Skip to main content

Rare light aircraft crash in Beijing kills pilot, injures 13 people

A light aircraft crash into Beijing's tallest building on Friday killed ​the pilot and injured 13 people who were not on ‌board, the local government said following the unusual accident for the Chinese capital, where airspace is heavily restricted. Those injured are receiving medical treatment and authorities are ​investigating the incident, Chaoyang district government said in a statement ​on Saturday. "A single-engine, two-seat light sport aircraft collided with ⁠a high-rise building while flying near the East third ring road ​in Chaoyang, at 5:55pm (0955 GMT) on June 26," said the ​statement, which was posted on social media. "There was only one person on board, the pilot, who died," the statement added, without giving any further details of ​the possible cause of the crash. Damage to the facade of the ​skyscraper appeared to be limited to a hole caused by the loss of ‌two ⁠large glass panels. The gap had been temporarily boarded up as ...
Post a Comment

After machines fail, 'rat miners' to help rescue 41 men stuck in Indian tunnel

Rescuers on Monday brought in "rat miners" to drill through a narrow pipe and help pull out 41 construction workers trapped in a tunnel in the Indian Himalayas for more than two weeks after high-powered machines failed, officials said. The men, low-wage workers from India's poorest states, have been stuck in the 4.5km (3 miles) tunnel in Uttarakhand state since it collapsed on Nov. 12. The men have been getting food, water, light, oxygen and medicines through a pipe but efforts to dig a tunnel have run into a series of snags with machines. Attempts to drill a tunnel horizontally through the debris trapping the men have been plagued by damage to machinery and rescuers will resort to drilling by hand, after clearing away the broken equipment inside the narrow evacuation pipe. Read also: Rainy weather closing in on Indian rescuers trying to reach trapped men The drilling from inside the pipe, which is 900 millimetres (3 feet) wide, will be done by a team of six "rat miners" from central India, who officials described as "skilled workers". "Rat mining" is a primitive, hazardous and controversial method used in India mostly to remove coal deposits through narrow passages. The name comes from its resemblance to rats burrowing through narrow holes. "Three of us will go inside the tunnel, one will do the drilling the other will collect muck and the third one will push the muck through the trolley," Rakesh Rajput, one of the miners, told Reuters. "We have been doing it for more than 10 years and there's enough space for us. The 41 men are also labourers and we all want to bring them out," he said. Rat miners stand before they begin manual drilling, in Uttarkashi in the northern state of Uttarakhand, India, November 27, 2023. PHOTO: REUTERS "Sure-shot way" Government and private agencies involved in the rescue have been pursuing other options. On Sunday, they opened another route to the men, aiming to drill a shaft straight down from the top of the mountain above. By Monday afternoon, they had drilled 31 metres (102 ft) of the 86 metres (282 ft), officials said, adding that the focus remains on the horizontal route. "Skilled labourers will do the manual drilling," said Harpal Singh, a former head of state-run Border Roads Organisation. "This is a sure-shot way of making progress." Bad weather could complicate the rescue. Thunderstorms, hail and lower temperatures with a minimum of 9 degrees Celsius (48.2 degrees Fahrenheit) are forecast in the mountains. Read: India bid to free 41 trapped workers enters third week "They are trained in working in every situation so that's not a worry for us," said Mahmood Ahmad, managing director of the NHIDCL company, which is building the tunnel. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's principal secretary, or chief of staff, P.K. Mishra visited the site and spoke to the trapped men through a communication link. He told them "everyone is making efforts to bring all of you out as early as possible". The tunnel is part of the Char Dham highway, one of Modi's most ambitious projects, aimed at connecting four Hindu pilgrimage sites through 890km of roads. Authorities have not said what caused the cave-in which trapped the men as they were nearing the end of their night shift but the region is prone to landslides, earthquakes and floods.

from Latest World News, International News | Breaking World News https://ift.tt/W647KD5
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

At least 32 miners dead after bridge fails at cobalt site in southeast DR Congo

A bridge collapsed at a cobalt mine in southeast Democratic Republic of Congo killing at least 32 wildcat miners, a regional government official said Sunday. The bridge came down Saturday onto a flooded zone at the mine in Lualaba province, Roy Kaumba Mayonde, the provincial interior minister, told reporters. He said 32 bodies had been recovered and more were being searched for. The DRC produces more than 70 percent of the world supply of cobalt, which is essential for batteries used in electric cars, many laptop computers and mobile phones. More than 200,000 people are estimated to be working in giant illegal cobalt mines in the giant central African country. Local authorities said the bridge collapsed at the Kalando mine, about 42 kilometres (26 miles) southeast of the Lualaba provincial capital, Kolwezi. "Despite a formal ban on access to the site because of the heavy rain and the risk of a landslide, wildcat miners forced their way into the quarry," said Mayonde. He said ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Indian devotees splurge on jets, gold idols as Hindu temple opens

The private jet parking lots at airports near the Indian city of Ayodhya are full and the shops have run out of gold-plated idols, as wealthy devotees prepare for the invite-only opening ceremony of one of Hinduism's holiest temples. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Asia's richest man Mukesh Ambani are among the 8,000 or so attendees at Monday's inauguration event for the Ram Temple, which devotees believe is built on the birthplace of Lord Ram, a sacred Hindu deity. The construction of the temple, which began after the Supreme Court awarded the site to Hindus in 2019 more than two decades after a Hindu mob razed a mosque there, triggering deadly riots, fulfils a key campaign promise of Modi and his Hindu nationalist party. Read BJP-promised temple transforms Ayodhya: Muslims, locals feel neglected The opening ceremony, organised by the trust that built the temple, comes months before a national election which the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party is widely expected to w...
Post a Comment
Read more

Vancouver tribunal says 'every dog is entitled to one bite' in injury case

A woman who sought nearly $5,000 in damages after being bitten by a dog on Christmas Eve has had her claim dismissed, after a British Columbia tribunal ruled the incident amounted to an accident — and that “every dog is entitled to one bite.” Ying Shen was bitten on the hand by a mini Australian Shepherd named Juliet as she stepped out of an elevator in her apartment building in Vancouver on 24 December 2022. The dog, which was leashed and accompanied by neighbour Jeffrey Dale Polo, bit Shen as the two passed each other in the corridor. According to the B.C. Civil Resolution Tribunal’s decision, Polo apologised, saying Juliet was “usually well behaved.” Shen sought medical attention that night at St. Paul’s Hospital, where she was treated for a superficial abrasion and given a tetanus shot. She later filed a report with the City of Vancouver. A bylaw officer determined that Juliet was not considered dangerous under city regulations, though the dog was found to be unlicensed. In his 5 M...
Post a Comment
Read more