
Wan Hai 503 accident: Containers from ship could land on Kerala coast
Tired of too many ads? go ad free now
Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) has warned the public not to touch any object suspected to have fallen from the ship if they see it on the shore or coastal waters. It said that people should keep a distance of at least 200 metres and, when they see such objects, call 112 and inform the location of the object.
A GIS-based web app has been developed for gathering information about wreck debris found on the coast.
The app, developed with the support of ESRI India Ltd, can be downloaded by any user who finds suspicious debris likely from the ship. Details can be filled in English and Malayalam, and there is a provision to fill in the location so that officials can retrieve it safely.
According to officials of the coast guard and Indian Navy, the ship was currently towed 57 nautical miles off the Kerala coast. Work is underway to shift it further. There is still fire and smoke on the ship. A tug vessel, Offshore Warrior, is pulling the ship while the coast guard ship Saksham is fuelling the tug so that it continues to operate without disruption.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


India Today
2 hours ago
- India Today
Flight AI171 loss aches, yet data shows air travel the safest in India
A series of escalating disasters in Metropolis. One of them is a helicopter fallen from the sky and dangling barely from the top of a skyscraper, about to fall. Also dangling in the air is one of the passengers—Lois Lane. It's chaos on the ground. A tragedy is swoops the red-caped hero. He flies up and catches Lois midair. And then, with just one hand, he also grabs the wrecked helicopter and stops it from falling on the people on the ground. 'Statistically speaking, of course, it is still the safest way to travel,' he tells a shocked Lois and flies was the first Superman movie, in 1978. That line, statistically speaking, was true then. Almost five decades later, it still 12, 2025 turned out to be an unfortunate day to be airborne. Minutes after take-off from Ahmedabad, Air India Flight AI171—a formidable Boeing Dreamliner—went down; 260 lives lost and a lone surviving passenger. Images of the wreckage, grieving relatives and search-and-rescue work splashed across the globe. It was the type of tragedy that makes a country stop and mourn. But as the dust settles, a more sobering aspect remains true. Flying is safer than it has ever been in India. It is still statistically the safest way to travel in the country—better than by road or what hard data says. Take 2023, for instance. Not a single accident per million flight departures took place in Indian civil aviation. For a country as large and disordered, as packed with people, as India, this was no mean feat. And it's been validated was ranked 48th in a recent assessment by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which audits countries for aviation safety. The country was 102 in 2018. Yet, any step-up in the rankings is more than it's cracked up to be: India's Effective Implementation (EI) Score, essentially how well it enforces aviation safety standards, is 85.65 per cent. In key areas, it's better than of the United States and China. In the sub-category of airworthiness—perhaps the most important of the lot—India got 97.06 per of this is intended to say that air travel is free of risk. Few things in life are. But the chances of things fatally going wrong on a flight are minuscule, especially when compared with the for instance, the roads. Over 460,000 road accidents are reported in India every year. Nearly 170,000 people died in 2022-23—close to 470 a day. Most of those deaths never make news. They happen on highways, in cities and in distant corners of the country. They snuff out children, students, workers, the elderly, often families in travel has had its share of tragedies. In 2023-24, the railways reported 40 major accidents, which killed over 330 people and injured over 800. Indeed, that is a small number when compared with the millions of people who take a train every day. Nevertheless, they are fatalities. And buses? They kill more than 5,600 people on Indian roads each year. That's approximately 3-4 per cent of all road traffic while no one noticed, aviation did its boring thing—quietly carrying millions of people without a single commercial aviation accident in 2023. That's not luck. It is the product of something much more profound—long-term investment in safety, training and infrastructure. For half a decade now, India's aviation stakeholders—regulators, airlines, airport operators—have been ratcheting up the pressure, keeping vigilant, even if not particularly Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has overhauled pilot training, stepped up inspections and introduced a more assertive approach to surveillance. The numbers say it all. India achieved a 25 per cent drop in high-risk 'airprox' incidents (when planes come too close to each other in the air) in 2023, a 92 per cent drop in ground-proximity (potential collisions of aircraft with terrain or obstacles) alerts, and 23 per cent fewer poorly-stabilised landings. It's not perfect. But it's what makes the AI171 crash such a jolt. According to the initial cockpit voice recordings, the fuel-control switches for both engines were somehow shut off in flight, which caused the aircraft to lose all power. Investigators are still trying to work out what occurred—whether it was a freak mechanical failure, human error or a series of events that no one could foresee. What is clear is that the fatal crash was the first for a Boeing 787, which began flying in is also, crucially, a statistical outlier. But in the public imagination, little factoids like that can be obscured by the emotional crush of a disaster. Airplane crashes, as rare as they are, have a tendency to lodge in the mind in a way road accidents do not. Maybe it is the magnitude of the tragedy or the speed of it or even the thought of how helpless passengers are when a plane goes for all sorts of reasons, one plane crash seems to incite infinitely more public outrage than thousands of deaths each year from vehicles on the road. For the past 10 years, Union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari has been highlighting everywhere, even in Parliament, that road accidents take more lives than wars and terrorism. By now, the analogy barely fact, India accounts for almost 10 per cent of global road fatalities. Among the young—between the ages of 5 to 29—road accident injuries are the top cause of death, government data shows. And yet, hashtags and headlines and desperate calls for change are all too disconnect matters. When perception and reality don't remotely sync, policy follows the sound, not the demand. But if there's anything Indian aviation's safety record demonstrates, it is that the unglamorous work can pay the world is taking note. Now, several nations are looking to India's model of aviation safeguards—with its mix of state capacity, public-private partnerships and a convergence with global norms. India has adopted the ICAO's National Aviation Safety Plan template; it actively engages in worldwide safety discussions and seems to want to be up to speed with the current global conversations on air of this changes the terrible loss of Flight AI171. When people die, no amount of data can mean anything to their families and friends. But for the millions still flying every day—to work, to family, to opportunity, it may be worthwhile to know what bigger picture really still looks is why, late on July 17, the Indian government's Aircraft Accidents Investigation Bureau, uncharacteristically issued a statement criticising 'a section of the international media' and remarked: 'While the accident of this dimension has drawn public attention and shock, it needs to be appreciated that this is not the time to create public anxiety or angst towards safety of the Indian aviation industry, particularly on the basis of unfounded facts.'One terrible day does not define the skies. The real measure is how safely passengers travel on all the other days. On that count, India's skies are not just open. They are still among the safest in the to India Today Magazine- EndsMust Watch


India Today
2 hours ago
- India Today
Satyajit Ray's ‘ancestral home' that wasn't? What Bangladesh said on row
The Bangladesh government has categorically denied allegations that legendary Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray's ancestral home in Mymensingh city has been demolished, asserting that the structure in question has no connection whatsoever to the Ray a media statement issued by the Bangladesh ministry of foreign affairs, the government stated that a detailed review of archival and land records confirmed that the house being demolished was originally built by a local zamindar, Shashikant Acharya Chowdhury, and not by Upendra Kishor Ray Chowdhury, the grandfather of Satyajit Ray and a renowned author and inquiry into the archival records reconfirmed that the house in question had never had any relation with the ancestors of the esteemed laureate Satyajit Ray,' the statement structure, located in Mymensingh district, had for decades served as the office of the Bangladesh Shishu Academy. According to the government, after abolition of the zamindari system, the land on which the house stands came under state control and was later leased on a long-term basis to the academy. The land itself is officially recorded as non-agricultural government (khas) land. The government statement said local authorities had conducted a meticulous review of historical records and found no connection between the Ray family and the property. 'The district authorities have reviewed the land records related to the house and confirmed that the land belongs to the government and has no association with the Ray family whatsoever,' it said.'Local senior citizens and respected individuals from various communities also attested that there is no known historical connection between the Ray family and the house and land currently leased to the Shishu Academy. The house is not listed as an archaeological monument, either,' said the government further clarified that while the Ray family did indeed own a home in Mymensingh, it was located on Harikishore Ray Road, a street named after Satyajit Ray's great-grandfather and the adoptive parent of Upendra Kishor Ray Chowdhury. However, that house was sold by the family long ago and no longer exists. A modern multi-storey building now occupies the controversy had erupted after media reports in both Bangladesh and India claimed that a century-old house once belonging to the Ray family, apparently built by Upendra Kishor Ray Chowdhury, was being demolished by the authorities in Mymensingh. The reports quickly went viral on social media, drawing condemnation from admirers of Ray and sparking concerns over the erasure of shared cultural in Mymensingh, however, swiftly moved to refute those claims. According to the media statement, the structure now being razed had been lying abandoned since 2014, when the Shishu Academy relocated to a rented facility elsewhere in the city. Over time, the site reportedly became a den for unlawful activities involving 'local anti-social elements', prompting district authorities to draw up plans for constructing a new semi-permanent early 2025, the Shishu Academy formally requested permission to dismantle the dilapidated structure. Following due process and an open public auction, the district administration approved the demolition. A public notification regarding the removal of the building was widely circulated through national and local newspapers on March 7, the statement response to the recent public outcry, the deputy commissioner of Mymensingh convened a high-level meeting on July 16, which included senior citizens, journalists, authors and community members. During the discussion, several local intellectuals expressed strong support for the government's position and reiterated that the house in question had no association with Satyajit Ray or his writer Kangal Shahin, speaking at the meeting, emphasised that the building under the Shishu Academy's authority 'does not belong to Hari Kishore Ray or Satyajit Ray'. Civil society member Professor Bimal Kanti Dey echoed noted that a longstanding misconception had existed about the structure being tied to the Ray poet and writer Farid Ahmed Dulal also testified that 'the house has no connection with Satyajit Ray or his family'. All participants at the meeting reportedly supported the construction of a new building for the Shishu Academy, citing the importance of educational infrastructure for the children of Dhar, an archaeologist based in Mymensingh, independently verified the government's position, stating: 'The house in question is not the ancestral home of Satyajit Ray.'In a firm closing statement, the ministry of foreign affairs urged the media and the public to act responsibly and refrain from spreading unverified or misleading claims. 'Drawing on the factual and meticulous re-examination of all records, the government of Bangladesh urges all quarters to refrain from spreading misleading or factually inaccurate narrative, in any form, that ends up creating confusion and disrupts harmony,' the statement Ray, the iconic filmmaker, author and artist, remains an unparalleled cultural figure whose legacy is deeply revered across the subcontinent. A recipient of India's highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna, and an Oscar for Lifetime Achievement, Ray's influence on global cinema and Bengali literature continues to inspire generations. But as the Bangladesh government now insists, the building currently being dismantled in Mymensingh is not part of that legacy, and that efforts to preserve history must be guided by facts, not to India Today Magazine- Ends


India Today
2 hours ago
- India Today
Black panther's night out with 2 leopards in Nilgiris stuns Internet. Watch rare video
Wildlife enthusiasts were treated to a rare glimpse from the Nilgiris in Tamil Nadu after a video of a black panther walking alongside two spotted leopards went viral on social 29-second clip, shared by Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer Parveen Kaswan, offered a rare look at these elusive creatures moving together in the clip shows two typically patterned leopards walking side by side with a melanistic leopard, commonly known as a black panther. Such a sighting is exceptionally rare as these cats are usually Sharing the video in a post on X, Kaswan wrote, 'Bagheera (black panther) and other friends for a night walk on the roads of Nilgiris. What a rare thing.'Take a look at Kaswan's post here:Watch the video here: In a follow-up post, Kaswan explained that black panthers are not a separate species but a melanistic variation of the Indian leopard (Panthera pardus).Melanism is a genetic condition that results in dark pigmentation, which gives the panther its striking black coat. Under certain lighting, the signature rosettes of leopards are faintly visible on their fur.'In India, a black panther is a melanistic variant of the common leopard (Panthera pardus). These animals appear black due to a genetic condition called melanism, which results in excess dark pigmentation. Despite their dark coats, their characteristic leopard rosettes are often visible under certain lighting conditions,' he further pointed out that these big cats face severe threats from habitat loss and poaching, which makes conservation crucial for their survival.'They are often found with normal leopard also. But here documentation of a melanistic with two normal is rare. Conservation efforts are vital for their survival, as they face threats like habitat loss and poaching,' he social media users reshared the clip, believed to have been filmed around midnight on July 16. The rare sight ignited admiration and nostalgia online. 'I remember Bagheera from Mowgli. Such a cute character,' a user said, while another quipped, 'It seems they are on an important mission.'See what users are saying here:The Nilgiris, part of the Western Ghats and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is home to a rich diversity of flora and fauna.- Ends