Telangana pharma plant blast death toll at 34, more bodies found under debris
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDF), local fire personnel, and police were deployed for rescue and firefighting operations. Two fire-fighting robots were also used during the efforts.Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy is scheduled to visit the site later today. Health Minister C Damodar Rajanarasimha confirmed Revanth Reddy's visit and said the state government had mobilised all necessary resources.Sigachi Industries Ltd. has temporarily suspended operations at the Sangareddy plant for 90 days, citing extensive damage to its manufacturing infrastructure. The company, according to its website, manufactures Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs), intermediates, excipients, and provides operations and management services.advertisementThe state government has constituted a five-member committee to investigate the cause of the explosion and recommend safety measures. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also expressed his condolences and announced ex-gratia assistance for the victims' families.This tragedy has once again raised concerns over industrial safety standards in the Sangareddy-Pashamylaram corridor, which has seen fatal industrial accidents in the past.- Ends
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The Hindu
2 days ago
- The Hindu
Train collides with school van in Cuddalore, Vadodara bridge collapse kills at least 20, and more: The week in 5 charts
(1) Three children killed in Cuddalore school van-train accident Three schoolchildren were killed and two others, including the driver, sustained serious injuries after a passenger train rammed into a school van — carrying four students — which was attempting to cross a manned gate at Semmankuppam in Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu on Tuesday (July 8, 2025). The Villupuram-Mayiladuthurai passenger, travelling at a speed of 95 kmph, struck the van carrying four students around 7.45 a.m., and dragged it for nearly 50 metres before coming to a halt, reports said. Preliminary inquiries by railway officials suggested that it was the van driver who insisted on allowing the vehicle to cross the gate. This should not have been permitted, the officials said. According to eyewitness accounts, railway gatekeeper Pankaj Sharma had failed to close the gate (LC-170) during the train's passing. An irate crowd thrashed him. Sharma gave a private number to the Alapakkam Station Master, claiming that he had closed the gate. However, he had lied. After the accident, he called up the Station Master again and admitted that he had not closed the gate. The conversation took place in the auto voice recorder phone, the sources told The Hindu. The evidence that has emerged corroborates the statements of two survivors — van driver C. Shankar and student Vishwesh — that the gate was open. There has been no evidence to prove Southern Railway's claim that the gate was closed and then opened after the van driver 'insisted'. (2) Vadodara bridge collapse: death toll rises to 20 For the fourth consecutive day, search-and-rescue operations resumed at the Mahisagar bridge collapse site on Saturday (July 12, 2025), as teams continued their efforts to locate one missing person. The death toll rose to 20 by Friday (July 11, 2025) evening. Officials stated that, in addition to searching for the missing individual, they would also work on removing the collapsed bridge's main slab and submerged vehicles from the river. Personnel from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), and other agencies, along with residents, are involved in the operation. The incident occurred after a section of the four-decade-old Gambhira bridge in Gujarat's Vadodara district collapsed early on Wednesday (July 9, 2025), sending several vehicles crashing into the Mahisagar river below. The bridge served as a vital link between central Gujarat and the Saurashtra regions, connecting Anand and Vadodara districts. It was built in 1985 by a Lucknow-based company. Social activists, Opposition leaders and local residents have alleged that authorities ignored repeated warnings about the 'dangerous condition' of the four-decade-old structure. In response to initial findings of negligence, the State government suspended four officials from the R&B Department on Thursday (July 10, 2025). 'Wherever lapses have come to light, action has been taken. The government will not hesitate to take further necessary measures,' Mr. Patel added. (3) Mass shootings in Philadelphia over the Independence Day weekend add to a worrying trend The Independence Day weekend starting from July 4 to 6 and including July 7, was a particularly disturbing time in Pennsylvania's most populated city, Philadelphia. Videos of several shootings across the city went viral, and news reports confirmed that there had been at least 15 shootings recorded, as shown in the map below. Data from OpenDataPhilly, the official open data repository for the City of Philadelphia, shows that there were at least 48 victims to the shootings that happened between July 4-7 this year, which includes 8 people who were killed. One of those killed was aged 40 while seven were within the 19-26 age bracket. Another 40-year-old was killed by the police as he was armed and fired shots at the police, according to multiple news reports. Based on the definition that a 'mass shooting' comprises at least four people who are shot, whether injured or killed, during a single shooting spree, two of these shootings are classified as a mass shooting in the catalogues of both Gun Violence Archive and Mass Shooting Tracker, which are groups and organisations that track mass shooting. Apart from the two mass shootings in Philadelphia, there were at least 22 other mass shootings in other parts of the country in the same period. In fact, July 5 recorded the highest number of mass shootings in a single day in the country, with at least 13 reported incidents recorded in Gun Violence Archive. Out of the 188 days of 2025 shown in the graphic above, mass shooting incidents were recorded on 112 days which amounts to around 60% of the days. More than one mass shooting incident were recorded on 46 of the 112 days. Mass shootings in 2025 in USA have injured over 1000 people and killed at least 184 according to the data collated by Gun Violence Archive. A Flourish chart Incidents of mass shootings reduced by almost 24% in 2024, reducing to 503 recorded incidents as compared to 659 incidents recorded in 2023. Between 2015 and 2024, the highest number of incidents were recorded in 2021 (689) as shown below. A Flourish chart Since 2017, almost 25% of the incidents have occurred in just three states: California (8%), Illinois (9.5%), and Texas (7.2%). In 2021, there were 86 incidents of mass shootings in Illinois, which is the highest number of recorded incidents throughout all States since 2017. In 2023, Texas had 65 such incidents. A Flourish chart Even though mass shootings have accounted for over 4,200 deaths between 2017-24, it still accounts for less than 2% of the deaths due to guns or firearms in the USA. A Flourish chart (4) U.S. imposes 50% tariffs on copper U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 50% tariff on all copper imports into the country to be made effective from August 1 last Wednesday (July 9, 2025). This comes on the heels of earlier tariffs imposed on other imports, in an effort to boost the country's domestic manufacturing and reduce trade deficits. On copper, a White House statement released earlier this year noted the country's 'increasing dependence on foreign sources of copper, particularly from a concentrated number of supplier nations' and a 'risk of foreign market manipulation.' The country's net import dependence for copper has risen over the years, from 38% in 2020 to 45% in 2024. When it comes to copper mining and refining, the U.S contributes 4.7% and 3.2% to world share respectively. China, Chile and Congo dominate. A Flourish hierarchy chart The proposed tariff will not have any significant impact on India, according to an industry official (PTI reports), as India does not export a lot of copper, relying on imports itself. It exported around 10,000 tons to U.S., a small amount. (5) Nepal flash floods: Nine dead, many stranded The deadly flood in Nepal's Bhote Koshi River that killed at least nine people and left more than two dozen missing last was triggered by the draining of a supraglacial lake in the Tibet region, a regional climate monitoring body said on Wednesday (June 9, 2025). At least 19 people, including six Chinese workers at the Beijing-aided Inland Container Depot, remain missing in Nepal after Tuesday's floods that also washed away the 'Friendship Bridge' that links Nepal and China. China's official Xinhua news agency has said 11 people were unaccounted for on the Chinese side of the mountainous border region. The Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) said satellite imagery showed the flood originated from the draining of the lake north of Nepal's Langtang Himal range. The June-September monsoon causes massive floods and landslides in mountainous Nepal which, officials and experts say, is vulnerable to effects of climate change like extreme weather patterns, inconsistent rainfall, flash floods, landslides and glacial lake outburst floods. This year's early monsoon rains have inflicted deadly damage elsewhere in Nepal where at least 38 people have been killed or are missing since May 29, according to data from the government's National Disaster Relief, Reduction and Management Authority.
Hindustan Times
3 days ago
- Hindustan Times
Delhi: Divers, drones searching for body of missing DU student in Yamuna
The body of a 19-year-old Delhi University student was recovered from the Yamuna near the Geeta Colony flyover in east Delhi. The woman was reported missing on July 7. Police had initially believed that the woman had been kidnapped, until her family found a note in her bedroom suggesting that she intended to take her own life by jumping off Signature Bridge, officers said. Boats, divers, and drones were deployed to search the river from Nigam Bodh Ghat to downstream areas near Noida. The woman is believed to have died by suicide. (Representational image) The family, originally from Tripura, lives in an apartment complex in south Delhi. The woman is a second year undergraduate student at a college in south Delhi. 'The woman's sister approached police on July 7 and said she had been missing since 5pm. The woman had left her house saying she was going to Sarai Rohilla Railway Station to drop a friend. Her mother took note of the phone number of the cab driver who came home to take her to the station,' said deputy commissioner of police (south) Ankit Chauhan. 'Around 8.45pm, when the woman didn't return home and her phone became switched off, her family called the friend who she had said she was going to drop at the railway station. But the friend said the woman didn't meet her. We questioned the cab driver, who told us that he had dropped the woman at Signature Bridge,' he added. 'Technical surveillance corroborated the cab driver's testimony, placing the woman's mobile phone location at Signature Bridge shortly after she left home,' said a senior police officer. Police registered a case on charges of kidnapping and began a probe. However,later that day, her family a note in her bedroom suggesting that she intended to take her own life by jumping off Signature Bridge, police said. Eyewitnesses at Signature Bridge reported seeing a young woman standing on the edge of the bridge. Moments later, she was no longer in sight. The Delhi Police and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams quickly began searching the Yamuna, using drones to scan inaccessible patches of the river. Investigators reached out to the woman's friends who said that she had been under emotional distress for the past few months. On the morning of July 7, she had sent messages via email and WhatsApp that hinted at her mental state, police said. These are now being examined as part of the investigation, police said. On Saturday, Tripura chief minister Manik Saha had asked the police to take steps to rescue the woman. 'The report of the woman, a resident of Sabroom who has reportedly gone missing in New Delhi, has come to the notice of the chief minister's office. Necessary instructions have been promptly issued to the police to take immediate and appropriate action,' the CMO said on X. A Tripura police official, requesting anonymity, said they are in touch with the Delhi Police. With inputs from Priyanka Deb Barman
Hindustan Times
3 days ago
- Hindustan Times
Gujarat bridge collapse: Search for lone missing person continues in Mahisagar River
Vadodara, The search operation to trace one man still missing in the bridge collapse incident, in which 20 people have lost their lives, continued in the Mahisagar River in Gujarat's Vadodara district on Sunday, officials said. Gujarat bridge collapse: Search for lone missing person continues in Mahisagar River Efforts are on to trace Vikram Padhiyar , a resident of Narsinghpur village in Anand district and employee of a private company, they said. Several vehicles plunged into the Mahisagar River after a segment of the 40-year-old bridge near Gambhira village, connecting Anand and Vadodara districts, collapsed on Wednesday. A search to locate Padhiyar on Saturday yielded no result, and attempts were underway to trace him on both the upstream and downstream of the river, an official from the Vadodara district administration said. He said the rescue teams are conducting searches with rubber boats and other necessary equipment, and the wreckage of the small vehicles was also salvaged. "Near Mujpur village, where this incident took place, the Mahisagar River flows in both directions. During high tide, the water flows towards the Wahara creek, and during low tide, it flows towards the sea. Hence, searches are being carried out in both directions, upstream and downstream," the official said. The National Disaster Response Force , State Disaster Response Force , and other agencies are involved in the search. Efforts were also being made to find out if anyone else other than Padhiyar was trapped under the large slab that collapsed and fell into the river, the official said. Teams from the Forensic Science Laboratory and Regional Transport Office inspected the site on Saturday to help in the police investigation. Following the accident, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel suspended four engineers from the state Roads and Buildings Department. Minister Rushikesh Patel has said that a high-level probe committee of the state's roads and buildings department will submit a detailed report in 30 days. Out of the 7,000 bridges in the state that have been surveyed, the government has identified those that need repairs or require construction of a new one, he has said. Gujarat has witnessed six incidents of bridge collapse since 2021. In December 2021, a slab collapsed during the construction of the Mumatpura flyover on the outskirts of Ahmedabad city. Nobody was injured in the incident. In October 2022, as many as 135 persons were killed when a British-era suspension bridge over the Machchhu River in Morbi town collapsed. In June 2023, a newly built bridge on the Mindhola River in the Tapi district collapsed. No one was hurt in the accident. In September 2023, four persons were injured after a portion of an old bridge on the Bhogavo River in Surendranagar district collapsed when a 40-tonne dumper was navigating it near Wadhwan city. In October 2023, two persons sitting in an autorickshaw died after six concrete girders or slabs, which were installed on the pillars of an under-construction bridge near the RTO Circle in Palanpur town of Banaskantha, collapsed. In August 2024, a small bridge on the Bhogavo River, connecting Habiyasar village with Chotila town in Surendranagar district, collapsed after a sudden rise in water following discharge from an overflowing dam. No casualties were reported in the incident. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
