Page 938 - Disaster Accident
Rescue operations called off after intense search: Sitharaman
The Centre has called off operations to trace missing fishermen following cyclone 'Ockhi' last month after days of intense search, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said here today. The minister said, search operations were conducted by the Indian Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard along with some fishermen. "But there were no sign of any debris or any boat. Since there was no result for more than 7-8 days, the search operation was called off on December 27 after intense search," she told reporters. Cyclone 'Ockhi', which crossed the coast on November 30, left a trail of destruction in southern districts of Tamil Nadu and neighbouring Kerala claiming several lives. Sitharaman had visited the affected districts on December 3. To a query,on whether she had received any request from the state government to continue the search operations, the minister said: "Not that I have received." Meanwhile, giving details on the impact of cyclone, Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar said 194
4 killed as storm batters Netherlands, Belgium
At least four people were killed as a huge storm hit the Netherlands and Belgium with winds of up to 143 kmph on Thursday.
Meghalaya secretariat room catches fire
The data processing room of the Meghalaya secretariat caught fire early this morning but there was no major damage as it was doused soon by alert security personnel, officials said. The smoke from the fire was first detected by a cleaner at around 7.30 am from the data processing room of the North Treasury at the 3rd Secretariat Building, homeguards spokesperson Paul H Shylla said. He alerted two home guards personnel posted on the ground floor. The home guards personnel broke open the lock to enter the room and doused the flames in less than 30 minutes, Shylla said. A wooden partition and two computer tables and chairs were reduced to ashes, he said. Police said the matter is under investigation and treasury officials said they are assessing the loss due to the fire.
Woman killed as violent winds hit Belgium
A motorist was killed today after a tree crushed her car in Belgium, the first fatality from strong winds blowing through countries bordering the North Sea, local media said. The fatal accident occurred around 1030 on a forest road in Grez-Doiceau, a suburban village about 35 kilometres south of Brussels, according to Belgian media. Benelux countries faced falling trees, flying roof tiles and collapsed electric cables, with firefighters called out to hundreds of emergencies since late Wednesday, when gusts of wind began to exceed 100 kilometres an hour. The suburban region of Walloon Brabant, where the fatality took place, had alone logged about 60 emergency calls overnight, according to the local daily L'Avenir. In the Netherlands, Amsterdam Schiphol Airport cancelled all flights on Thursday morning due to extremely high winds. The country was partially paralysed, with trains, trams and boats docked, which caused many problems on the roads.
1 dead in oil tanker fire off Gujarat coast
One of the two injured crew members, in the massive fire that broke out on Wednesday on board MT Genessa oil tanker, lost his life on Thursday evening.On Wednesday a massive fire broke out in the MT Genessa oil tanker that is 15 nautical miles off Deendayal Port in Gujarat. All the 26 crew members, who were stuck in the oil tanker, were evacuated.Two members sustained severe injuries and one of them lost his life.Three Indian Coast Guard (ICG) vessels, nine Tugs from KPT, Reliance, Essar, Adani and ICG Dornier were deployed to douse the off the flames at MT Genessa oil tanker.As per reports, the merchant navy tanker was carrying 30,000 tonnes of high-speed diesel.
Probing windshield cracks on Air India Dreamliners: Boeing
Boeing is examining the issue of windshield cracks on its 787 Dreamliners after Air India experienced three such cases recently, a senior official of the aerospace firm said today. Earlier this month, a Delhi-Kolkata plane was forced to return to the Indira Gandhi International airport here following a crack in the cockpit window. A similar issue was reported in December and in August as well. "Air India went through that problem three years ago and we changed the model of the windshield. We are now studying the windows in the shop to understand what happened," said Dinesh Keskar, senior vice president of sales Asia-Pacific and India at Boeing Commercial Airplanes. These recent instances, however, do not affect flight safety, he told reporters on the sidelines of an event here. "It is not good it happens, we are quite concerned (and) we look at it. But there are layers of protection on the windshield (and) there is certainly no issue of safety of the flight," Keskar ...
50 houses destroyed in fire, no casualty
At least 50 houses in a slum near Biju Patnaik Park here today were destroyed in a fire which broke but there was no report of any casualty, police said. Properties worth around Rs 21 lakh was gutted in the fire, Fire Brigade sources said. At least four fire fighters along with 17 fire tenders took around two hours to control the blaze. "The intensity of the fire is very severe. At least four LPG cylinders exploded in the fire accident", said assistant fire officer, Berhampur, Sanatan Mohapatra. He said the cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained. "We suspected the fire due to leakage of the cooking gas from a house", he said. The district administration has arranged two nearby schools for temporary accommodation of the victims. The victims will be provided foods, said sub-collector of Berhampur, Sdharth Shankar Swain. Berhampur MLA R Ch Chyaupatnaik, former Union minister and senior Congress leader Chandra Sekhar Sahu, Berhampur Mayor K Madhavi also rushed to the ...
Iranian tanker leaves extensive oil slicks after explosion
An oil spill from an Iranian tanker that exploded and sank off China has spread into four separate slicks covering an area of 100 sq km, Chinese authorities said on Thursday.
20 shanties gutted in Howrah, no casualties
At least 20 shanties were gutted after a fire broke out at a slum near Bagnan railway station around 10.30am today, police said. Though there were no reports of any casualties, a two-year-old child fell ill after inhaling the smoke emitted due to the fire, the police said. Four fire tenders were pressed into service and the fire was brought under control after sometime, a police officer said. All the shanties were reduced to ashes, a fire and emergency services officer said. A police officer threw four LPG cylinders into a water body located near the slum and prevented them from exploding, the firefighter said. Arunava Sen, Trinamool Congress MLA from Bagnan, also visited the spot and asked the administrative officials to extend all help and assistance to the people who lost their homes.
52 people killed in Kazakhstan bus fire
Fifty-two people were killed today when the Russia-bound bus they were travelling on caught fire in Kazakhstan, the central Asian nation's emergency services ministry said. "On January 18 at 10:30 am (0430 GMT), a bus caught fire ... 55 passengers and two drivers were on board. Five people who managed to escape are receiving medical assistance. The rest died on the spot," the ministry said, without elaborating on the cause of the blaze. All those who died are believed to be Uzbek nationals, an interior ministry official told Interfax-Kazakhstan news agency. Kazakh media reported they were migrant workers travelling to Russia. Uzbekistan's emergency services ministry said it had opened a hotline. The vehicle was registered in Kazakhstan, emergency services ministry official Ruslan Imankulov told AFP. He said the fire spread very quickly. Regional emergency service officials initially blamed the fire on a short circuit and said the bus was overloaded, Interfax-Kazakstan ..
Boeing: Probing windshield cracks on Air India Dreamliners
Aerospace manufacturer Boeing is examining the issue of windshield cracks on its 787 Dreamliners after Air India witnessed three such incidents in the recent past. Earlier this month, a Delhi-Kolkata plane was forced to return to the Indira Gandhi International airport here following a crack in the cockpit window. A similar issue was reported each in December and August. "Air India went through that problem three years ago and we changed the model of the windshield. We are now studying the windows in the shop to understand what happened," said Dinesh Keskar, senior vice president of sales Asia-Pacific and India at Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "Air India went through that problem three years ago and we changed the model of the windshield. We are now studying the windows in the shop to understand what happened," he told reporters on the sidelines of an event here today. He said that these recent instances, however, do not affect flight safety. "It is not good it happens, ..
Book state BJP chief for party-owned car's accident, demands
Madhya Pradesh Congress today demanded that state BJP chief Nandkumar Singh Chauhan be booked in connection with a road accident involving a BJP-owned car that killed two persons here three days ago. "The car that was involved in the accident here on January 15, in which two persons were killed, is owned by the state BJP, according to its registration details with Bhopal's Regional Transport Office. In place of Chauhan, unidentified persons have been booked in the accident," state Congress spokesman Pankaj Chaturvedi told reporters here. He added that it was "surprising" that a state BJP functionary, Lokendra Parashar, who was in the car when the accident took place, had not been booked. He said that he suspected the car was was carrying cash to bribe voters for the yet-to-be-announced Mungaoli assembly bypoll in the district. Refuting the allegations, Parasher said, "I was not in the car. The Congress is playing politics over the deaths of people, which is very ...
Avalanche warning for some places in J&K
A low danger avalanche warning was issued today for some avalanche prone areas of Jammu and Kashmir. Chandigarh-based Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment (SASE) issued the avalanche warning for the areas above 2500 metre altitude. The warning is valid for the next 24 hours starting at 5 pm today. The warning exists for avalanche prone areas in Bandipora, Ganderbal and Kupwara districts of Jammu and Kashmir. "People are advised not to venture in avalanche prone slopes/areas during the warning period," the SASE advisory said. It further said that fresh snowfall had occurred at few places in Jammu and Kashmir since yesterday. Banihal Top had received light snow while Gulmarg got 6 cm and Drass 8 cm snow.
Violent storms bring travel chaos to the Netherlands
Severe winter gales battered the Netherlands today forcing Amsterdam airport to cancel all flights, bringing Dutch trains to a halt and toppling trucks as winds reached 140 kilometres an hour. "Due to severe weather conditions: all air traffic has been suspended until further notice," Schiphol airport, one of Europe's busiest flight hubs, said in a tweet. Air traffic will "gradually restart around 12:00 pm (1100 GMT)", the airport said. The cancellations notice came shortly after the Dutch national weather service upped its warning to the highest level. The westerly storms blowing off the North Sea meant "a code red is in force with very heavy gusts of up to 140 kilometres an hour expected in some areas," the national weather service (KNMI) said. "Such heavy gusts bring with them a danger to people and traffic," it added, warning of the risks of falling trees and urging people not to venture go into the seas, with many Dutch surfers often seen seeking out the highest ...
Odisha plans to complete disaster alert project by March end
The Odisha government is planning to commission Early Warning Dissemination System (EWDS) in the coastal areas of six districts by the end of March. The project aims at establishing a foolproof communication system for providing information about impending disasters, like cyclone and tsunami, to the local population, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) B P Sethi said. The system, a part of World Bank-supported National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project (NCRMP), will ensure last mile connectivity in 22 blocks of six coastal districts - Balasore, Bhadrak, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Puri and Ganjam - he said after reviewing the progress work. "The total cost of the project is Rs 75 crore, of which about Rs 67 crore will come from NCRMP funds. The rest will be borne by the state government under State Disaster Response Fund," the SRC said yesterday after a meeting with the administration officials of the six districts. The system will send disaster warnings through messages to .
52 killed in Kazakhstan bus inferno
At least 52 people were killed on Thursday as a bus caught fire on a highway in western Kazakhstan.
Three arrested for stabbing taxi driver in Goa
Three tourists from Gujarat, including a minor boy, were arrested in North Goa on Thursday for stabbing a taxi driver over non-payment of fares, police said.
Swedish skier killed in avalanche at Gulmarg
A Swedish skier died while another was rescued by police today after an avalanche struck the Gulmarg skiing resort of Jammu and Kashmir, police said. "An avalanche struck near second phase Gondola cable car on Affarwat peak in Gulmarg in which two skiers got trapped," a police spokesman said. One skier, identified as Daniel from Sweden, has died, the spokesman said, adding another Swedish national, Benjamin was rescued by ski rescue team of the police.
Swedish skier dies in Gulmarg avalanche, another rescued
A Swedish skier was killed in an avalanche while his compatriot was rescued alive on Thursday in Jammu and Kashmir's Gulmarg ski resort.
50 motorcycles reduced to ashes
Fifty motorcycles loaded in a container truck were reduced to ashes on the outskirt of Bhawanipatna town in Odisha's Kalahandi district early toady, police said. The driver of the truck had parked the vehicle near a petrol pump along NH 26 and was taking rest due to thick fog when he got burning smell and noticed smoke billowing out of the closed container, police said. On opening the lock of the container, the driver found the bikes charred with smoke coming out. The fire brigade was called all the bikes had been charred by the time they reached the spot, the police said. The truck was transporting a consignment of 50 motorcycles from Haridwar to Jeypore in Odisha for delivery to a dealer, police said adding investigation was on to ascertain the cause of the fire.