Page 902 - Disaster Accident
Three Indigo aircraft grounded after Pratt & Whitney engine issue
MUMBAI (Reuters) - Three Airbus A320neo aircraft operated by India's biggest airline IndiGo, owned by InterGlobe Aviation Ltd, have been grounded, due to the latest Pratt & Whitney engine issue, IndiGo said in a statement on Saturday.
Taiwan earthquake toll reaches 14
Search and rescue teams in Taiwan on Saturday pulled out two bodies of five members of a Chinese family who remain trapped after a 6.4-magnitude earthquake hit the city of Hualien in Taiwan, raising the number of fatalities to 14, the Emergency Operation Centre said.
Israeli F-16 jet crashes after Syrian fire
An Israeli F-16 fighter jet crashed on Saturday in northern Israel after coming under "massive anti-aircraft fire" from Syrian forces, according to the Israeli Army.
Rains likely in UP in next couple of days
Rains or thundershowers are likely in parts of eastern and western Uttar Pradesh over the next couple of days, according to the meteorological department. Night temperatures were below normal in Faizabad, Allahabad, Meerut, Varanasi, Lucknow, Bareilly and Agra. The lowest minimum temperature was 3.4 degree Celsius recorded in Muzaffarnagar on Friday night. Rain or thundershowers are very likely at isolated places over eastern Uttar Pradesh and at few places over western Uttar Pradesh on February 11. Thunderstorms accompanied with hail are expected at isolated places over western Uttar Pradesh on February 11, the Met department said. Rains or thundershowers are very likely at isolated places over the state on February 12 too. Rains are expected at many places over eastern Uttar Pradesh and at isolated places over western Uttar Pradesh on February 13.
IndiGo grounds three A320 neo planes on engine woes
No-frills airline IndiGo has grounded three A320 neo aircraft due to engine problems, according to a senior official at aviation regulator DGCA. The grounded aircraft are powered by Pratt & Whitney engines and the move follows a directive from European aviation safety regulator EASA. The official said EASA on Friday issued an emergency airworthiness directive for A320 neo planes fitted with PW1100 engines having a particular serial number. The directive came in the wake of instances of the engine's in-flight shut-downs and rejected take-offs involving A320 neo family planes, the official added. Airbus has also issued an alert for providing instructions to de-pair the affected engines and discontinue extended range twin-engine operations for aircraft fitted with affected engines. The DGCA official said IndiGo has three such aircraft, which have been grounded. Further, the official noted that the latest issue is different from the problems experienced by IndiGo's A320 ..
'Kill Bill' stunt coordinator opens up about Thurman's crash
Keith Adams, who served as the stunt coordinator on the sets of "Kill Bill", has said that he would have been able to prevent actor Uma Thurman's crash had he been notified about the scene. Adams told The Hollywood Reporter that he and his team were not on set as no stunts were scheduled for the day the violent car crash happened. "No stunts of any kind were scheduled for the day of Ms Thurman's accident. All of the stunt department was put on hold and no one from the stunt department was called to set. At no point was I notified or consulted about Thurman driving a car on camera that day," Adams said. "Had I been involved, I would have insisted not only on putting a professional driver behind the wheel but also insuring that the car itself was road-worthy and safe," he added. In an article for the New York Times, Thurman had alleged that director Quentin Tarantino forced her to drive an unsafe car as part of a stunt on the set of "Kill Bill", which crashed and injured .
Taiwan earthquake toll rises to 14 dead
Search and rescue workers found the bodies of two people believed to be members of a Chinese family trapped in a partially collapsed hotel in Taiwan today, bringing the death toll from this week's earthquake to 14. Taiwan's Central Emergency Operation Center announced that rescuers workers found the bodies at the Beauty Inn. They were not identified, but Taiwanese state media reported that they are believed to belong to a family of five Chinese tourists who rescuers had been searching for since a magnitude 6.4 quake struck Tuesday in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Hualien county, a popular holiday destination. The Chinese family included a couple, their 12-year old son, and two grandparents. The death toll as of today has risen to 14, with 280 people injured and three others still missing. Hopes of survivors have all but gone with more than 80 hours passed since the earthquake. Many of the dead were staying at the Beauty Inn, located on the lower floors of the ...
Bali volcano evacuees allowed to return home as alert level
Thousands of people who were forced to evacuate their houses on the Indonesian island of Bali because of a rumbling volcano can now return home, authorities said today as they lowered Mount Agung's alert level. The volcano, located about 75 km from the tourist hub in Kuta, has been periodically spewing molten clouds of ash and smoke for months, forcing more than 100,000 people to flee the area and prompting the closure of the island's international airport. But today, Indonesia's volcanology centre lowered Agung's alert level from four to three, citing a decline in its activity. "The volcanic earthquakes are now... declining significantly. The deformation is deflating and getting more stable and the concentration of the volcanic gas spewing into the air is also declining," the centre's senior volcanologist Gede Suantika told AFP. Under the new alert level, the no-entry zone has been reduced to four km from Agung's peak, an area with no residents, allowing all evacuees ..
Man killed in blaze in garment factory
A 35-year-old man was asphyxiated after a fire broke out at a garments factory in central Delhi's Karol Bagh area early morning. A call about the fire at the jeans factory on Tank Road was received at 4.50 am. Five fire tenders were rushed and it was brought under control at 5.10 am, said a Delhi Fire Services official. The fire had started in a staircase area on the first floor of the building giving out a heavy plume of smoke. On the second floor of the building, the body of a man identified as Jumman was found. He died due to suffocation, the official said. The cause of fire is under investigation, police said. Last month, a fire in a firecracker storage unit in Bawana industrial area had claimed the lives of 17 workers.
Man escapes from burning car on Yamuna Expressway
A man escaped from his burning car early on Saturday after it caught fire on the Yamuna Expressway in Uttar Pradesh, police said.
Goods train derails in MP
Two wagons of a goods train derailed in Satna in Madhya Pradesh on Friday, partially affecting traffic in the area, an official said. There were, however, no reports of casualties.
Delhi shop fire kills 1
A man died in a major fire that broke out at a garment manufacturing unit in Karol Bagh on Saturday morning.Five fire tenders were at the location to douse the flames.More details are awaited.
Student killed in road accident in North Dinajpur
A 16-year-old school boy was killed in a road accident after which a mob attacked a traffic police office and blocked NH-34 here in North Dinajpur district today, police said. The mob also damaged the vehicle which killed the boy, the police said. The mob blocked the NH-34 for two hours protesting against the accident, they said. Later, a police force went to the spot and dispersed the mob, a police officer said.
5.8 magnitude quake rattles west coast of Mexico, no damages
A 5.8 magnitude quake has rattled Mexico's western Pacific coast, but there were no immediate reports of damages or injuries. The US Geological Survey said the quake occurred at about 8:05 am (local time) Central Standard Time today. It was centered about 19 miles (30 kilometers) off the coast near the border between the states of Jalisco and Colima. The Jalisco state civil defense office said initial inspections revealed no injuries or damages attributable to the quake.
Student on way to Class X board exam killed in road accident
A student on his way to Class X board examination was killed in a road accident here today, police said. Pranjal (17), a resident of Harola village, was riding a motorcycle to the examination centre. A Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) bus hit him near Rajni Gandha crossing, police said. Pranjal, who was not wearing helmet, fell down and suffered head injury, they said. He was taken to a nearby hospital where doctors declared him brought dead. Police have sent the body for post-mortem. The UP Board examination for class 10 and class 12 began earlier this month and will continue till March 12.
Student killed after MLA's car hits motorcycle in UP
A 16-year-old student was killed today when his motorcycle was hit by a car belonging to a local MLA in a village here, police said. The accident occurred in Uchnikala village here, they said, adding that the car belonged to Mariyahu MLA Leena Tiwari of the Apna Dal (Sonelal). "Shubham Yadav (16), a resident of Kailavar village, was returning home on his motorcycle after appearing in the Class X board examination today, when at Uchnikala village, he was hit by the MLA's vehicle coming from the opposite direction. Shubham died on the spot," Superintendent of police (city) Anil Pandey said. The MLA's son, Saatvik Tiwari, four of his friends and the driver of the car fled from the spot after the accident, leaving the vehicle behind, Pandey added. Meanwhile, villagers blocked the road in protest and damaged the vehicle, police said.
Smoking near grass might have caused Bellandur Lake fire: Govt
Smoking by villagers near grass, which is used as fodder, may have led to the accidental fire at the Bellandur Lake in Bengaluru in January, the government today said. Minister of State for Environment Mahesh Sharma in a written reply in the lok Sabha said cutting grass in the lake area by the neighbouring villagers and use it as a fodder for their cattle is a common practice. He said the ministry has taken note of the massive fire at the lake on January 19. "It has been observed that dense smoke was releasing from the grass with organic sludge (Muck). Since long it is a common practice of grass cutting in the lake area by the neighbouring villagers to use it as a fodder for their cattle. "In such time, while they smoke, there may be chances of accidental fire in the grass and this could be the reason for the accidental fire in Bellandur Lake," he said. He further added that the fire may also be due to igniting debris of biomass, dry plants, solid waste (consisting of ...
Central team inspects Barak valley to assess flood damages
A three-member high level Inter-Ministerial Central team today visited Assam's Hailakandi district in Barak Valley to assess damages caused by floods last year, an official release said. The team, headed by Union Agriculture Ministry's Director of Sugarcane Board Arvind L Waghmare, inspected several flood affected areas of the district that included embankment breach at Tosla, Boroitula, Kuchilaghat and Katagaon. The also inspected the ongoing road cum embankment protection work at Katagaon, the release said. As part of its on-the-spot-assessment, the team interacted with the affected people and district administration to find out the intensity of the damages caused by the flood. Later in a meeting, Deputy Commissioner K G Bhuyan apprised the team about the damages caused by the flood last year. Bhuyan also referred to the issue of resettlement of people rendered homeless due to flood and urged the team to carry the same in its report for release of fund by the Central
Cong MP writes to PM about "debris dam" in Yarlung Sangpo belt
Congress Lok Sabha member from Arunachal Pradesh, Ninong Ering in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi has told him about possible natural hazard in the North East due to formation of "debris dam" in the Yarlung Sangpo belt. Ering, the MP from Arunachal East seat in his February 7 letter to the prime minister informed him about the "debris dam" formed in the Yarlung Sangpo belt in China due to a powerful underwater earthquake in November last year. A copy of the letter was released to the press here. In the letter, Ering claimed an intense earthquake activity in November last year triggered widespread landslides on the Yarlung-Tsangpo river, 200 kilometre upstream from Tuting in Upper Siang district of Arunachal Prdesh. The Brahmaputra river which had its origin in Tibet is called the Yarlung-Tsangpo river there. "Three natural rockslide dams have formed on the river due to blockage by landslides and debris. It is only a matter of time before the natural dams burst ...
HC bars public from carrying mobiles to Madurai temple
The Madras High Court today banned people from carrying mobile phones to Madurai's famous Meenakshi Amman temple where a fire mishap gutted several shops last week. Justices N Kirubakaran and R Tharani of the Madurai bench also suggested deployment of CISF personnel to maintain security at the ancient temple. The court said the Tamil Nadu government should examine the possibility of forming a high-level committee of archaeological experts for maintaining the temple periodically and providing advice on safety and security aspects. It ordered that mobile phones should not be carried by anyone barring security officials in the interest of the security of the temple. The order was issued while hearing a PIL seeking to direct the central and state governments to frame guidelines and safety and security code and implement these immediately. Petitioner Muthukumar, an advocate, submitted that the recent fire accident in the temple had shocked the devotees, adding though only 115