Tag: Rescue operations

Libya flooding: More than 5,300 feared dead after dams burst

Emergency workers have uncovered more than 1,500 bodies in the wreckage of the eastern city of Derna.

More than 5,300 people are feared dead after devastating flooding struck Libya.

A quarter of the eastern city of Derna was wiped out by floodwaters after dams burst as Storm Daniel hit the country, the local administration said, with more than 1,500 bodies recovered so far.

There are fears the number of those killed will rise further, with 10,000 people reported missing after entire neighbourhoods were washed away.

More than 5,300 people in Derna alone have been killed, according to Mohammed Abu-Lamousha, a spokesman for the east Libya interior ministry.

Cars stacked on top of each other. Pic: Libyan government via AP

Derna’s ambulance authority earlier put the number at 2,300.

Images showed a mass grave piled with bodies.

Pic: AP

Disaster zone

Derna has been declared a disaster zone.

Tamer Ramadan, head of the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) in Libya, said: “We can confirm from our independent sources of information that the number of missing people is hitting 10,000 so far.

“The death toll is huge and might reach thousands.”

https://x.com/CIRA_CSU/status/1701657066627293503?s=20

Source: https://news.sky.com/story/libya-flooding-10-000-people-thought-to-be-missing-after-dams-burst-12959679

South Africa building fire: At least 74 killed in blaze in Johannesburg

The building in the central business district has been described as an “informal settlement” where homeless people had moved in looking for accommodation.

At least 74 people have been killed in a fire in a multi-storey building in South Africa’s biggest city, authorities have said.

Officials said 55 more were injured in the blaze in Johannesburg, which broke out in the middle of the night.

Robert Mulaudzi, a spokesman for the emergency services, has warned the number of fatalities may rise further – as more people could be trapped inside.

There were “obstructions” everywhere, and this would have made it difficult to escape.

Firefighters work at the scene of a deadly blaze

Firefighters have been currently going from floor to floor – working slowly through the building’s five storeys.

“Over 20 years in the service, I’ve never come across something like this,” Mr Mulaudzi added.

Witnesses saw people throwing babies from the burning building in an attempt to save them – and at least one man jumped to his death.

Seven of the victims were children – and the youngest was a year old.

One woman who escaped the flames with her grown son and a two-year-old said she didn’t know what had happened to two other children in her family.

The building in the central business district has been described as an “informal settlement” where homeless people had moved in looking for accommodation. Some of the victims may have been renting rooms from criminal gangs.

According to witnesses, at least 200 people may have been living there – maybe more – and many of them were foreign nationals.

People looking for their loved ones have been warned that chances of finding them alive are “very slim”.

One woman looking for her daughter tearfully told reporters: “This is not a place where somebody can live. I was trying to get her to come back home so she could get back to the life she was living before.”

Source: https://news.sky.com/story/south-africa-building-fire-at-least-47-killed-in-blaze-in-johannesburg-12951202

Uttarakhand: 1 dead, 4 fear trapped under debris after landslide hits camp in Pauri

A local caller informed the Police Control Room Pauri that Night Life Paradise Camp had been hit by a landslide following heavy rainfall in the region.

The local police force and SDRF are continuing an intensive search for the missing people at the spot. (HT Photo)

One person was found dead, while four others are feared to be trapped under debris after a landslide triggered by heavy rainfall hit a camp in Uttarakhand’s Pauri district, said officials.

According to the State Disaster Response Force, a local caller informed the Police Control Room Pauri on Monday that Night Life Paradise Camp had been hit by a landslide following heavy rainfall in the region.

“Yesterday a local caller informed the Pauri Police Control Room that Night Life Paradise Camp was hit by a landslide due to heavy rains in the Village of Jogiana, Mohanchatti. Screams could be heard from the camp where people are feared buried under the debris,” said the SDRF.

Subsequently, the SDRF Control Room was informed by Police Control Room Pauri regarding the said incident. Following this, along with the local police force, the SDRF team left for the spot to conduct the rescue, said officials.

Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/uttarakhand-dead-trapped-debris-landslide-pauri-camp-101692076720809.html

Maharashtra: 12 dead, 27 injured after bus falls into gorge on old Mumbai-Pune highway

The private bus was going from Pune to Mumbai when it fell into the gorge near Shingroba temple on the old Mumbai-Pune highway, police said.

There were around 40 passengers in the bus, police said, adding efforts are underway to shift the injured to nearby hospital.
There were around 40 passengers in the bus, police said, adding efforts are underway to shift the injured to nearby hospital.

At least 12 persons were killed and 27 others injured after the bus they were travelling in fell into a gorge on the old Mumbai-Pune highway in Raigad district of Maharashtra early on Saturday, police said.

The private bus carrying members of a traditional music troupe was going from Pune to Mumbai when it fell into the gorge near Shingroba temple on the highway around 4.50 am, a senior police official said.

The accident occurred under the Khopoli police station limits.

“The bus was carrying members of ‘Baji Prabhu Vaadak Group’ from Mumbai’s Goregaon. They were returning to Goregaon after taking part in an event in Pimpri Chinchwad area in Pune district. The bus had left the venue around 1 am on Saturday,” he said, adding that at least 12 persons were killed and 27 others injured in the accident.

Source: https://www.financialexpress.com/india-news/maharashtra-8-persons-dead-after-bus-falls-into-gorge/3047795/

7 Killed, 40 Injured After 100-Year-Old Tree Falls On Tin Shed In Maharashtra’s Akola

The incident took place when a religious ceremony was being organised in front of a temple at around 7pm on Sunday. Heavy rainfall, coupled with strong winds, caused the huge neem tree to fall on a tin shed under which scores of devotees were taking shelter.

Tree falls on tin shed in Akola (Representative image)

At least seven people were killed and more than 40 others were injured after a huge tree fell on a tin shed following heavy rainfall in Paras village of Balapur tehsil in Maharashtra’s Akola district on Sunday evening.
The incident took place when a religious ceremony was being organised in front of a temple at around 7pm on Sunday. Heavy rainfall, coupled with strong winds, caused the huge neem tree to fall on a tin shed under which scores of devotees were taking shelter.

More than 40 people were buried under the shed and sustained injuries while seven others lost their lives in the accident. Five people were admitted to Akola Medical College where their treatment is underway. Soon after receiving information, police teams and ambulances rushed to the spot to initiate rescue and relief work. JCB machines were pressed into service to lift the broken tree and the collapsed shed.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis condoled the deaths and announced that the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government will provide financial assistance to the families of those killed.
“It is painful to report that some devotees were killed when a tree fell on a tin shed when some people had gathered for a religious ceremony at Paras in Akola district. I pay my humble respects to them,” he shared on social media.

Source: https://www.timesnownews.com/india/7-killed-40-injured-after-100-year-old-tree-falls-on-tin-shed-in-maharashtras-akola-article-99366872

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