Tag: accident

Iran media says President Raisi died in helicopter

TEHRAN, May 20, 2024 (AFP) – Iranian state media said President Ebrahim Raisi died on Monday after his helicopter crashed in a mountainous region of the country. The government has not yet issued a confirmation of the leader’s death. Rescue teams had been scouring the area since Sunday afternoon after a helicopter carrying Raisi, the foreign minister and other officials had gone missing. Early Monday, relief workers located the missing helicopter, with state TV saying […]

URGENT: Iran media declares President Raisi dead, no official confirmation

TEHRAN, May 20, 2024 (AFP) – Iranian media declared President Ebrahim Raisi dead on Monday after his helicopter crashed in a mountainous northwestern region, but there has not yet been any official confirmation. “The president of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ebrahim Raisi, had an accident while serving and performing his duty for the people of Iran and was martyred,” Iran’s Mehr agency said as other media outlets also reported the news.

Iran President Raisi’s helicopter found, ‘no sign of life’

By Ramin Khanizadeh and Ahmad Parhizi TEHRAN, May 20, 2024 (AFP) – Rescue teams in northwest Iran early Monday located the missing helicopter carrying President Ebrahim Raisi but no signs of life had been detected so far, state TV reported. Fears had been growing for the 63-year-old ultraconservative after contact was lost with the aircraft carrying him as well as Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and others in East Azerbaijan province on Sunday, reports said. “Upon […]

Iran presidential helicopter in ‘accident’, search underway: state media

TEHRAN, May 19, 2024 (AFP) – A helicopter carrying Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi was involved in “an accident” amid poor weather conditions on Sunday, state media reported, with a search underway and no news yet on his condition. “An accident happened to the helicopter carrying the president” in the Jofa region of the western province of East Azerbaijan, state television said. Rescue team were headed to the area to locate him and other officials, state […]

Driver dies after ramming car into White House gate

WASHINGTON, May 5, 2024 (AFP) – A driver died after crashing a car into the exterior gate of the White House late Saturday, the US Secret Service said. “Shortly before 10:30pm a vehicle traveling at a high speed collided with an outer perimeter gate on the White House complex,” the service said in a statement on social media platform X, adding there was “no threat” to the White House itself. Officers arriving at the scene […]

At least 24 people killed in south China road collapse

By Matthew WALSH BEIJING, May 1, 2024 (AFP) – At least 24 people died after part of a highway collapsed due to heavy rains in southern China’s Guangdong province on Wednesday, state media said. Guangdong, a densely populated industrial powerhouse, has been lashed by rainstorms in recent weeks, causing severe flooding and landslides in some areas. The downpours have been much heavier than would normally be expected for the time of year and have been […]

Six dead in Vietnam timber plant blast: reports

  Six people were killed and seven injured in an explosion at a timber factory in southern Vietnam on Wednesday, local reports said. The incident occurred around 8:00 am at the Binh Minh Wood Production Company in Dong Nai province, with Vietnamese media reporting it was caused by a malfunctioning boiler. “Arriving the site, I saw a horrifying scene: debris scattered everywhere and several bodies lying in the yard,” according to a witness quoted by […]

Southern China road collapse kills 19: state media

  BEIJING, May 1, 2024 (AFP) – At least 19 people died when part of a highway collapsed in southern China’s Guangdong province on Wednesday, state media reported. State broadcaster CCTV said a stretch of road between Meizhou city and Dabu county in Guangdong province caved in at around 2:10 am (1810 GMT). The incident caused 18 vehicles to become trapped and involved a total of 49 people, CCTV said. As of 11:45 am, “19 […]

20 Cambodian soldiers killed in ammunition base explosion: PM

PHNOM PENH, April 27, 2024 (AFP) – Twenty Cambodian soldiers have been killed in an ammunition explosion at an army base in the country’s west, Prime Minister Hun Manet said Saturday. The blast, which also wounded several soldiers, occurred Saturday afternoon at the army base in Kampong Speu province, Hun Manet said in a statement on Facebook, without giving more details. “I am deeply shocked to receive the news of the ammunition explosion incident,” Hun […]

One dead, seven missing after two Japanese military helicopters crash

TOKYO, April 21, 2024 (AFP) – One died and seven people were missing Sunday after an accident overnight in which two Japanese military helicopters apparently collided before crashing into the sea, officials said. A spokesman for Japan’s Self-Defense Force (SDF) confirmed the late Saturday incident to AFP and said that one person was rescued but later confirmed dead. Defence Minister Minoru Kihara said rescuers “spotted what are believed to be part of the aircraft in […]

Passengers rescued from fatal Turkey cable car accident after 23 hours

ISTANBUL, April 13, 2024 (AFP) – Rescue workers finished evacuating dozens of passengers trapped for 23 hours mid-air Saturday after a cable car accident in southern Turkey that killed one person. Ten people were injured in the accident, which happened late Friday afternoon in the resort city of Antalya when a supporting pylon collapsed. One cable car in the Sarisu-Tunektepe system plummeted into a rocky area, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said. A total of 174 […]

Boeing plane makes emergency landing after engine cover falls off

  LOS ANGELES, April 8, 2024 (AFP) – A Southwest Airlines flight returned to Denver after an engine cowling fell off during takeoff on Sunday, the Federal Aviation Administration said, the latest in a spate of safety incidents involving Boeing planes. The FAA said in a statement that Southwest Airlines Flight 3695, a Boeing 737-800 passenger jet, landed back at Denver International Airport “after the crew reported the engine cowling fell off during takeoff and […]