreign corporate that too without any restriction on pricing and end-use, a CITU statement said. It said that so long private sector was allowed to mine coal only for captive use in power, cement and steel industry and debarred from selling the coal in market. The union said that such a retrograde decision by the Centre is nothing but a total reversal of the four decade long policy of nationalised coal mining which contributed immensely to industrial development as well as expansion of the power generation capacity in the country, it said. Such opening up of coal mining sector for unhindered exploitation by private and foreign corporate without any restriction on .
Five killed, 9 injured in two separate road accidents in U'khand
At least five persons were killed and nine others injured in separate road accidents in Pauri district, police said. Five persons were returning from a birthday party in Pabo on Monday when their car fell into a deep gorge, killing three persons and injuring two others, they said. In another incident, a car fell into a deep gorge after it was trying to give a pass to a truck coming from the opposite direction, killing two people, including a woman, and injuring seven others, police said. The injured have been admitted to a hospital, they said.
Suspicious vehicle spotted near White House
Roads near the White House were closed for traffic and a building next to it evacuated on Wednesday after a suspicious vehicle was spotted nearby. The roads were reopened after the Secret Service cleared the vehicle.
At least 20 dead in Peru bus crash
At least 20 people were killed when a bus veered off a mountain road and plunged into a ravine in southern Peru today, state news agency Andina reported. At least 20 other passengers were injured when the bus left the Pan-American highway and tumbled 80 metres (260 feet) down a jagged slope in the southern region of Arequipa. The accident happened around 1.30 am, the agency said. Rescue teams "have been working since dawn, coordinating the transfer and care of the injured," Arequipa governor Yamila Osorio wrote on her Twitter account. The injured were taken to hospital in the city of Camana. It was the second major accident on Peru's roads this year. On January 2, a bus crashed into a ravine in the country's central coastal area, leaving 52 dead.
Telangana: Nine killed, two hurt in collision of two cars
Two cars collided in Wanaparthy district of Telangana today, leaving nine persons, including three women, dead and two others injured, police said. The accident took place in Kothakota mandal, around 150 km from here in the district, around 8 am, they said. Four of the deceased were members of the same family hailing from Hyderabad, police said. The incident occurred when the driver of a car headed to Kurnool lost control over the vehicle, which hit a road divider and landed on the other side of the road where it collided with a car headed to Hyderabad, a Kothakota police station official told PTI over phone. A total of 11 persons were travelling in both the cars. "Seven persons died on the spot while two of the four injured succumbed to injuries in a nearby state-run hospital," the official said. The deceased and the injured belonged to Hyderabad and Wanaparthy. The deceased included one Suri Babu (aged around 52) and three members of his family, the official said, ...
Iran teams carry plane crash dead down from mountain
- Iranian emergency teams today began recovering the bodies of the dead from a plane that crashed high in the Zagros mountains with 66 people on board, officials said. No survivors have been found from Aseman Airlines flight EP3704, which disappeared from radar on Sunday morning, around 45 minutes after taking off from Tehran on a domestic flight. Search helicopters finally located the crash site after a break in the weather on Tuesday at a height of around 4,000 metres in the Dena range. But the altitude and weather conditions have meant that helicopters cannot land to recover the bodies of the dead and they are being brought down on the backs of emergency personnel to a road at the foot of the mountain. "At the moment, we have a snowstorm and icy winds on the peaks and visibility is very low," the deputy commander of army ground forces, Brigadier General Nozar Nemati, told state television. "We decided that those bodies that can be carried down would be brought down by army ...
Foundation stone laid for Aviation Regulatory Authorities' integrated office building
Union Minister for Civil Aviation, Ashok Gajapati Raju and Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Jayant Sinha on Wednesday laid the foundation stone for an integrated office complex to better the coordination between the aviation regulatory authorities.Ashok Gajapati Raju praised the efforts of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) for the project."The idea is if you are able to give a functionally efficient environment to work on, it will help us in sustaining growth that we have. So, AAI is building this facility and the offices will all be moved here and it will be more of an open office concept, where everything is taken care of," said Ashok Gajapati Raju.The integrated office building at Safdurjung Airport will have offices of Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India, and Airports Authority of India.The three storied building will be a masterpiece of glass and stone, having contemporary ...
HC seeks Centre's stand on banning crash guards on vehicles
The Delhi High Court today sought the Centre's response on a plea challenging its last December's notification directing action against vehicles fitted with metal crash guards or bull bars. A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar, however, questioned the petitioner, who claims to be a bull bar manufacturer, on the need for such guards in the national capital. "Within the city, when there is a speed limit, why do you (vehicle owners) need crash guards," the bench asked. It directed the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to respond to the PIL by Delhi-resident Mohammed Arif. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highway had on December 7 last year directed all the states to act against crash guards, installed at the front and rear of vehicles, saying they "pose serious safety concerns to pedestrians as well as occupants of the vehicles". The petitioner challenged the ministry's letter to the states claiming bull bars as "useful safety accessories" and ..
Andhra Pradesh: 26 passengers injured after bus turns turtle
At least 26 passengers were today injured when a private bus they were travelling in, turned turtle after being hit by a tipper truck here, police said. The mishap occurred on the National Highway-16 near NAD junction while the bus was heading towards Rajam of Srikakulam from Vijayawada with 41 passengers, said Assistant Commissioner of Police (Traffic) K Prabhakar. 26 passengers sustained injuries and were rushed to a nearby hospital and conditions of three of them was stated to be critical, the officer said. A case has been registered and a probe was on, he said.
Coal Consumers' Association welcome govt move
The Coal Consumers' Association of India today welcomed the Centre's move to open up the coal sector for commercial mining by private parties. Coal production is likely to be increased in the coming years transforming to a competitive market scenario. The key features of this step are the government has allowed 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in commercial mining and export of coal as well, the association said in a statement. In a major reform in the coal sector since its nationalisation in 1973, the government yesterday allowed private companies to mine the fossil fuel for commercial use, ending the monopoly of state-owned Coal India Ltd (CIL). Sourcing of the fossil fuel would be easier due to availability of coal and competition; prices are expected to be reasonable, quality would be better, logistics may improve resulting in less environmental impact and consumers would be able to procure coal suited to their requirement, it said. The association said, .
Three RPF personnel among four killed in Bihar road mishap
Four persons, three of them Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel, were killed here today when the autorickshaw they were travelling by collided head-on with an oil tanker, police said. The incident took place in Pasraha police station area of the district where the collision killed all those riding the autorickshaw, including its driver who is yet to be identified, RPF inspector Hemant Lal, sub-inspector B Prasad and constable Chintu Kumar. Pasraha SHO Ashish Kumar said the driver of the oil tanker, which overturned after the collision, has fled and a search was on to nab him. The bodies of all the deceased have been sent for post-mortem while the truck and the mangled autorickshaw have been seized, he said. A handcuff has been recovered from the site of the mishap and, apparently, the RPF personnel were going somewhere to make an arrest, the SHO added.
Integrated office complex to be set up for aviation authorities
An integrated office complex for various aviation authorities, including the AAI and the DGCA, will be set up in the national capital at an estimated cost of Rs 303 crore. The offices of Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), Airports Authority of India (AAI), Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) and Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (AERA) would come under one roof, a release said today. Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju today laid the foundation stone for the complex at Safdarjung airport here. According to the release issued by the AAI, the complex will be constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 303 crore This complex would serve a long felt need of an office for all the aviation regulatory authorities under one roof and in close vicinity of the civil aviation ministry for better coordination, it added. The AAI would be implementing the project and the complex would be able to accommodate up to 1,500 .
Privatising coal sector will undermine energy security: CPM
Criticising the Cabinet decision to privatise coal mining sector, the CPI(M) today alleged that it is a part of the neo-liberal economic policies of the government which will undermine the energy security of the country. In a statement, the Left party said such policies will also compromise the safety of workers, and demanded that the government rescind its decision. "This is part of the aggressive pursuit of neo-liberal economic policies by the Narendra Modi government. This decision of the Modi government to privatise the coal mining sector while undermining the energy security of the country will compromise with the safety and security of workers engaged in coal mines. "Trade unions and the Left parties have been consistently voicing their opposition to this dangerous move," the statement says. The party has called upon all democratic sections of the people to oppose this move. The government yesterday approved opening up of coal mining to the private sector for commercial use, a ..
Part of gallery of old building collapses, 3 cars damaged
A portion of the third floor gallery of an old building collapsed here today damaging three cars, a senior civic official said. Chief of Regional Disaster Management Cell of Thane Municipal Corporation Santosh Kadam said there was no casualty and the building was not fully occupied. A girl sustained minor injury and three cars were damaged, he said. The 40-year-old five storied building was located behind the district collectorate, he said, adding the seven families who were residing in the building were evacuated, he said.
Close shave for passengers as overhead wire falls on EMU local
Passengers of an EMU local on a Sealdah-bound train had a close shave today when the overhead wire snapped and fell on a coach burning the upper portion of the bogie, at Canning station under Eastern Railway, officials said. A spokesman of the Eastern Railway said that no one was injured in the incident at the Sealdah South section that occurred at 11.58 am, when the train was waiting at the station to depart for its return journey to Sealdah. Passengers had a narrow escape as the live overhead wire, which carries 25 kilovolt (KV) power, fell on the upper portion of the coach, away from one of the doors, the official said. "The parted overhead wire fell on the coach of 34531 Up Canning-Sealdah local, which was then awaiting departure at platform number 2 of Canning station, causing a flash and a small part of the upper portion of a coach of the EMU train was slightly burnt which created panic among passengers," the spokesman said. Following the incident, train movements