Page 981 - Disaster Accident
Indigo denies fuel leak in flight, says 'overflow' is common
Denying any "fuel leak" on its Delhi-Trivandrum flight, Indigo Airlines on Wednesday said the flight in question on the previous day had a "fuel tank overflow" on the right wing, following which the engines were shut off and the aircraft was towed back to bay at Delhi's Indira Gandhi Airport.
Soon, more officers for food safety in every district
Aiming to tackle the lack of food safety authorities in states, the Health Ministry has sought appointment of Sub-Divisional Officers as "designated officers" for the purpose in every district, apart from the food inspectors.
Eight-member central team to visit Ockhi-hit areas in TN
An eight-member central team will visit parts of Chennai and Kanyakumari district to assess the damage caused by cyclone Ockhi, tomorrow, officials said. The team is headed by Sanjeev Kumar Jindal, Joint Secretary in the Union Home Ministry. While four members will visit Kanyakumari, the others will take stock of the situation in Chennai and its neighbouring areas. The team members are drawn from various central ministries like Finance, Power and Water Resources, according to officials. The team is likely to hold discussions with chief minister K Palaniswami on Friday. The state government had sought a central relief package of about Rs 9,300 crore from Prime Minister Narendra Modi towards taking up rehabilitation efforts in cyclone-hit areas of the state, including Kanyakumari, during his visit to the district post-Ockhi. The state government had wanted the Centre to declare the cyclone as a "national disaster" on account of its "severity." It sought Rs 5,255 crore ...
Assam BJP leader says it's time to go to Brahmaputra issue's roots
With China saying that it will maintain communication with India to deal with massive lakes formed by landslides on the Brahmaputra river in Tibet following an earthquake, Assam Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday urged the Center to get to the crux of the matter.Sarma, while interacting with the reporters, said that the issue is very serious and appreciated China's move to come up with a clarification on the issue of river Brahmaputra."I request the government to go to the roots of it and try to stop China from doing anything which obstructs the national flow of river Brahmaputra," he said.According to reports, three huge artificial lakes were formed in the Brahmaputra river due to a landslide in Tibet last month.Earlier in December, the water of the Brahmaputra river in Assam and Siang river in Arunachal Pradesh had turned contaminated and muddy.The contaminated water caused concern among people and authorities of the states.The governments of both ..
IndiGo plane aborts take off due to fuel leak
A Thiruvananthpuram-bound IndiGo plane with 173 passengers on board experienced a fuel leak, forcing it to abort take off and return to the parking bay at the Indira Gandhi International airport here. Sources said there was fuel spillage from the right wing of the aircraft at 4.35 PM yesterday when it was taxiing for take off. A fire engine was pressed into service and a substitute plane was arranged and the flight took off two hours later at 6.15 PM and landed at Thiruvananthpuram at 9.26 PM. According to airport sources, the airline reported only a 'wing tank overflow' at first and later acknowledged oil spillage. The airline's response on the incident is awaited.
Central aid of Rs 133 crore for Ockhi-hit Kerala
The Centre will release an immediate assistance of Rs 133 crore to Kerala for rehabilitation of those affected by Cyclone Ockhi, a senior central government official said today. Additional Secretary (Disaster Management) Bipin Mallick told reporters that the state government had sought an immediate assistance of Rs 423 crore of which Rs 133 crore would be released soon. Mallick and other team members today visited the cyclone-hit regions of Vizhinjam and Beemapally areas here. The team led by Mallick had yesterday visited Poonthura fishing hamlet, among the worst affected. Mallick heard the woes of fisherfolk. The central team had yesterday held discussions with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and top state government officials. The Congress-led UDF Opposition today met Mallick and demanded a special financial package. UDF leaders led by KPCC President M M Hassan sought the package to take up permanent safety measures in coastal areas to prevent disasters like Ockhi. The .
NYC subway work trains collide in tunnel, 1 worker injured
Authorities say two New York City subway work trains have collided in a tunnel, injuring one person. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) says the trains "bumped into each other" this morning but didn't derail. The agency says one MTA worker is being treated for non- life-threatening injuries. There were no passengers on the trains, and MTA officials say the accident is having no impact on subway service during the morning commute. Fire department officials say firefighters removed one person from the Manhattan side of a tunnel under the East River after the accident occurred around 5:10 am (local time). Media outlets report that the trains collided in the 53rd Street tunnel that carries passenger trains between Manhattan and Queens. That stretch of tunnel has been undergoing repairs.
Fewer crimes registered in Vizag in 2017: police
Fewer crimes were reported in Visakhapatnam city in 2017 compared to the last year, police said today. Deputy Commissioner of Police T Ravi Kumar Murthy said that 6,476 cases were registered in 2017 against 6,670 cases in 2016 and 5,708 cases in 2015. As many as 39 murders were reported in 2017, against 33 in 2016 and 23 in 2015, he said. The number of cases of crimes against women increased to 997 in 2017, against 931 in 2016 and 817 in 2015. As many as 705 'white collar offences' (frauds and other crimes) were reported in 2017, against 660 of 2016 and 579 in 2015. Crimes related to property such as theft and robbery decreased. Number of robberies fell from 43 in 2016 to 38 in 2017, thanks to better surveillance, the DCP said. As many as 327 persons died in road accidents and 1,446 were injured, against 370 deaths and 1,502 injured persons last year. There were 28,570 drunken driving cases in 2017, against 19,565 last year.
Nepal quake: 40 pc reconstruction work complete, says NRA
Around 40 per cent reconstruction work of private and public structures in Nepal, devastated in the 2015 earthquake, has been completed and around Nepali Rs 71.52 billion spent, a senior official said here today. Nearly 9,000 people were killed and 22,000 were injured in the twin earthquake that hit the country on April 25 and May 12, 2015. More than 600,000 houses were damaged due to the tremors, aftershocks of which still occur. Nepal had set up the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) in December 2015 to rebuild the private and public structures devastated by the quake. During a programme organised to mark the NRA's second anniversary, its chief Yuva Raj Bhushal claimed that so far Nepali Rs 71.52 billion was spent in the reconstruction work, of which 40 per cent have been completed. The quake badly damaged public and private buildings in 14 districts while that in remaining 17 districts were partially hit. According to officials, out of the 7,553 school buildings .
Central team visits cyclone-hit areas in Ernakulam dist
A visiting team of central government officials today took stock of the devastation caused by cyclone Okchi in the coastal areas of Kerala's Ernakulam district. The delegation comprising officials from Central Water Commission and Drinking Water and Sanitation also visited fishing harbours at Munambam and Thoppumpady, Kannamaly, Chellanam and Vypin. Before commencing their visit to the affected areas, the team was briefed by the district administration about the loss suffered in various sectors due to the calamity. The officials were briefed about the damage to houses, boats, fishery equipment, farming, road and drinking water facilities. They were also informed about the loss of lives in the coastal areas due to the cyclone, district officials said. An estimated loss of Rs 3015.55 lakh has been reported in various sectors in the district due to the cyclone. The team also held discussions with Ernakulam MP K V Thomas, K J Maxi MLA, S Sarma and leaders of various ...
Centre releases Rs 133 crore as Cyclone Ockhi relief for Kerala
The central team that is touring Cyclone Ockhi-hit villages in Kerala to assess the damages on Wednesday sanctioned the first instalment of Rs 133 crore to the state government.
1 dead, 56 injured as earthquake strikes near Tehran
A person died of heart attack after a 4.2 magnitude earthquake struck west of Tehran on Wednesday.According to the local media, around 56 people were injured due to the earthquake and were rushed to the hospital for medical assistance.Iran's Emergency Medical Services said that the people suffered injuries while trying to escape from the building.They were released from the hospital after treatment.Earlier on December 13, an earthquake of magnitude 6.1 on the Richter scale hit Northern and Central Iran.
Tourist ship strikes highway bridge in Germany; 27 hurt
A tourist ship has struck a highway bridge on the Rhine river in western Germany. Police say 27 people are injured. The Swiss Crystal, which news agency dpa reports was en route to the Netherlands, hit a pillar of the bridge near Duisburg yesterday evening. Another ship took the 103 passengers and 26 crew members to Duisburg. Police say four people with more serious injuries were released from hospitals today morning. The bridge has been closed as a precaution ahead of checks by structural engineers.
Panel yet to prepare VRS proposal for CIL workers: Goyal
The government today said a panel set up to prepare the draft voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) for the employees of Coal India is yet to formulate the proposal. "A committee has been constituted to deliberate and formulate the draft Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) for the employees of CIL. However, the committee is yet to formulate the VRS," Coal Minister Piyush Goyal said in a written Reply to the Lok Sabha. Coal India (CIL) has about three lakh employees. In 2017-18, CIL has been pegged production target at 600 million tonnes (MT) with an annualised growth of about 8.3 per cent over the last year. In 2018-19, the envisaged coal production projection is 773.70 MT with a growth of about 28.95 per cent. The country is expected to achieve the coal production of 1.5 billion tonne by 2022, Coal Secretary Susheel Kumar had recently said. Of the 1.5 billion tonne, 1 billion tonne would be contributed by Coal India and the rest by private producers and Singareni Collieries, .
Tokyo to hold first anti-missile evacuation drill
Tokyo is set to host the first evacuation drill in the face of a possible missile attack from North Korea following the repeated tests of missiles that saw some of them fly over Japanese territory earlier this year.
Ockhi Cyclone: Central team to visit Kanyakumari tomorrow
A four-member central team will visit the Ockhi-affected areas in the district tomorrow and assess the damage caused by the cyclone, which hit the state coast last month. The central team led by senior IAS officer Bibin Mallik would also hold discussions with the District Collector Sajjan Singh R Chavan and Revenue officials before submitting its report to the Centre. The team is currently taking stock of the damage in neighbouring Kerala.
Indigo flight cancelled after fuel leak
An Indigo Airlines flight bound to Thiruvananthapuram was cancelled after the plane suffered a massive fuel leak while waiting to take off at New Delhi Indira Gandhi Airport.The fuel leak took place from the wing of the flight 6E-945 (DEL-TRV).All the passengers and the stuff onboard were made to deplane immediately.In a similar incident, a major accident was averted in November at the Delhi Airport when the pilot detected smoke in the cockpit of an IndiGo aircraft and brought it back to the runway, immediately after it had taken off.
Death toll from Philippine mall blaze rises to 38
The death toll from a fire that ravaged a shopping mall in the southern Philippines has risen to 38 after the body of a mall safety officer was discovered, the city mayor said today. The officer died trying to rescue those trapped in the blaze at the four-storey NCCC mall in Davao City on Saturday, the operators said. Also killed were 37 employees of a 24-hour call centre for US-based market research firm SSI on the top floor of the building. Mayor Sara Duterte, the daughter of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, said one SSI employee is counted among the dead even though her body has not yet been recovered. President Duterte, who hails from Davao City, has vowed to get to the truth of the blaze. Labour groups charged that the high death toll was a sign safety rules were not met, a claim denied by the mall operators. NCCC mall spokeswoman Thea Padua said in a statement today that "we categorically deny the allegations that we do not have enough fire exits, ...
3 killed in road accident in Bangladesh
At least three people were killed and five others were injured in a road accident in Bangladesh's Shibganj Upazila Wednesday.According to The Daily Star, a woman was among the dead, however, the identity of the deceased could not be ascertained.The Officer-in-charge of Shibganj Police Station Saif Mahmud said the accident took place after a bus hit a roadside tree.The injured were rushed to the hospital for medical assistance, Mahmud added.
UDF leaders meet Central team visiting Ockhi-hit areas in
The Congress-led UDF Opposition in Kerala today demanded a special financial package from the central team visiting Ockhi cyclone-affected areas, for providing relief to the victims. UDF leaders led by KPCC President M M Hassan who met the Central team members sought a package to take up permanent safety measures in coastal areas to prevent disasters like Ockhi. Hassan brought to the notice of the team led by Bipin Mallick, the Additional secretary (Disaster Management) under Union Home Ministry, the need for precautionary steps to meet disasters. The team that arrived here yesterday to have an on-the-spot assessment of the damage caused by Ockhi, held a meeting with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and top state government officials on the relief and rescue operations undertaken so far. After visiting the areas affected by the storm, the team would return to the state capital on December 29 and would hold another round of discussion with state government officials. The