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Rescue
The search for seven people trapped inside the partially collapsed SLBC tunnel here continued for the 19th consecutive day on Wednesday, with intensified efforts. Rescue teams including personnel from NDRF, state-run miner Singareni Collieries, rat miners and other agencies entered the tunnel along with equipment on Wednesday morning in a renewed effort to reach those trapped, official sources said. A team from a Hyderabad-based robotics company, along with a robot equipped with an AI-based camera, had entered the tunnel on Tuesday morning. Additionally, 110 rescue personnel were deployed. To minimise risks to rescuers, the Telangana government has decided to expand the use of robots as water and slush inside the tunnel pose significant challenges. Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, who visited the tunnel on March 2, had suggested that officials use robots inside the tunnel if necessary to ensure the safety of rescue personnel. As part of efforts to locate the missing individuals, re
The rescue operation at the partially collapsed SLBC tunnel, where eight people have been trapped for the past 12 days, continued at a brisk pace on Wednesday, with excavation being carried out at locations suggested by scientists to look for human presence. The conveyor belt at the tunnel, which has been repaired and made operational, is assisting the rescue teams in shifting debris out, officials said. The belt was damaged after the accident on February 22. Rescue teams are also conducting drilling at other locations based on input from scientists at the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) in Hyderabad, who are using Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) to detect human presence. However, tough conditions inside the tunnel, including muck and water, have posed challenges for the rescue personnel. Earlier inspections at other locations identified by the scientists did not reveal any signs of human presence. Officials on Tuesday evening said the representatives of the Nationa
The rescue operation inside the partially collapsed SLBC tunnel was underway at a rapid pace on the 11th day of the accident on Tuesday and officials are confident that the damaged conveyor belt would be operational during the day. There was no breakthrough in the efforts to locate the eight trapped persons and rescuers are working in three shifts every day, an official told PTI. The process of removing debris and dewatering was going on, he said. The conveyor belt which suffered damage following the accident is expected to be operational today, he said. The belt would be useful in shifting the muck and other debris out of the tunnel with ease. A police official on Monday evening said the state government is exploring the option of deploying robots in the rescue operation to prevent any threat to the rescue personnel. Large quantities of slush and water inside the tunnel posed a challenge to the teams involved in the rescue operation. Eight persons -- engineers and labourers -- ha
Fifty workers have been pulled out of snow from the site of an avalanche-hit BRO camp in Mana village in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district, but four of them died on Saturday as rescuers raced against time to trace four more labourers feared trapped. According to latest rescue updates provided by the Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority (USDMA), five labourers were missing but one of them -- Sunil Kumar from Kangra in Himachal Pradesh -- has reached home safely on his own and now, the search is focused on the four remaining workers. The avalanche hit the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) camp between Mana and Badrinath between 5:30 am and 6 am on Friday, burying 55 workers inside eight containers and a shed, according to the Army. Thirty-three of them were rescued by Friday night and 17 on Saturday. Rain and snowfall hampered the rescue efforts on Friday and the operation was suspended as the night fell. As the weather cleared up on Saturday morning, the Army and Indo-Tibeta
Efforts to remove silt at locations where the trapped persons were detected inside the partially collapsed SLBC tunnel here have been intensified with an increased deployment of personnel and equipment. The damaged conveyor belt, which was impacted by the collapse, is expected to be repaired by Monday, an official said on Sunday. Once restored, it will allow for easier removal of muck and debris from the tunnel. "The number of personnel and equipment at the identified locations is being increased," he said adding the process of silt removal and dewatering is ongoing continuously. A significant breakthrough in the rescue operation occurred on Saturday when the whereabouts of four of the eight people trapped inside were located. Scientists from the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) used Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) and detected some "anomalies" inside the tunnel, providing a crucial lead in the operation. Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy will visit the tunnel site on S
An aircraft carrying 10 people across Alaska's Norton Sound south of the Arctic Circle went missing Thursday afternoon and rescuers searched into the night for any sign of the aircraft. The Bering Air Caravan was heading from Unalakleet to Nome with nine passengers and a pilot, according to Alaska's Department of Public Safety. Authorities were working to determine its last known coordinates. Unalakleet is a community of about 690 people in western Alaska, about 150 miles (about 240 kilometers) southeast of Nome and 395 miles (about 640 kilometers) northwest of Anchorage. The disappearance marks the third major incident in US aviation in eight days. A commercial jetliner and an Army helicopter collided near the nation's capital on January 29, killing 67 people. A medical transportation plane crashed in Philadelphia on January 31, killing the six people onboard and another person on the ground. The Cessna Caravan left Unalakleet at 2:37 p.m., and officials lost contact with it less
Indonesian rescuers resumed a search Wednesday for people missing after flash floods and landslides on Indonesia's main island of Java that killed at least 17 people. Waters from flooded rivers tore through nine villages in Pekalongan regency of Central Java province and landslides tumbled onto mountainside hamlets after the torrential rains Monday. National Disaster Management Agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari said flooding triggered a landslide that buried two houses and a cafe in Petungkriyono resort area. The disasters all together destroyed 25 houses, a dam and three main bridges connecting villages in Pekalongan. Muhari said at least 17 people were dead, nine were missing and 13 injured by Wednesday. Nearly 300 people were forced to flee to temporary government shelters. The search and rescue operation that was hampered by bad weather, mudslides and rugged terrain was halted Tuesday afternoon due to heavy rain and thick fog that made devastated areas along the rivers dangerous
The chances of survival of the five coal miners trapped inside an abandoned quarry in Assam's Dima Hasao district continue to diminish as dewatering operations entered the eighth day on Monday, officials said. Nine workers were trapped inside the mine in Umrangshu, around 250 km from Guwahati, on January 6 with four bodies recovered so far. The mine is being dewatered using specialised pumping machines brought in by the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Coal India. The water level in the quarry has dropped significantly, but it remains unclear when it will be "completely cleared or when rescue and search operations inside the quarry will resume," an official at the site said. Rescue operations are being carried out jointly by the navy, army, Assam Rifles, NDRF, SDRF and the district administration since the first day. 'The chances of survival of the remaining miners appear to be waning as they remain trapped for the eighth day but the rescue operations will continue', he
Flames and pillars of smoke rose from both sides of the road and a woman yelled in panic as firefighters ushered a crowd of fleeing residents along. Aaron Samson positioned his 83-year-old father-in-law behind his blue walker, and they began shuffling down the sidewalk. My father-in-law was saying, Aaron, if we are ever in a position where the flames are right there, you just run and leave me here,' Samson recounted Wednesday. It didn't get to that point. For the second time in a matter of hours, a good Samaritan picked them up, then drove them to safety in Santa Monica. Their escape came as thousands of people fled wildfires in the Los Angeles area that turned picturesque neighbourhoods into smoldering wasteland, with chimneys or wrought-iron staircases about all that remained of homes. Driven by powerful Santa Ana winds, the flames obliterated more than 1,000 structures, scorched landmarks made famous by Hollywood and killed at least five people. One of the fires was the most ...
Hectic efforts continued on Tuesday to rescue an 18-year-old girl, more than 24 hours after she fell into a deep borewell at a village in Gujarat's Kutch district, officials said. The incident took place at around 6.30 am on Monday at Kanderai village in Bhuj taluka of the district. The teenager was stuck at a depth of 490 feet in the 540-foot-deep borewell, they said. "Rescue efforts continued through the night, and we have not met with success so far. The girl is not showing any movement, but we are continuously supplying her with oxygen and making all efforts to bring her out," Kutch Collector Amit Arora said. The borewell has a diameter of one foot, and the fact that the girl is grown up and stuck deep into it is making the rescue efforts difficult, the collector said. Teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and Border Security Force (BSF) were working along with the fire department personnel of Bhuj municipality, local emergency response team, police and officials
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday condoled the loss of lives in a boat accident off the Mumbai coast and announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh for the next of kin of each deceased. Thirteen persons died and 99 others were rescued after a Navy craft crashed into a ferry off the Mumbai coast on Wednesday, the Navy said. At about 4 pm, a Navy craft undergoing engine trials lost control and collided with passenger ferry Neel Kamal off Karanja near Mumbai, the Navy said in a statement. The ferry was carrying passengers from the Gateway of India to Elephanta Island, a popular tourist destination. "The boat mishap in Mumbai is saddening. Condolences to the bereaved families. I pray that the injured recover soon. Those affected are being assisted by the authorities," Modi was quoted as saying by his office in a post on X. "The Prime Minister has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh from PMNRF for the next of kin of each deceased in the boat mishap in Mumbai. The injured would be given