Tag: accident

Japan F-35 fighter disappears over Pacific

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A Japanese F-35A stealth fighter jet with one pilot on board disappeared off the radar while on a training mission over the Pacific late Tuesday, the defense ministry said. The fighter jet went missing around 7:30 pm (1030 GMT) as it was flying some 135 kilometers (84 miles) east of Misawa, northeastern Japan, a ministry spokeswoman said. The plane lost contact about 30 minutes after taking off from Misawa Air Base […]

Ethiopian crew followed procedure, but crashed anyway: report

by Chris STEIN The crew of the Ethiopian Airlines plane that crashed last month killing 157 people, repeatedly followed procedures recommended by Boeing, but were unable to regain control of the jet, according the investigators’ report released Thursday. The initial report, unveiled by Ethiopian Transport Minister Dagmawit Moges, cast further doubt on the system controlling the Boeing 737 MAX 8 model, which has been grounded worldwide for almost a month. “The crew performed all the […]

At least 15 killed in Myanmar bus crash

YANGON, Myanmar (AFP) — At least 15 people were killed in Myanmar after the bus they were travelling in plunged into a gorge, police and state media said Monday. The deadly accident happened in Bago region north of the commercial capital Yangon on Saturday evening. The bus was carrying 40 people when it hit a road sign and careered off the road plummeting 60 metres (200 feet), state-run Global New Light of Myanmar reported. A […]

Bangladesh firefighters comb blaze-hit skyscraper

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AFP) — Firefighters were combing through the charred shell of a Bangladesh skyscraper Friday where at least 19 people died in a high-rise blaze, with many having jumped to their deaths. Flames tore through the 22-storey FR Tower in Dhaka on Thursday afternoon, trapping hundreds of office workers. Some made it to safety by sliding down cables on the side of the building, but others took their chances and jumped in a bid to […]

Guatemala in mourning after 18 die in hit-and-run

SOLOIA, Guatemala (AFP) — A truck ploughed into a crowd of indigenous Guatemalans gathered on a highway, leaving 18 dead as it drove off without stopping and plunging the Central American country into an outpouring of grief on Thursday. The government announced three days of mourning after the incident late Wednesday in the western town of Nahuala, whose population of around 65,000 are mostly K’iche’ Maya. A group of people had converged at the entrance […]

30 Guatemalans killed by truck: officials

GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala (AFP) –At least 30 indigenous Guatemalans were killed on Wednesday night when they were struck on a highway by a semi-trailer truck in the town of Nahuala in the country’s west, rescue workers said. “Personnel from the Departmental Municipal Firefighters have counted at least 30 dead people at this point,” spokesman Cecilio Chacaj told reporters. The group had congregated at the site of a hit-and-run accident that had killed a resident of their […]

Death toll in China chemical plant blast jumps to 47

by Peter STEBBINGS The death toll from a huge explosion at a chemical plant in eastern China surged to 47 on Friday, making it one of the country’s worst industrial accidents in recent years. More than 600 people are receiving medical treatment following Thursday afternoon’s blast at the industrial park in Yancheng, said the city government on its official Twitter-like Weibo account. Among them, at least 90 are seriously injured. City officials had previously said […]

Death toll in China chemical plant blast rises to 12

YANCHENG, China (AFP) — The death toll from a huge explosion at a chemical plant in eastern China rose to 12 on Friday after rescuers pulled dozens of people from the area, state media said. The blaze “has been controlled” by firefighters hours after Thursday’s blast left an industrial park burning into the night in Yancheng in Jiangsu province, according to broadcaster CCTV. As of the early hours of Friday, a total of 88 people […]

Almost 100 dead as Iraq ferry sinks on spring holiday trip

by Raad Al-Jammas with Ammar Karim in Baghdad MOSUL, Iraq (AFP) — Almost 100 people, mostly women and children, died Thursday as a ferry packed with families celebrating Kurdish New Year sank in a swollen river in the former jihadist stronghold of Mosul, in Iraq’s worst accident in years. There was an outpouring of grief among residents who only this year resumed the annual festivities on the banks of the Tigris after the northern city’s […]

Six dead, dozens injured as blast rocks China chemical plant

by Eva Xiao and Elizabeth Law A huge explosion rocked a chemical plant in eastern China on Thursday, killing at least six people and injuring dozens as it knocked down factory buildings, damaged homes and sent a huge plume of smoke skyward. The windows of houses and a school in the surrounding area were shattered by the force of the explosion, and residents were evacuated, according to authorities and images published by local media. The […]

Boeing 737 MAX to face first congressional hearing

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Boeing’s ill-fated 737 MAX and federal regulators next week will face the first public grilling by Congress over the two fatal plane crashes in recent months. Senator Ted Cruz, the Texas Republican, called for a hearing of the Commerce Subcommittee on Aviation and Space, for March 27, with three transportation officials, notably the acting head of the Federal Aviation Administration. Cruz intends to hold a second hearing to question […]

Funerals for Ethiopia crash victims but little to bury

Ethiopians were holding funerals Sunday for friends and relatives who perished in last week’s Ethiopian Airlines crash, which killed all onboard and saw the worldwide grounding of the Boeing aircraft involved. Families in 35 nations were left bereaved when the Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft plummeted from the sky just minutes into its flight to Nairobi last Sunday, killing all 157 passengers and crew on board. One week after the crash, relatives of the 17 […]