Page 920 - Disaster Accident
Did not indulge in unfair practices: MMTC on CBI coal probe
State-run mining and metals major MMTC today said the company has not indulged in any unfair practices and its role is limited only as a trade facilitator, in the backdrop of CBI probe into the Rs 487-crore coal import scam. "... MMTC has not indulged in any unfair practices and MMTC's role is limited only as a trade facilitator as quality/ quantity and other parameters of coal are tested and accepted by laboratories at power plants which is final and binding on all. The required information and documents are being furnished by MMTC to investigating authorities," the company said replying to a clarification sought by the exchanges. The CBI last week began a probe into a scam related to over valuation of inferior quality of coal imported from Indonesia, which was passed on to NTPC and other power generation companies in collusion with officials. The action of the agency came on the basis of a Directorate of Revenue Intelligence investigation which had shown over ...
36 killed as bus plunges into canal in Bengal's Murshidabad district (Third Lead)
Thirty six people, including two children, were killed and several were missing after a bus with around 50 passengers crashed through a bridge railing and plunged into a canal in West Bengal's Murshidabad district on Monday morning, officials said.
36 killed as bus plunges into canal
At least 36 people, including 10 women, were killed when a state roadways bus fell into the Ghogra canal breaking the railing of a bridge in Murshidabad district today, the police said. The accident occurred at Balirghat under the Daulatabad police station area around 6 am when the North Bengal State Transport Corporation (NBSTC) bus was going from Shikarpur in Nadia district to Malda, they said. The incident triggered protests, with locals alleging delay in arrival of police and attacking the force. They also torched a police vehicle. Locals also damaged a fire tender when it reached the spot to douse the blaze in the police vehicle. Police used batons to disperse the mob. According to official sources, it took eight hours to locate and lift the ill-fated bus out of the canal using five hydraulic cranes. State Transport Minister Suvendu Adhikari said 32 bodies were recovered from the bus after it was lifted out of the water. Earlier, two bodies, including that of a ...
24 killed in WB road accident
At least 24 people were killed on Monday after a bus drowned in a canal in West Bengal's Murshidabad.The bus with 50 passengers on board fell off the Balighat bridge while crossing it. At the time of filing this report, 24 people had died.A team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) is engaged in the rescue operations.
One person dies, another injured in fire
One person was charred to death while another suffered injuries in the fire that broke out at the fast food outlet here, police said today. The cause of fire was suspected to be short circuit, police said adding that the fast food outlet situated just opposite the busy Laxmi Cinema Complex was badly gutted in the fire that broke out around 1 am. The deceased has been identified as Magnu, owner of the fast food outlet, and the injured person was an employee of the shop, they added.
NGT directs UP govt to provide potable water in Sambhal
The National Green Tribunal today ordered the immediate sealing of handpumps discharging contaminated water in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal and directed the state government to provide clean drinking water in the district. A bench headed by acting Chairperson Justice U D Salvi also asked the state government to file a comprehensive plan for supply of water in the affected villages around the district before March 14. The green panel said that it was surprised that despite knowing that the groundwater of 30 villages of Sambhal district was heavily contaminated, the authorities have not taken any step to improve the situation. During the hearing, the UP Jal Nigam told the bench that 77 handpumps in Sambhal district were discharging water which contained arsenic beyond the permissible limit. The tribunal's direction came on a plea filed by advocate Gaurav Bansal who said as per the website of the national rural drinking water programme maintained by the Ministry of Drinking ...
Chinese military plane crashes during training exercise
China's air force said a military plane crashed today during training in the southwestern province of Guizhou. The People's Liberation Army Air Force said in a brief post on its official account on the social media site Sina Weibo that authorities were sparing no effort in search and rescue operations. It did not say what kind of plane was involved or if there were casualties. The Beijing News said the plane went down in the county of Suiyang. It cited the local government as confirming the location of the crash but had no further details. An official who answered the phone at the Suiyang government offices said he knew nothing about the crash and referred questions to the government's propaganda departments, where calls went unanswered. Police in Suiyang repeatedly hung up the phone when reached.
Srinagar air operations briefly hit due to fire near airport
Flight operations at the Srinagar international airport were affected for 45 minutes on Monday due to a fire incident adjacent to the airport.
Indian-origin man charged with killing 3 teenagers in UK crash
An Indian-origin man was today remanded in custody by a UK court on charges of three counts of death by dangerous driving after a road collision that killed three teenage boys in London last week. Jaynesh Chudasama appeared by Uxbridge Magistrates Court in London, where he was denied bail and remanded to appear before the Old Bailey court in London on February 26. The 28-year-old had been arrested by Scotland Yard officers after a fatal collision near a bus stop in Hayes, west London, on Friday evening. The Metropolitan Police have named the victims of the crash as Harry Rice, 17, and 16- year-olds George Wilkinson and Josh McGuinness. They were on their way to a friend's birthday party when they were killed. A second man, aged 34, was also arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving after handing himself in to a north London police station on Saturday evening, following a police appeal. He continues to remain is custody as he is questioned. "Detectives ..
5 killed, 3 injured in string of accidents in Ganjam district
At least five people were killed and three others were injured in separate road accidents in Digapahandi and Chamakhandi areas of Odisha's Ganjam district since yesterday, police said today. A senior advocate, identified as Laxmidutta Mohapatra (45) of Luchapada near here, was killed and another lawyer was seriously injured when a container hit their motorcycle near Jagannathpur in Chamakhandi area today, police said. The driver of the container fled the spot along with the vehicle after the accident and efforts are on to trace him, said inspector-in-charge of Chamakhandi police station, Chitta Ranjan Behera. Two students -- Siba Das (20) and Santosh Das (18) -- died when their motorbike rammed a roadside tree near Mahuri Kalua road in Digapahandi area yesterday, police said. In yet another accident, Priyadarshini Patra (22) and her relative Salini Patra (18) of Gauda Street were killed and two others were injured when their car dashed against a truck parked along a road
Fire breaks out in Srinagar airport, Flight ops suspended
A fire which broke out at the Srinagar International Airport on Monday near Air Traffic Control (ATC) of the Indian Air Force area in Jammu and Kashmir's Srinagar is now under control."Dry grass which caught fire at Srinagar airport is now under control. There has been no damage due to the fire, the air traffic had to be briefly suspended as a precautionary measure," Budgam Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Tejinder Singh told ANI.Soon after the fire, flight operations were suspended and fire tenders immediately reached at the spot and came into action.
Nine workers injured in Kerala as temple roof caves in
Almost two years after 110 people died in a firecracker tragedy at the Puttingal Devi temple at Paravur near here, nine workers were on Monday injured when a newly-cast concrete roof caved in, police said.
NGT tells UP government to provide potable water in Sambhal
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Monday directed the Uttar Pradesh government to provide potable water in Sambhal district, as the groundwater in the area is reported to be highly contaminated.
3 dead, thousands homeless after night fire in Kenyan slum
Three persons were killed and thousands were left homeless following a fierce blaze that broke out in a Kenyan slum here, an official said on Monday.
Fire at Srinagar airport, air traffic suspended briefly
A fire broke out at the Srinagar International Airport today in the area under the control of the Indian Air Force, disrupting the air traffic for sometime, officials said. "There was a fire at the airport on Air Force side, which has now been put out," an official of the Airport Authority of India said. He said while there was no damage done due to the fire, the air traffic had to be briefly suspended as a precautionary measure. "Normal flight operations have now resumed," he added. Sources said the dry grass at the airfield had caught fire but the cause of it was not known immediately.
Large tree falls across railway track
A big tree fell across the railway track near Lovedale leading to cancellation of Conoor-Udhagamandalam trains today, railway sources said. Vehicular traffic was also affected as the one end of tree was lying across Manjoor road. The tree fell on the track near Lovedale, about eight kms from here around 2 am, leading to the cancellation of three trains till two PM from Coonoor. Fire and rescue personnel and PWD officials were engaged in removing the tree. The rail and road traffic was expected to resume around six PM, they said.
Australia, US join Pacific search for sunken ferry survivors
Australian and US aircraft will join the search for survivors from a ferry which sank with 50 people aboard in the remote Pacific, rescue officials said today. A New Zealand Air Force Orion plane, which yesterday found seven survivors drifting in a dinghy, is already combing a search area larger than Italy. The survivors -- three men, three women and a 14-year-old girl -- had been aboard the MV Butiraoi, which set off from Kiribati on January 18. Officials in the island nation raised the alarm on Friday after hearing nothing from the vessel since its departure. An Australian Maritime Safety Authority jet and a US Coast Guard Hercules agreed to join the search today, Rescue Coordination Centre NZ said. The centre's senior search and rescue officer Greg Johnston said the remote area where the ferry went missing made it a challenging operation. He said 385,000 sq kms had already been searched and the area was constantly expanding as current modelling was used to estimate ...
Three dead as truck falls into gorge in Uttarakhand
Three persons were killed and one critically injured when a truck fell into a gorge in Tehri district of Uttarakhand on Monday, police said.
Bus falls into ditch in UP amid fog, 6 injured
At least six persons were injured on Monday when a bus fell into a roadside ditch in Uttar Pradesh after the driver lost track of the road due to dense fog.
Three dead in Bengal bus accident
Three persons were killed and seven injured when a Malda-bound bus fell into a canal in West Bengal's Murshidabad district on Monday, police said.