Page 908 - Disaster Accident
Fire at under construction station of Hyd Metro; none hurt
A minor fire broke out at an under construction station of the Hyderabad Metro Rail Ltd (HMRL) project here, an official said today. No casualties were reported. The blaze erupted yesterday around 4 pm on a corner side of the Hitech City station, an official of the L&T Metro Rail (Hyderabad) Ltd, the concessionaire developing the 72-km elevated project, said. A purported footage of the flames at the station went viral on social media. Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited Managing Director N V S Reddy said that while the welding work was being done last evening, some sparks caused a small fire. "The fire was immediately controlled and extinguished. It's a small incident but doing rounds on the social media. I have instructed the L&T to further improve the safety measures to prevent such incidents in future," Reddy said. The Hitech City station comes under corridor-3 of the Metro project. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the first phase of the 72-km long elevated ...
Fire breaks out in GHMC building
A massive fire broke out in the records room of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) central zone office in Khairatabad, said fire official on Tuesday.Systems in which records were saved have been gutted in the fire.Two fire tenders were rushed to the spot and the situation is under control now.As of no casualties have been reported and a probe has been initiated in the matter.
Pilot injured as S. Korean jet catches fire at Singapore
A pilot was slightly injured when a South Korean aircraft taking part in the Singapore Airshow skidded off the runway and caught fire today while taking off, authorities said. The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) said the aircraft from the South Korean air force's aerobatic team Black Eagles "skidded and crashed into the grass verge" at the side of the runway and caught fire. The accident happened as the plane was taking off for the aerial display, which was cancelled. The Black Eagles were supposed to be the final act of the show that also featured aircraft from Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and the United States. The South Korean team uses the KAI T-50 Golden Eagle plane, a supersonic advanced trainer and light combat aircraft developed by Korea Aerospace Industries with US firm Lockheed Martin. "Airport Emergency Service responded to the incident immediately and the fire was extinguished," the CAAS said. "The pilot sustained light injuries and is
Hawaii emergency worker threatened after misleading photo
When an erroneous alert was sent out last month telling people in Hawaii that there was an incoming ballistic missile, Jeffrey Wong was an island away from the state's emergency management agency office where he works as an operations officer. Wong helped gather hundreds of panicked guests at his hotel on the island of Kauai to seek shelter in a restaurant until he confirmed the alert was a mistake. Then an Associated Press photograph circulated picturing Wong months earlier at the agency's Honolulu operations center on Oahu island and people mistakenly thought Wong was the "button-pusher" who sent out the alert, wrongly accusing him in online comments of causing widespread panic and confusion. Wong told The Associated Press last week he quickly learned how cruel the internet can be: "A lot of anger, a lot of ignorance came out as a result of that." He added: "It's very hurtful to be wrongly accused, wrongly marked as an individual that's responsible for actions that ...
J-K highway closed after landslide in Ramban
The Jammu-Srinagar National Highway remained closed today due to a massive landslide in Jammu and Kashmir's Ramban district, police said. There was a "heavy" landslide at Ramsu. This led to its closure this morning, they said, adding that due to the blockade, over 300 vehicles were stranded. The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) is working to clear the highway and open it for traffic, police said.
Landslides block Srinagar-Jammu highway
Landslides in Jammu and Kashmir's Ramban district on Tuesday blocked the Srinagar-Jammu national highway.
Scientists discover enormous reserves of mercury in permafrost
Scientists have discovered massive reserves of mercury hidden in permafrost.Permafrost is a thick subsurface layer of soil that remains below freezing point throughout the year, occurring chiefly in polar regions.Researchers have discovered permafrost in the northern hemisphere stores massive amounts of natural mercury, a finding with significant implications for human health and ecosystems worldwide as exposure to mercury - even small amounts - can cause serious health problems.The study reveals the northern permafrost soils are the largest reservoir of mercury on the planet, storing nearly twice as much mercury as all other soils, the ocean and the atmosphere combined.In a new study, scientists measured mercury concentrations in permafrost cores from Alaska and estimated how much mercury has been trapped in permafrost north of the equator since the last Ice Age."This discovery is a game-changer," said Paul Schuster, a hydrologist at the U.S. Geological Survey in Boulder, Colorado ...
Woman rescued from Indonesia landslide after 13 hours
Rescuers in Indonesia have pulled a woman alive from a car trapped by a landslide for 13 hours but several other people were still missing as torrential rains caused havoc in parts of the capital and neighboring West Java. Television stations broadcast the frantic rescue effort near Jakarta's international airport throughout the night. Rescuers in orange uniforms finally pulled the trapped woman from her car at about 7 a.m. today. Yesterday, rescuers retrieved a body from villages ravaged by landslides in the hilly West Java resort town of Puncak and are still searching for at least eight others. Police had earlier said there were two confirmed deaths in that area. The capital has raised its flood alert to the highest level.
Japan authorities find body part after army helicopter crash
Japanese authorities said today they had recovered a body part during the search for a crew member missing in a deadly military helicopter crash in the country's southwest. The Apache helicopter crashed Monday in a residential area in Saga province, killing co-pilot Hiroki Takayama and leaving lead pilot Kenichi Saito missing. "We were informed that a body part was found. But we're still confirming the identity of the body part," a defence ministry spokesman told AFP. The helicopter crashed in Saga prefecture seven minutes after takeoff, slamming into and setting on fire a house that was completely destroyed in the accident. An 11-year-old girl was in the house at the time, but survived with minor injuries. Video footage captured by a camera in a nearby car showed the helicopter dropping from the sky almost vertically, with its nose pointing directly towards the ground. The crash site was just 300 metres (1,000 feet) from a local elementary school and sent a thick plume ..
Military helicopter disappears off Taiwan east coast
A military helicopter with six people on board was missing after taking off from Orquideas island, east of Taiwan, the Interior Ministry said on Tuesday.
Oil tanker with 22 Indian sailors released by pirates
An oil tanker, with an all Indian crew of 22 members that went missing off the coast of Benin in north-west Africa, has been released by pirates after four days, officials said today. All the crew members, who endured the over four-day ordeal, are safe. "The ship, 'Marine Express', has been released and is back under the command of the captain," Director General of Shipping Malini Shankar told PTI here. She said all 22 crew members are safe and the ship has resumed further sailing. It was immediately not clear if a ransom was paid to secure the release of the vessel and the cargo. The Marine Express was at the anchorage Cotonou in the Gulf of Guinea in Benin when it was taken over by pirates on February 1. All the communication systems on the vessel were switched off by pirates before making it sail. In a Facebook post, the ship manning agent Anglo Eastern said the Panama-flagged vessel was the subject of a "pirate attack and seizure", and also confirmed the safe ...
Indonesia declares deadly Papua measles outbreak over
A deadly measles-and-malnutrition outbreak that killed scores of children in Indonesia's remote Papua province is over, authorities said. Official figures showed a total of 72 children died while hundreds more were sickened as a result of the "extraordinary" outbreak, which hit several isolated communities in Papua's Asmat district between September 2017 and February 4, local officials said. No new measles cases had been identified following the deployment of military and medical teams to the region last month. "The extraordinary status of the measles event has been revoked and is over," Asmat district chief Elisa Kambu said in a letter dated Monday. No figures were given for the number of children sickened but earlier official figures said the number topped 800. The statement marks a de-escalation of a health crisis first made public in mid-January that highlighted a severe lack of medical care and other basic services in a far-flung island region. Earlier reports ...
Fire breaks out at UP's electronic showroom
Fire broke out at an electronic showroom in the Govind Nagar area of Kanpur, on Monday night.Five to six fire tenders rushed to the site.Santosh Kumar, an eyewitness, told ANI that the fire at Kanpur Cooling Services Pvt Ltd caused a loss of approximately Rs 40 lakhs.No casualty has been reported as of now.
Fire breaks out in Mumbai slums
Fire broke out at the slums near Laxmi Industrial Estate on Andheri - Kurla Road in Mumbai, late on Monday night.Four fire tenders rushed to the spot.No injuries have been reported so far.Further details are awaited.
Car gutted in fire
A moving car today gutted in fire on the Barapullah flyover near Nizamuddin, injuring two persons, police said. A call about the fire was received by the Delhi Fire Services around 9.40 pm, they said. The injured were admitted to the trauma centre of the AIIMS, police said.
Fire breaks out in hutments on Andheri-Kurla road
A fire broke out in four hutments situated at Shivshakti Industrial Estate on the Andheri-Kurla road in suburban Andheri today evening, an official from the Disaster Management Unit of BMC said. "The Fire Brigade control room got information about a blaze emanating from hutments in a chawl near Shiv Shakti Industrial Estate on Andheri Kurla road at 9.51 pm," said an official. He said that four firefighting engines along with water tankers and an ambulance had been rushed to the spot. Efforts to douse the fire was currently on, the official said, adding that no casualties had been reported so far.
Shops will be shifted if found responsible for temple fire: TN
Three days after a massive fire broke out inside the Meenakshi temple here, Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam today said the shops operating on its premises would be relocated if their presence was found to be the reason for the mishap. Talking to reporters here after inspecting the Vasantharayar Mandapam which suffered damage, he said steps would be taken to shift the shops from the temple premises if the police inquiry concluded that their presence was the reason for the blaze. The senior AIADMK leader said the damage caused by the fire was being assessed. He also assured that the renovation work of Vasanatharayar Mandapam would be taken up soon as per 'Agama' rules and restored according to the stipulations. Panneerselvam was accompanied by his colleagues Sellur K Raju and Udhayakumar. A massive fire broke out inside the premises of the famous temple in which about 40 shops were gutted on the night of February 2. However no one was injured, police had ..
2 cr people living in arsenic, fluoride affected areas: Govt
Around two crore Indians are living in arsenic and fluoride affected habitations, the government told Parliament today. Minister of State for Drinking Water and Sanitation S S Ahluwalia informed the Rajya Sabha that as on February 1, drinking water in 17,818 habitations, with a population of 1.78 crore, was affected by arsenic. Similarly, 12,382 habitations, with a population of 97.94 lakh, were affected by fluoride, he said. While long-term exposure to arsenic in drinking water can cause cancer in skin, lungs, bladder and kidney, the effects of fluoride contamination are particularly evident in the form of bone deformities in children. "For improving the coverage of safe-drinking water to rural population, this ministry supplements the efforts of the states by providing them with technical and financial assistance through the centrally sponsored National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP)," he said. The MoS further said the ministry had launched the National Water ..
Two killed in Japanese military chopper crash
Two crew members aboard a Japanese Ground Self-Defence Force (GSDF) attack helicopter were killed after the chopper crashed into a residential area on Monday and set ablaze a house in Saga Prefecture in Japan.
UP CM launches campaign to create awareness about Encephalitis
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath today said his government was committed to preventing deaths of children due to outbreak of inflammatory brain diseases - Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) and Japanese Encephalitis (JE). "No child should die of AES or JE. We are strengthening health systems to increase treatment capacities and offer the highest quality of care, but equally important is creating awareness for prevention, control and timely detection of AES cases," he said. Launching a campaign to raise awareness about AES here, the chief minister said 38 of the 75 districts in the state are the worst hit and officials have been asked to make all necessary preparations for dealing with it well in time. "Vaccination should be completed by March-April and special emphasis should be on sanitation and cleanliness drive in villages by creating awareness among people. Help of educational institutes and self-help organisations should also be taken for this," he ...