Tag: fire

29 dead in fitness center blaze in S. Korea: fire service

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — At least 29 people were killed and 26 injured Thursday in a major blaze at a fitness center building in the South Korean city of Jecheon, officials said, in one of the country’s deadliest fire disasters. The fire broke out around 4:00 p.m. local time (0700 GMT) and quickly engulfed the entire eight-storey building, leaving many trapped inside. Twenty victims were found at a public sauna and others elsewhere in […]

Fire and collapse in Mumbai shop kills 12

MUMBAI, India (AFP) — Fire tore through a sweet shop in the Indian city of Mumbai before dawn Monday, sparking a building collapse which killed 12 sleeping workers, authorities said. Four others were injured but some saved their lives by scrambling out seconds before the collapse. Fire crews and other rescuers saved many trapped workers but 12 died of their injuries, said Tanaji Kamble, spokesperson for Mumbai’s disaster management cell. “The casualties could have been […]

Firefighter killed in massive California blaze

LOS ANGELES, California (AFP) — A firefighter was killed in one of the largest blazes in California’s history, officials said Thursday, as emergency services spent another day struggling to contain infernos across the tinder-dry state. San Diego-based Cal Fire engineer Cory Iverson died fighting the Thomas Fire in Ventura County, according to Cal Fire Chief Ken Pimlott, who gave no further details on the incident. “I am very saddened to report that a firefighter fatality […]

Fire hits warehouse of Dunlop Int’l factory in Bataan which makes Wimbledon tennis balls

    (Eagle News) — Fire hit a warehouse of Dunlop International Philippines in Mariveles, Bataan on Tuesday, November 21, 2017.   The Dunlop factory in Mariveles is known as the maker of tennis balls used in the international Wimbledon tournaments. There are still no reports if there were people hurt in the incident. Based on the initial investigation, the fire first hit the warehouse where rubber materials used in the manufacture of tennis balls […]

Two dead in Spain wildfires

MADRID, Spain (AFP) — Wildfires whipped by strong wind gusts spawned by Hurricane Ophelia burned across northwestern Spain on Sunday, leaving two people dead, officials said. Fifteen separate wildfires which posed a risk to built up areas were raging across the region of Galicia, the head of the regional government, Alberto Nunez Feijoo, said. The flames were being fanned by wind gusts of up to 90 kilometers (55 miles) per hour whipped as Hurricane Ophelia […]

California fires kill 31, deadliest in state’s history

by Julie Charpentrat Agence France-Presse SANTA ROSA, United States (AFP) — The death toll from raging California wildfires rose to 31 Thursday as body recovery teams used cadaver dogs to locate victims, making it the deadliest series of blazes in the state’s history. The fires, which began on Sunday, have swept through California’s wine country, leaving thousands of people homeless and burning over 190,000 acres (76,000 hectares) of land. Gusty winds on Thursday were hampering the efforts […]

23 dead in ‘catastrophic’ California wildfires

by Julie Charpentrat with Glenn Chapman in San Francisco Agence France-Presse SANTA ROSA, United States (AFP) — More than 200 fire engines and firefighting crews from around the country were being rushed to California on Wednesday to help battle infernos which have left at least 23 people dead and thousands homeless. “This is a serious, critical, catastrophic event,” California fire chief Ken Pimlott told reporters. “We’re not going to be out of the woods for […]

15 dead as wildfires torch California wine country

 by Julie Charpentrat with Glenn Chapman in San Francisco Agence France-Presse SANTA ROSA, United States (AFP) — Firefighters battled wildfires in California’s wine region on Tuesday as the death toll rose to 15 and thousands were left homeless in neighborhoods reduced to ashes. “The homes are gone, they are like dust,” said Jack Dixon, a personal trainer who lives in Santa Rosa, a city of 175,000 in Sonoma County. “It is just like we were nuked.” Dixon told […]

Teacher who died saving kids in Brazil fire given award

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AFP) — Brazil’s President Michel Temer on Sunday honored a nursery school teacher who died while rescuing children from a blaze set deliberately by a security guard, killing nine people. Temer posthumously awarded the National Order of Merit to Heley de Abreu Silva Batista, who “gave her own life to save the lives of her students,” the presidency said in a statement. Batista, 43, worked at the nursery school in Janauba, […]

Guard burns four toddlers to death in Brazil horror

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AFP) — A Brazilian nursery school guard burned four toddlers and their teacher to death after spraying them with alcohol and setting them alight Thursday in an attack which horrified the nation. Dozens of people were also hurt in the blaze while the guard, who was reported to be mentally ill, died after succumbing to his own burn injuries. The tragedy occurred in a modest quarter of Janauba, a city of […]

Huge blaze forces hundreds to evacuate in Los Angeles; state of emergency declared

https://youtu.be/q3YD3vaI6Q8 LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — A massive fire described as the biggest in the history of Los Angeles was raging Saturday, forcing hundreds of people to evacuate their homes. Mayor Eric Garcetti told reporters the blaze, which broke out Friday and lit up the hills surrounding the northern suburb of Burbank overnight, had already burnt 5,000 acres (2,000 hectares), adding: “In terms of acres involved this is probably the largest fire in L.A. […]

Trump to North Korea: ‘Be very, very nervous’

by Jerome Cartillier with Park Chan-Kyong in Seoul Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday warned North Korea it should be “very, very nervous” of the consequences if it even thinks of attacking United States soil, after nuclear-armed Pyongyang said it was readying missile launch plans on the Pacific territory of Guam. The Republican billionaire dismissed any criticism of his “fire and fury” warning, saying it possibly “wasn’t tough […]