Page 2 - Accident

Four feared drowned as car falls into Chenab in J-K's Doda district

At least four persons were feared drowned after a private car skidded off the road and rolled into the Chenab river in Jammu and Kashmir's Doda district on Tuesday, an official said. The accident took place at Shibnote-Karara along the Batote-Kishtwar National Highway around 7.30 pm, Subdivisional Magistrate (Thathri) Athar Amin Zargar said. Quoting preliminary information, he said the car was on its way to Kishtwar from Doda when it rolled down into the fast-flowing river. A police party, along with local volunteers and rafters of JK Adventures who are stationed near the accident site at Shibnote, launched a rescue operation but there was no trace of neither the vehicle nor its four occupations, the official said. Reinforcements have been rushed to the scene and a massive search operation is underway to trace the victims, he added. Former chief minister and Democratic Azad Party chief Ghulam Nabi Azad, who is touring Doda and Kishtwar districts, was spotted at the scene of the ..

Morbi bridge mishap: HC issues notice to state govt, seeks report by Nov 14

The Gujarat High Court on Monday took suo motu cognisance of the Morbi bridge collapse tragedy and issued notices to the state government and local authorities and also sought a status report in the matter by November 14. The British-era suspension bridge on the Machchhu river in Morbi collapsed on October 30, claiming 135 lives. The bridge was thrown open for the public on October 26 after seven months of repair work by a private firm. "We have taken a suo motu (on their own) cognisance of the Morbi incident. But for the vacation, we would have sat on the same day itself," a division bench of Chief Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice Ashutosh Shastri said addressing Advocate General Kamal Trivedi who was present in the court. The bench took cognisance of the incident on the basis of a newspaper report. It issued notices to the state government through the chief secretary, state home department, commissioner of municipalities, Morbi municipality, district collector and the State Hum

Death toll rises to 23 from overloaded migrant sailboat wreck in Greece

The body of one more migrant has been found in the western Aegean Sea near where an overloaded sailboat smuggling dozens of people to Europe sank in rough seas this week, Greek authorities said on Friday, raising the total death toll to 23. A coast guard statement said the number of survivors so far remains at 12, which leaves another 34 people reported missing from Tuesday's accident in a dangerous strait between the islands of Evia and Andros. The dead include five children. Two of the 12 survivors have been arrested on suspicion of working for the smuggling gang that had organised the voyage from Turkey, by skippering and crewing the sailboat. Others among the survivors who were all men said the vessel had departed from the area of Izmir in western Turkey with 68 people on board, and capsized before sinking in high seas. It was the latest in a series of recent deadly shipwrecks of boats carrying migrants through Greek seas. At least 27 people drowned in two separate shipwrecks

Gujarat bridge tragedy: Search and recovery operations end, death toll 135

The Gujarat government on Thursday called off the five-day-long search operation launched after the collapse of a British-era suspension bridge on the Machchhu river in Morbi town of Gujarat and the death toll remained unchanged at 135. State Commissioner of Relief Harshad Patel visited Morbi, located around 300 km from the state capital Gandhinagar, and announced the end of the ongoing search operation, launched on Sunday evening soon after the suspension bridge came crashing down, said an official release. Patel chaired a meeting with heads of various agencies involved in the search and rescue operation and took a call to end the operation after reviewing the situation, it said. However, as a precautionary measure, one team each of the local fire brigade, the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) will remain stationed at the accident site until further orders, said the release. Notably, personnel from the Indian Army, the Navy, the .

Mamata Banerjee demands SC-monitored probe into Morbi bridge collapse

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday demanded a Supreme Court monitored judicial probe into the recent bridge collapse in Morbi, Gujarat, that killed over 130 people.

Morbi bridge ropes were not replaced, only repainted: Public prosecutor

The First Class Judicial Magistrate on November 1 granted four-day remand of two managers and two workers to the police

Morbi bridge collapse: Gujarat observes state-wide mourning for victims

Civic bodies in Ahmedabad and Surat held condolence meetings as Gujarat observed state-wide mourning on Wednesday to pay homage to the victims of the Morbi bridge collapse tragedy. Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel was present at the condolence meet organised by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation. Flags were flown at half-mast at the state secretariat in Gandhinagar and other Gujarat government offices. All official and entertainment programmes were cancelled. The collapse of the bridge on Sunday evening claimed 135 lives. Ahmedabad Mayor Kirit Parmar said, "We organised a meet to condole the loss of lives in the tragic incident." Similar prayer meetings were also held in other parts of the state. The decision to observe the state-wide mourning was taken on Monday in a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to review the situation after the tragedy. CM Bhupendra Patel had in a tweet said no official function will be held on Wednesday. Prime Minister Modi on Tuesday calle

Morbi bridge tragedy: Digvijaya Singh demands Gujarat CM's resignation

Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh has demanded the resignation of Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel over the Morbi bridge collapse tragedy. A Congress delegation led by Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Gujarat party president Jagdish Thakor and former Madhya Pradesh CM Digvijaya Singh visited Morbi on Monday, a day after the suspension bridge over the Machchhu river collapsed. Rajkot Range Inspector General Ashok Yadav told PTI on Monday that 134 people were killed after the bridge collapsed on Sunday evening. Talking to reporters on Monday, Digvijaya Singh claimed it was a "government-made tragedy" and demanded that the state chief minister resign on moral grounds. "I don't want to do politics, but I have learnt that BJP ministers, MPs, collector and Morbi district superintendent of police were holding a meeting at a nearby place when the bridge collapsed on Sunday evening. They did not stop the meeting to come here," the Congress veteran further claimed. Singh al

Four Oreva group staffers among nine held for Morbi bridge collapse

The case was registered in Morbi under Indian Penal Code Sections 304 (punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), police said

After Morbi mishap, suspension bridge in Odisha closed for repair works

"The bridge will be closed down for devotees on Tuesday. If the bridge will be found safe, it will be used with a minimum capacity. If needed, the bridge will be completely shut down," said collector

Morbi bridge collapse: Criminal complaint lodged against contractor, agency

The officer has alleged in the FIR that the repair agency, agency management without carrying quality check or feasibility or load bearing test had opened the bridge for the visitors.

Seven killed as helicopter ferrying pilgrims crashes near Kedarnath

After the crash, the state civil aviation department suspended all the helicopter flights to Kedarnath

2 killed as SUV crashes into tree on Eastern Express Highway in Mumbai

At least two persons were killed and five others seriously injured after a sports utility vehicle (SUV) rammed into a tree along the Eastern Express Highway in suburban Vikhroli in the wee hours of Thursday, police said. The accident took place around 12.30 am near Kanjurmarg bus stop, an official said. "A speeding SUV rammed into a road-side peepal tree, in which two persons - its driver and passenger - were killed, while five others sustained serious injuries," he said. After being alerted, police rushed to the spot and shifted the injured to a civic-run hospital, he said, adding that the process to register a first information report (FIR) was on.

76 people killed after boat overturns due to rising floods in Nigeria

At least 76 people were killed in a boat accident in Nigeria's Anambra state on Sunday after a boat carrying 85 persons capsized following rising floods

Truck carrying devotees overturns after break failure near Pune; 13 injured

Thirteen devotees on way to the temple town of Alandi in Pune district were injured after the truck they were travelling in overturned near here on Thursday evening, said police. According to the police, around two dozen devotees from Aurangabad district in central Maharashtra were heading towards Alandi in a truck after offering prayers at a temple in Jejuri near Pune city when the accident took place in Shindwane ghat. "While negotiating a slope in Shindwane ghat, the vehicle's brakes failed. The driver tried to halt the truck, but it skidded in loose soil and overturned, injuring 13 devotees," said an officer of the Loni Kalbhor police station. He said the pilgrims received minor injuries and were rushed to a nearby hospital, where they are being treated.

Two die of electrocution from poles during Durga Puja in UP's Barabanki

A 17-year-old boy and a man died due to electric shock after coming in contact with iron poles in a Duga Puja pandal here, police said on Thursday. The incident took place in Basaigaur village on Wednesday evening in which Somnath (35) and Rohit (17) died on the spot, they said. According to a villager, the wire from which power connection was supplied to the pandal was broken somewhere due to which electric current came in the poles. The pandal was wet due to rains in the afternoon, he said. Due to the current, several others also received electric shocks. The bodies of the two have been sent for post-mortem, police said. The Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) of Ram Sanehighat, Ram Asre Verma said the relief amount will be given to the family of the victims by the district administration according to the norms. State Food and Civil Supplies Minister Satish Sharma also reached the spot and met the villagers.

At least 15 dead as two boats carrying 40 migrants sink in Greek waters

At least 15 people have died as two boats carrying migrants sank in Greek waters late Wednesday, and rescuers were looking for dozens still missing, authorities said early Thursday. The coast guard said 15 bodies had been recovered near the eastern island of Lesbos after a dinghy carrying about 40 people sank. Five people were rescued and three had been located on a rocky outcrop near the site of the sinking. A second rescue effort was launched several hundred kilometers (miles) to the west, near the island of Kythira, where a sailboat carrying about 100 migrants hit rocks and sank late Wednesday. Officials said 30 people had been rescued after that boat hit rocks off the village port of Diakofti on the east of the island. Winds in the area were up to 70 kph (45 mph). We could see the boat smashing against the rocks and people climbing up those rocks to try and save themselves. It was an unbelievable sight, Martha Stathaki, a local resident told The Associated Press. All the resid

1 dead, 9 TMC supporters injured in accident while returning from rally

An 11-year-old boy was killed and nine other TMC supporters were injured in a head on collision between their e-rickshaw and an SUV in West Bengal's Malda district, police said on Thursday. The TMC supporters were returning from a protest rally over price rise on Wednesday night when the accident happened at Sripur in Pukuria police station area, they said. The driver of the SUV, which was heading to Sripur from Lashkarpur, was allegedly drunk and not able to control the vehicle, he hit the e-rickshaw coming from the other side, they added. Six of those injured were admitted to the Chanchol Hospital, while four others were sent to the Malda Medical College and Hospital (MMCH), police said. The boy, who was undergoing treatment at MMCH, died on Thursday morning, they said. The driver of the SUV has been apprehended, and the vehicle seized, police said.

Nine labourers dead as wall collapses following heavy rains in Lucknow

An under-construction boundary wall of an Army enclave collapsed here following heavy overnight rains, leaving nine labourers dead and another injured, police said on Friday. One person was pulled out alive from the debris, they said. "Some labourers were living in huts outside an Army enclave in Dilkusha area. Owing to heavy overnight rains, the boundary wall of the Army enclave collapsed," Joint Commissioner of Police, (Law and Order), Piyush Mordia told PTI. "We reached the spot around 3 am. Nine bodies were pulled out from the debris. One person was rescued alive," he said. District Magistrate Suryapal Gangwar said the under-construction wall collapsed following heavy rains. The injured persons have been admitted to the Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee (Civil) Hospital, he said. The deceased hailed from Jhansi district. President Droupadi Murmu, Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Deputy chief ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak

Truck catches fire on Ahmedabad-Mumbai highway in Maha's Palghar district

A truck coming to Mumbai from Ahmedabad was gutted in a fire on Sunday evening in the Palghar district neighbouring Mumbai, an incident which affected the traffic on the national highway for at least two hours, police said. No casualties were reported in the incident which occurred near Haloli village under the limits of the Manor police station, about 92 km away from Mumbai. A police official said the truck was operated on CNG and fully loaded when the incident occurred. The exact cause of the fire was not known.