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Fire Accident
A large explosion at an oil refinery near the Texas coast on Monday shot plumes of smoke into the air and forced nearby residents to shelter in place, according to officials. No one was injured in the explosion at the Valero refinery in Port Arthur, about 145 kilometres east of Houston, Mayor Charlotte M. Moses said. She urged residents in parts of the west side of the city to stay put, saying fire fighters had arrived. "There's been an explosion, yes, but we're OK; everybody's OK," she said. "They're trying to put the fire out as quickly as possible." The explosion comes amid a spike in gas prices driven by uncertainty over the global oil supply because of the Iran war. The refinery has about 770 employees and can process about 435,000 barrels of oil per day, according to Valero's website. The plant refines heavy sour crude oil into gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, according to the website. Images and video posted online show a large plume of smoke and flames billowing out from the
A Goa court has granted bail to Ajay Gupta, one of the owners of the 'Birch by Romeo Lane' nightclub in the state, where a devastating fire killed 25 persons in December last year, his lawyer said. Gupta was arrested in New Delhi more than three months ago. The district court at Mapusa in North Goa granted him bail on Monday. Lawyer Rohan Desai, representing the accused, told the court during arguments that there was no evidence against Gupta in the chargesheet filed by the police in the case. The voluminous chargesheet does not specify any role of Gupta in the tragedy, he said, adding that allegations of forging documents levelled against his client were also unfounded. The judge released Gupta on a surety of Rs 50,000 and imposed several conditions, including that he shall not leave the country without the court's permission and surrender his passport before it, Desai said. The court also asked Gupta not to tamper with evidence while on bail, he added. Twenty-five persons -- 2
South Korean rescue workers on Saturday recovered 10 bodies from the charred wreckage of an auto parts factory in the central city of Daejeon, where a blaze likely triggered by an explosion injured at least 59 others and left four missing. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety said 25 people were seriously injured but officials didn't immediately confirm whether any were in life-threatening condition. More than 500 firefighters, police and emergency personnel were deployed to contain the fire and conduct rescue operations after the fire broke out Friday afternoon. Videos and photos from the scene showed thick grey smoke billowing from the complex and some workers jumping from a building. Nam Deuk-woo, fire chief of the city's Daedeok district, said the blaze destroyed a factory building that firefighters initially could not enter over fears it might collapse. Searches for the missing workers began late Friday after officials deployed unmanned firefighting robots to cool the ...
The proceedings of the Odisha Assembly were disrupted for the fourth consecutive day on Friday, following frequent adjournments as the opposition BJD and Congress demanded resignation of Health Minister Mukesh Mahaling over the fire incident in a hospital that left 12 patients dead. The House witnessed noisy scenes from the very beginning when it assembled for the Question Hour at 10.30 AM. Holding placards and shouting anti-government slogans, the opposition members trooped into the well of the House and demanded resignation of the minister holding the state government responsible for the death of 12 patients at SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack. The fire incident took place at the trauma care ICU of the premier government hospital early on March 16. The agitating members attempted to climb the Speaker's podium and were prevented by the marshals. Opposition MLAs raised slogans like "Ram Naam Satya Hai" and "(CM) Mohan Majhi Hai Hai" when Speaker Surama Padhy allowed Scho
An independent committee investigating the cause of Hong Kong's deadliest fire in decades on Thursday heard that a series of failures contributed to the blaze's burning seven buildings and killing 168 people as it opened its first hearing on the evidence. Former residents and relatives of the dead have been waiting for answers since November 2025, when the fire shattered the close-knit community of Wang Fuk Court, which housed thousands of people in the suburban district of Tai Po. In his opening remarks, the committee's lead lawyer Victor Dawes said the fire is suspected to have started at a platform in a light well outside two low-level units, noting that cigarette butts were found there and on scaffolding. Dawes said the evidence showed that multiple factors came together to produce the disaster, ranging from fire alarms and hose systems being shut off to the use of non-fire-retardant scaffolding netting and covering windows with foam boards. "On the day of the fire, nearly all
A fire broke out in a residential building in southwest Delhi's Palam area on Wednesday morning, prompting a massive firefighting and rescue operation, an official said. Thirty fire tenders were rushed to the spot to douse the flames and rescue people who may be trapped inside. There was no immediate confirmation on casualties or injuries. A call regarding the blaze was received at 7 am from a house located in a building in Palam, they said. "Information was received about a fire in a residential unit, and we fear some people might be trapped inside," a Delhi Fire Services officer said. Firefighting efforts were underway at the time of filing this report. Police and other emergency services also reached the site to assist in the operation in the congested locality. The exact cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained. Further details are awaited.
Seven persons were killed when a fire broke out after an explosion at an electric car charging point outside a three-storey house in Madhya Pradesh's Indore city early on Wednesday, officials said. Some cooking gas cylinders inside the house also exploded, which further intensified the fire, they said. The blaze erupted at the house located in Brajeshwari Annex Colony between 3.30 am and 4.30 am, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Kundan Mandloi told PTI. Seven persons were killed in the fire, he said. A child was reported missing following the incident and was being searched, the ACP said. Police Commissioner Santosh Kumar Singh said a car was being charged outside the three-storey house. "There was an explosion at the charging point, and the subsequent fire in the car engulfed the house," he said. The house doors were fitted with electronic locks, making it difficult for the police to break in, the official said. Cooking gas cylinders inside the house also exploded, which
Odisha's Leader of the Opposition Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday demanded the resignation of Health Minister Mukesh Mahaling over the death of 12 people in the fire at the state-run SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack. Patnaik, who visited the hospital following the incident on Monday, raised the issue in the assembly during the Zero Hour. "He (minister) must take moral responsibility for this catastrophic lapse in safety oversight," the former CM said. "What I witnessed was not just a scene of a tragic accident, but a stark reminder of the crumbling safety standards in our state's premier healthcare institution," he added. Patnaik said the deceased were patients who came to the hospital with the hope of recovery, only to meet a horrific end due to "administrative negligence". "The Health Department cannot hide behind inquiries while families mourn. A judicial enquiry is welcome, but it does not absolve the political leadership of its responsibility," he said. Claiming that th
The toll in the devastating fire at government-run SCB Medical College and Hospital here climbed to 11 after one more patient succumbed to burn injuries on Tuesday, officials said. The deceased patient was identified as 20-year-old Pabitra Dosari, who hailed from Koraput district. He was undergoing treatment at the hospital when fire broke out at the trauma care ICU early on Monday. Ten patients were killed and 11 people injured in the incident on Monday. Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly, Naveen Patnaik, visited the hospital on Monday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also taken stock of the situation. The state government has constituted a judicial panel to probe the incident, and also formed a fact-finding team headed by Development Commissioner D K Singh that visited the hospital. The team will submit a report to the chief secretary. The blaze had erupted around 2.48 am on the first floor and is suspected to have been triggere
Ten people were killed after a major fire erupted in an ICU in Odisha government-run SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack in the wee hours of Monday, officials said. Around 11 hospital staff members suffered burn injuries while rescuing patients to safety. The fire erupted at the ICU of the Trauma Care department of the hospital, where critically ill patients were being treated, an official said, adding that the fire broke out at around 2.30 and 3 am. Fire service personnel rushed to the hospital and doused the fire after launching an operation, the official said. The fire service officials, along with hospital staff and police, along with patients' attendants, rescued the patients undergoing treatment at the ICU and shifted them to other departments of the SCB hospital, which is a major state-run medical facility in Odisha. Soon after getting the news, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, along with Health Minister Mukesh Mahaling, visited the hospital and reviewed th
A major fire broke out at Nature Bazaar in south Delhi's Andheria Mor area on Sunday morning, gutting around 50 shops and triggering a massive firefighting operation, an official of the Delhi Fire Services (DFS) said. According to the DFS, a call regarding the blaze was received at 7.37 am, following which 10 fire tenders were rushed to the spot to control the flames. No injury to anyone has been reported so far. The fire erupted at the Nature Bazaar market located near Andheria Mor in the Lado Sarai area, where several temporary and semi-permanent shops selling handicrafts and other items are set up, he said. Thick plumes of smoke were seen billowing from the market complex as the fire rapidly spread through multiple shops in the crowded marketplace. Firefighters launched an extensive operation to contain the blaze and prevent it from spreading further. Around 50 shops were gutted in the incident, causing heavy damage to goods and structures, the officer said. Fire personnel wer
Police have arrested nine directors of an explosives manufacturing company in Maharashtra's Nagpur district where a blast claimed the lives of 18 persons, officials said on Monday. The Kalmeshwar police here have registered a case against 21 directors and shareholders of the SBL Energy Limited under Section 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, they said. Nine directors of the company have so far been arrested, the police officials said. At least 18 workers were charred to death, and 24 others were injured, most of them critically, in a powerful blast at the detonator packing unit of SBL Energy Limited, a mining and industrial explosives manufacturer, at Raulgaon in Katol tehsil here on Sunday morning. Superintendent of Police (Nagpur Rural) Dr Harssh Poddar on Monday said that an initial report by the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) and Defence Information System for Security (DISS) pointed to safety lacunae at the ...
The toll in the fire near Kolkata on January 26 has risen to 21 with more 13 bodies found from gutted buildings, while 28 people are still missing, raising fears that the number of fatalities are likely to increase, the police said on Thursday. The authorities imposed prohibitory orders in the area, restricting public movement ahead of the proposed visit by Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari and other BJP leaders. The devastating fire reduced to ashes two godowns and a manufacturing unit of a momo company at Anandapur in South 24 Parganas district, close to the city. "Given the nature of the incident and the extent of damage, the possibility of the toll going up cannot be ruled out," a senior police officer said. In view of the situation and ahead of a proposed visit by BJP leaders, prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita were imposed in the area from Wednesday midnight. "A prohibitory order has been imposed to maintain law and order and to ...
Police on Tuesday evening arrested the owner of the momo manufacturing unit and godown gutted in a devastating fire in South 24 Parganas district in which eight people were killed, a senior officer said. The owner, Gangadhar Das, was arrested from the Garia area of Kolkata and will be produced before a Baruipur court on Wednesday, police said, adding that he had been evading arrest since the incident. The West Bengal government will give an ex gratia of Rs 10 lakh each for the families of those killed in the blaze, said Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim. The compensation will be handed over once the bodies or body parts are identified, Hakim said, adding that permission would be sought from a court on Wednesday to conduct DNA tests. "Gangadhar Das has been arrested and will be produced before the court tomorrow. The investigation is continuing, and all angles are being examined," the officer said. Earlier, an FIR was lodged against Das in connection with the fire that broke
A former sarpanch of Goa's Arpora village, who occupied the post when a fire at the 'Birch by Romeo Lane' nightclub killed 25 persons last year, surrendered before a local court on Thursday. Roshan Redkar surrendered before the Judicial Magistrate First Class in Mapusa, a day after the Goa Bench of Bombay High Court dismissed his anticipatory bail application. The former sarpanch of Arpora-Nagoa panchayat was booked by the Anjuna police along with others, including Panchayat secretary Raghuvir Bagkar, for allegedly facilitating licences for the nightclub. Redkar first approached the Additional District Court in Mapusa seeking pre-arrest bail, but the court rejected his plea. He then challenged the order in the high court, which also denied him relief. The Directorate of Panchayat has already disqualified Redkar from the post of sarpanch after he was named in the FIR by the Goa police, said officials. Police have also arrested Bagkar, who is accused of colluding with the Redkar to .