Page 943 - Disaster Accident
Belgium: Explosion collapses building, injures up to 20
Police said an explosion has torn through three adjacent homes in Belgium's northern port town of Antwerp and injured up to 20 people. Antwerp police said in a statement today that most of the injuries were slight. Authorities rescued seven people from under the rubble. Antwerp police spokesman Wouter Bruyns told VRT network: "There are about 10, a maximum 20 casualties, fortunately including many slightly injured." The explosion ripped through the homes late in the evening. Antwerp police quickly announced that the blast was not part of a terror attack. At least one building totally collapsed. Rescue workers were still going through the debris around midnight.
Qatar intercepting civilian flights: UAE
The United Arab Emirates on Monday claimed that Qatari fighter jets had twice intercepted civilian passenger planes en route to Bahrain in a "clear violation of international law.""Qatari fighter jets intercepted an Emirati civilian aircraft during a routine flight to Manama in a flagrant threat to civil aviation safety and in a clear violation of international law," the General Civil Aviation Authority Director said in a statement published by the state news agency WAM.The local media reports quoted the UAE GCAA Director-General Saif Al-Suwaidi, as saying, "Two commercial airliners that were intercepted by Qatari fighter jets were regular and scheduled flights with a well-known track, which meet the necessary approvals and internationally recognised permits."He said incidents of sudden interception of a civil aircraft by a fighter jet could threaten the safety of the passengers and crew."The two planes arrived safely to Bahrain and returned to the UAE," Al-Suwaidi confirmed.Earlier ..
Explosion in Belgium leaves several injured
Several people got injured after an explosion damaged a number of buildings in Belgium's Antwerp.According to the local media, reports the explosion took place on Monday night.Police is not treating the blast as a terrorist attack.At least one building has reportedly collapsed due to the explosion occurred at an Italian restaurant Primavera.Emergency rescue teams were rushed to the scene.Authorities are investigating the incident.
Mumbai Chopper Crash: Body of missing crew member recovered
Indian Coast Guard recovered the body of the missing crew member of the ill-fated Pawanhans chopper which crashed off the Mumbai coast on Saturday.As the extensive search by Indian Coast Guard, Navy and ONGC continued for third day on Monday, ONGC vessel Samudra Sevak successfully recovered aircraft parts such as Rotor Blades, Main Gear Box, Tail Gear Box, both engines and Emergency Locator Transmitter.Coast Guard Dornier aircraft, flying from Daman, also continued to scan the area to search any other part of debris.A high level delegation from ONGC and Pawan Hans Limited also visited the Western Region Headquarters of Coast Guard to assess the situation.The bodies of ONGC officials, P N Srinivasan, R Saravanan, Jose Antony, Pankaj Garg and one of the pilots Capt. R Ohatkar, have been identified.The helicopter with seven people on-board, including five ONGC officers and two pilots, crashed minutes after it took off for the state-owned company's oil installation in the Arabian Sea.The .
4.4-magnitude quake jolts Athens
A moderate but shallow 4.4-magnitude quake jolted Athens today, the national observatory and experts said. The quake had a depth of just five kilometres and an epicentre 24 kilometres northeast of the Greek capital. It was followed by weaker aftershocks, the observatory said. "The 4.4-magnitude earthquake was felt across the capital and as far as Lamia and Corinth," Efthymios Lekkas, head of Greece's state earthquake planning and protection organisation told state television ERT. "Residents should not worry, we are not expecting something bigger," he said. The national observatory had initially given a 4.2 magnitude for the quake. Lekkas said the area of the epicentre was characterised by "small faults that don't have the ability to cause something greater." There was no immediate report of damage or injuries. In July, a 6.7-magnitude quake killed two people and injured hundreds on the tourist island of Kos and across the Aegean Sea in the Turkish resort of Bodrum. Greece
Scribe's body taken to hospital in garbage van
The body of a journalist, who reportedly died in a road accident, was taken to a hospital in a garbage van by the police authorities in Haveri district's Hangal town.The incident took place on Sunday when bike-borne Mounish Pothraj (28) crashed into a tree while heading to home in Gadag district.Haveri Superintendent of Police (SP) K. Parashuram told ANI that action has been taken against a sub-inspector and a head constable in connection with the case.Pothraj suffered severe injuries and died on the spot after the accident.Meanwhile, the policemen said they resorted to such a measure due to unavailability of vehicles.
Kamala Mills Fire: Bombay HC sets Feb 12 as next date of hearing
The Bombay high court (HC) on Monday fixed February 12 as the next date of hearing the plea filed by former Mumbai Police Commissioner Julio Ribeiro, seeking a judicial inquiry into Kamala Mills Fire incident that claimed 14 lives.While hearing the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) today, the HC pulled up the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the fire department for failing to ensure that restaurants and pubs follow fire safety norms."It is time the BMC keeps its house in order," a division bench of Justice R.M. Borde and Justice R.G. Ketkar reportedly said.Fourteen people died and over 30 others were injured when a massive fire swept through '1 Above' and 'Mojo's Bistro' pubs in the Kamala Mills compound in central Mumbai on December 29.
Rocket lands at Indian Embassy in Kabul, all Indians safe
A rocket landed at the Indian Embassy in Kabul on Monday but there were no casualties, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said.
Six bodies recovered from ONGC chopper crash: Coast Guard
The Coast Guard today said the remains of six of the seven persons, who were aboard the Pawan Hans helicopter that crashed into the sea off the Mumbai coast on Saturday, were recovered. In a statement in the evening, the Coast Guard said the Cooper Hospital had informed that it had six bodies. Commenting over the confusion, the Coast Guard said some body parts of the sixth person could have been handed over, along with five bodies, to the ONGC on January 13. "Today, another body was recovered by an ONGC vessel. We are searching the area to find the remaining body parts, if any," it added. On January 13, Coast Guard ships had recovered the bodies, most of which had disintegrated severely, and thus, the authorities were unable to ascertain if there were five or six bodies. The Coast Guard confirmed that ONGC vessel Samudra Sevak had recovered a body of a missing crew of the crashed helicopter today. The ONGC vessel had also managed to retrieve parts of the aircraft, ...
Hamirpur based pilot missing after Helicopter crash
Family members Col Vijay Chand Katoch, one of the two pilots of the missing Pawanhans helicopter that crashed in the sea on Saturday have urged the Centre to locate him. Katoch hailed from Rangas village in Hamirpur district and his family members are experiencing an unbearable agony of an endless wait. A father of two daughters, Col Katoch was married in Palampur. People of Hamirpur and Palampur are anxious over the delay in locating the missing pilot. Katoch's helicopter was ferrying five employees of the Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC) when it went missing off the Mumbai coast and crashed into the sea. The bodies of the pilots, feared killed in the crash, had not been recovered so far.
Car hurled into upper floor of California building
A speeding car driven by a man allegedly on drugs was hurled into the upper floor of an office building in California after it hit a road divider, media reports said today. The crash, which left one half of the vehicle hanging out of the building, occurred early on Sunday morning in Santa Ana, a city 56km south of Los Angeles. Both people in the car survived the crash but suffered minor injuries, according to police. Police told US media outlets that the driver had allegedly used drugs and was in hospital for observation. One of the two people was able to get out of the car but the other was stuck inside for more than an hour until rescuers arrived. The crash also set off a small fire which was put out by fire officials, who tweeted photos and updates through the day.
16 cows die as truck carrying them turns turtle
At least 16 cows were killed and 20 cattle were injured after a truck carrying them overturned on the Pandharkawda bypass on the outskirts of the city today, police said. The accident occurred when a car rammed into the truck from behind, following which the truck driver lost his control over the vehicle, a Yavatmal police station official said tonight quoting the complaint. On receipt of the information, police personnel rushed to the spot and shifted the dead cows and the cattle to a shelter. The official said veterinarians are tending to the injured cattle in the shelter. Police have not registered an FIR in the case yet as the investigation is on. The complaint was filed by one Bhupendrasingh Parihar, the city unit organiser of Bajarang Dal. He claimed that the cattle were being taken to a slaughter house and the car was "escorting" the truck, according to the official. Quoting the complaint, the official said the car belonged to a district AIMIM leader who regularly
ONGC chopper crash: Seventh body found, police lodge accident case
Police on Monday registered an Accidental Death Report (ADR) in the Pawan Hans helicopter crash of Saturday which killed five senior ONGC personnel besides two pilots, a police official said here.
Woman kills self days after husband dies in road accident
A woman jumped from her fifth floor residence and died today after being distraught with grief over the death of her husband in a road accident on Friday, police said. Shweta Surekha (35) jumped from the fifth floor of Surya Apartment in Umra locality here, police said, adding that her husband, Anand Surekha, a cloth merchant, had died in a road accident on Friday. CCTV footage from the apartment captured the moment she fell from the house. Even as she is falling down, two persons who were below the apartment are seen rushing to break her fall. While one of them reaches to catch her in his arms, she falls and dies, with the person sustaining injuries in his arms. "Shweta Surekha killed herself after jumping from the her fifth floor residence by breaking the bathroom window. She took the extreme step as she was disturbed following the death of her husband in a road accident on Friday," an official from Umra police station said. Police said that no suicide note had been .
Coast Guards of India, Japan to undertake joint naval exercise
The biennial search and rescue exercise by ships and aircraft from the Indian and Japanese Coast Guards, to be witnessed by observers from 27 maritime nations, will get underway here tomorrow. The exercise, the eighth such in the series of 'National Maritime Search and Rescue Workshop and Exercise', will see ships and aircraft of Coast Guards from India and Japan, the Indian Navy and Air Force and National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) taking part, an official release said. The two-day event will comprise a workshop on January 16 and search and rescue operations on January 17 in Bay of Bengal. Coast Guard Director General Rajendra Singh, along with Japanese Commandant Admiral Satoshi Nakajima, will jointly review the search and rescue operations. Observers from 27 maritime nations will witness the exercise, apart from representatives of the National Maritime Search and Rescue Board from central and state departments. During the exercise, rescue demonstrations by ...
Magadh Exp engine catches fire, none hurt
The engine of New Delhi-Islampur Magadh express caught fire at a place between Twining Ganj-Raghunathpur stations on Mughalsarai-Patna rail section of Danapur division today but none was hurt, Railways official said. East Central Railway (ECR) Chief Public Relation Officer (CPRO) Rajesh Kumar told PTI that "All passengers as well as the coaches of the train are absolutely safe as the locomotive engine has been detached from the train ... The fire has been completely extinguished." He said, the loco pilot saw the fire in the engine and quickly and efficiently controlled it using an extinguisher kept in it. he said adding the reason for the blaze is yet to be known. The incident occurred near Twining Ganj (Tundi Ganj), 88 kms away from Patna, when the train was on its way to Islampur from Mughalsarai. The relief engine has been arranged from Twining Ganj, he said adding the traffic on the downline was made operation after some time.
Rajnath urges int'l community to join hands to create disaster
Warning that climate extremes are likely to emerge as a major challenge, Home Minister Rajnath Singh today urged anti-disaster experts from around the world to come together and create a resilient infrastructure for the future. He said infrastructure systems, by definition, are built for the longer term to serve many generations. And the way these infrastructures are built today, they will either build risk or resilience for future generations, Singh said. "Climate-related extremes are likely to become more intense and frequent. Past is no longer a good guide for the future," Singh said, as he inaugurated the International Workshop on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (IWDRI) here. The two-day workshop is organised by the National Disaster Management Authority in collaboration with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction. During his address, the home minister also cited the effects of climate change in India. "In our own country, we are observing that floods
Papua New Guinea evacuates thousands threatened by volcano
Papua New Guinea says it is helping evacuate thousands of people at risk from a volcanic eruption in the South Pacific Island nation's north. Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O'Neill said in a statement today that he has directed all relevant state resources be made available to support the evacuation of people at risk due to volcanic eruptions on Kadovar Island in the East Sepik region. He also warns northern coastal communities to be alert for a tsunami resulting from volcanic activity. Australian Broadcasting Corporation reports 3,000 people are being evacuated from an island near Kadovar, where giant plumes of ash have forced around 700 people to be evacuated in the past week.
Indonesia's stock exchange building floor collapses
Several people were injured on Monday when part of the first floor of Indonesia's stock exchange building collapsed.
Kamala Mills fire incident has shaken our conscience: HC
The Kamala Mills compound blaze that claimed 14 lives has shaken the conscience of society and is an eye-opener, the Bombay High Court said today, and held that the tragedy was a result of the administration's failure to ensure strict adherence to fire safety norms. The court asked the city's civic body to bring its house in order. The HC made the observations while hearing a PIL filed by former Mumbai police commissioner Julio Ribeiro, seeking a judicial inquiry into the incident and also a direction to the government and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation to carry out fire safety audit of all eateries and restaurants. "The unfortunate incident has shaken our conscience. It is time the BMC keeps its house in order," a division bench of Justices R M Borde and R G Ketkar said. Fourteen people had died and over 30 others injured when a massive swept through '1 Above' and 'Mojo's Bistro' pubs in the Kamala Mills compound in central Mumbai on December 29. BMC's counsel ...