Accidents & Disasters – Newsletter for November 17, 2010

Delhi building collapse: People pitch in with relief work

NEW DELHI – With little or no government help, survivors of the east Delhi building collapse are relying on voluntary organisations to help them in rehabilitation.

Members of an NGO, South Asian Forum for People Against Terror, Wednesday distributed food and water to about 100 survivors, who are living on the roadside since Monday night, … Read more »».

Government confirms cases of theft from CWG offices

NEW DELHI – The home ministry has confirmed that a total of five cases of theft have been reported from various Commonwealth Games (CWG) offices in the capital.

All the cases relate to thefts of computer hardware from the CWG headquarters in Connaught Place and other CWG offices at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium and Malviya Nagar. …. Source  : Gaea News Network.

Villagers attack policemen over land dispute

LUCKNOW – Six policemen were injured in Uttar Pradesh’s Pilibhit district when a mob attacked them for freeing government land being used illegally for agriculture, an official said Wednesday.

Armed with wooden sticks and stones, a large number of people from Bharapachpera village late Tuesday evening attacked the policemen as they tried to free the … Original article on : Villagers attack policemen over land dispute.

MCD orders evacuation of 38 buildings near accident site

NEW DELHI – The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) Wednesday ordered the immediate evacuation of 38 buildings near the site of the collapsed five-storey building in east Delhi.

“The civic agency has served a 24-hour vacation notice to 38 buildings for water in the basement in Lalita Park locality,” said Municipal Corporation of Delhi … Read the original article on Gaea Times at : MCD orders evacuation of 38 buildings near accident site.

Woman helps to rob bank in Pakistan

KARACHI – A woman accompanied by two armed men robbed a bank in this Pakistani city – in five minutes flat.

The gang arrived at the bank in a car at around noon Monday. They entered the bank and snatched the weapons from the security guards, the Daily Times reported Wednesday.
They took the staff …. Source  : Woman helps to rob bank in Pakistan.

Delhi building collapse: 20 still buried under debris

NEW DELHI – Rescue operations continued Wednesday at the site of the collapsed five-storey building in east Delhi to search for the 20 people still feared buried under the debris, officials said.

Officials said no more bodies have been recovered since Tuesday night and the toll still stands at 66. However, the number of … Read this article on Gaea Times at : Delhi building collapse: 20 still buried under debris.

Indian-origin doctor jailed for rape in Australia

MELBOURNE – An Indian-origin doctor has been jailed for six years in Australia for raping a woman seven times in one night and taking photographs, a media report said Wednesday.

Arvind Sharma, 37, was found guilty by a jury of seven counts of rape and three of indecent assaults, the Herald Sun reported Wednesday.
… Read more : Indian-origin doctor jailed for rape in Australia.

Now, database of scalp hair to help nab criminals

SYDNEY – Thanks to a new database of scalp hair characteristics, a single hair found at a crime scene can help reveal the culprit’s identity.

Paul Barton, forensic scientist from Queensland University of Technology, Australia, analysed donated scalp hair from 70 people of each gender from African, Caucasian and Asian backgrounds using infra-red radiation … Read more »».

Qantas plane forced to return after bird strike

SYDNEY – A Qantas flight with 171 passengers on board was forced to return to Johannesburg in South Africa after birds hit one of its engines, the Australian airline said Wednesday.

Birds struck one of the four engines on flight QF64 from Johannesburg to Sydney just after take-off about 6 p.m. local time Tuesday, the … Read : Qantas plane forced to return after bird strike.

Man fined for acrobatic dives in Italian fountain

Rome, Nov 17 (IANs/AKI) A homeless Romanian, dubbed ‘Attila the Hun’, was fined 160 euros by police after he staged a spectacular diving display in Rome’s famous 17th-century Trevi fountain.

The Romanian showed the agility of a gymnast, repeatedly climbing to the top of the fountain and performing a series of dives to the … Read the original article on Gaea Times at : Man fined for acrobatic dives in Italian fountain.

Fire in Uttar Pradesh warehouse

LUCKNOW – Property worth lakhs of rupees was destroyed in a massive fire that broke out in a paint warehouse in Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut district early Wednesday, police said. There was no casualty.

The fire engulfed the warehouse in the multi-storey Amit Complex in the Lal Kurti area at around 1 a.m.
Inflammable raw materials …. Original article  : Fire in Uttar Pradesh warehouse.

Toll in El Salvador prison fire rises to 26

San Salvador, Nov 17 (IANS/EFE) The number of fatalities caused by a fire in a Salvadoran prison increased Tuesday to 26 with the death of another inmate, authorities said.

Francisco Javier Dominguez, 19, who had been taken to Zacamil Hospital in San Salvador, died from “cardiorespiratory arrest”, officials at the medical center told EFE.
The … Original source on Gaea Times at : Toll in El Salvador prison fire rises to 26.

Strong quake strikes off Indonesia

JAKARTA – An earthquake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale stuck early Wednesday off Indonesia’s Maluku islands, but there were no reports of damage, the geophysics agency said.

The quake occurred at 3:06 a.m. Jakarta time (2006 GMT Tuesday), with the epicentre 210 km southwest of Tual town at a depth of 128 km, the …. Source  : Gaea News Network.

Poacher held with tiger skins

LUCKNOW – A poacher was arrested from Uttar Pradesh’s Chandauli district with skins of tigers and a leopard, police said Tuesday.

“Rakesh Kumar, 28, a native of Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi district, was nabbed late Monday from the Sayedraza town following a joint operation conducted by police and forest officials,” police inspector R.K. Ram told reporters …. Read the original article  : here.

Haiti cholera toll tops 1,000

Moscow, Nov 16 (IANS/RIA Novosti) The toll in Haiti’s cholera outbreak has topped 1,000 people, the Caribbean country’s health ministry said, as efforts to contain the disease continue.

At least 1,034 people have died and over 14,500 have been hospitalized since the disease broke out more than three weeks ago, the ministry said.
Haiti is … Original article on : Haiti cholera toll tops 1,000.

Rahul backs plea for CBI probe into official’s murder

AMETHI – Calling on the widow of a slain revenue official, Ram Kumar Yadav, allegedly killed by a ruling Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) lawmaker in Uttar Pradesh, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi Tuesday backed her demand for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the murder.

Gandhi, who is on a three-day visit of …. Read the original article  : Rahul backs plea for CBI probe into official’s murder.

Delhi building collapse: Rs.1 lakh compensation for victims from Bengal

KOLKATA – The West Bengal government Tuesday announced Rs.1 lakh compensation for the next of kin of each of the 24 people from the state who died in the building collapse in east Delhi Monday night, it was announced here Tuesday.

The disaster took place at 8.15 p.m. Monday when the building, occupied by … Read : Delhi building collapse: Rs.1 lakh compensation for victims from Bengal.

Delhi building collapse toll 66, owner caught (Intro Roundup)

NEW DELHI – Rescue workers Tuesday night continued to dig through the rubble of a collapsed five-storeyed building in east Delhi, searching frantically for the over 30 people feared still trapped. The toll in the accident has reached 66 and 74 injured, while the owner of illegally-constructed building has been arrested.

“Police arrested the owner, …. Original article  : Delhi building collapse toll 66, owner caught (Intro Roundup).

Four held for poaching tiger, smuggling wildlife goods

KOLKATA – Four people, involved in poaching of the Royal Bengal tiger and smuggling of wildlife goods, were arrested in West Bengal’s South 24-Parganas district, an official said Tuesday.

“A trap was laid to catch the culprits red-handed. Posing as customers, we contacted the gang members and asked them to deliver the tiger’s skin at …. Original source  : Four held for poaching tiger, smuggling wildlife goods.

Hope of finding kin fades under collapsed building

NEW DELHI – In the space of a second, Biswajit Ghosh’s life came crashing down. His wife, son and daughter were buried under tonnes of concrete of the collapsed building in east Delhi’s Laxmi Nagar.

But Ghosh, a sales person who hails from West Bengal, did not let his personal tragedy overtake him. He joined … Read the original article on Gaea Times at : Hope of finding kin fades under collapsed building.