Malaysian plane crashes off Vietnam coast: Five Indians among 239 on board

March 8, 2014

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Beijing/Kuala Lumpur, Mar 8: A Beijing-bound Malaysian Airlines plane that went missing with 239 people on board, including five Indians, today crashed into waters off Vietnam's southern Phu Quoc Island, Vietnamese media reported.

The Boeing 777-200 Flight MH370 with 227 passengers and 12 crew members on board crashed 250 km off coast of Tho Chu island, Vietnamese newspaper Tuoi Tre (Youth) quoted Rear Admiral Ngo Van Phat, political commissar of the Fifth Naval Region of Vietnam, as saying.

A fresh passengers' list issued by the airline said five Indians were among the 239 passengers on board the aircraft, correcting its previous account in which Indians were not mentioned.

"At the moment, there are no Vietnamese navy boats in that area so we have to ask boats from Phu Quoc island to be prepared for rescue," the admiral said.

From the report it was not clear how the admiral knew about the crash or whether the wreckage of the ill-fated plane has been located.

There is no confirmation about the report from the Malaysian authorities.

Chinese media is reporting the plane may have crashed into the South China Sea, state-run Xinhua news agency said.

The plane took off at 12:41 a.m. (local time) and lost contact with Subang Air Traffic Control near Kuala Lumpur almost two hours later at 2:40 a.m, the airlines said.

The fresh list of passengers issued by the airline mentions people of 14 nationalities including Indians.

The plane disappeared in the night somewhere over South China Sea while enroute to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur.

"Focus of the airline is to work with the emergency responders and authorities and mobilize its full support," the Malaysia Airlines CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya earlier said.

He said the pilot of the missing aircraft, identified as Capt. Zaharie Ahmad Shah, had 18365 hours of experience and joined the airlines in 1981.

Those on board include 5 Indians, 152 Chinese, 38 Malaysians, 7 Indonesians, 6 Australians, 3 French, 4 including an infant from the US, 2 New Zealanders, 2 Ukrainians, 2 Canadians, 1 each from Russia, Italy, Taiwan, Netherlands and Austria.

Malaysia Airlines is currently working with the authorities who have activated their Search and Rescue team to locate the aircraft, Jauhari said.

"Our team is currently calling the next-of-kin of passengers and crew," he added.

Confusion and chaos prevailed in Beijing where the planed was due to land at 6.30 AM.

Relatives of the 152 Chinese passengers rushed to the airport and later the Malaysian Airline office to find about the fate of their near dear ones.

A passenger manifest originating from China which has been circulating online and also published by Star online mentions the Indians along with their passport numbers.

The names include Chetna Kolekar, Swanand Kolekar, Suresh Kolekar, Chandrika Sharma and Prahlad Shirsatha. One Indian-origin Canadian Muktesh Mukherjee was also on board.

Malaysian authorities continued to state that a massive search and rescue operation was on and no wreckage had been sited so far.

The plane was cruising at 36,000 feet when it is reported to have crashed.

Sources told the New Straits Times that assets from the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, Royal Malaysian Navy and Royal Malaysian Air Force had been deployed to the area for a search and rescue mission this morning.

"It was presumed that the flight might be somewhere 100 nautical miles east of Kota Baru and 120 nautical miles southern of Vietnam's tip," an unnamed source said.

Meanwhile, two Chinese maritime rescue ships have left to the South China Sea to help in rescue work.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has instructed all the relevant authorities to take immediate measure in identifying the missing aircraft.

Malaysian Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said he has instructed all relevant agencies including TUDM (Royal Malaysian Air Force) to work together (in) locating the plane.

The aircraft came into service in 2002. Malaysia has 15 Boeing 777-200 series.

Earlier, Vice President operations control Fuad sharuji said the airlines had got in touch with five of its flights in air to see if they had heard from the missing plane but they had got no response.

Several ATC of nearby countries had also been contacted by the airline, Fuad said.

The aircraft had a Code share with China southern airline. The plane had entered Vietnamese airspace when it lost control.

Chinese ships and aircraft are on standby to locate and rescue the missing Malaysian plane carrying more than 150 Chinese passengers to Beijing.

Chinese Minister of Transport Yang Chuantang announced the launch of the highest-degree emergency response mechanism.

The ministry is closely observing the situation and actively coordinating with domestic as well as maritime rescue authorities and civil aviation administrations in Malaysia and Vietnam, Xinhua quoted him as saying.

Eight ships belonging to the Nanhai Rescue Bureau and the Hainan Maritime Safety Administration are waiting for orders. An aircraft fleet is also ready to take off, he said.

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News Network
June 26,2020

Washington, Jun 26: The United States reported more than 39,000 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, its highest-ever single-day count as the government relaxed restrictions and is downplaying the threat of the deadly virus.

According to the Washington Post, experts believe there is a troubling lack of consistent, unified messaging from President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence. They have downplayed the danger and denigrated effective disease defences such as mask-wearing, testing, and social distancing.

Churches, beaches, and bars are filling up with people and so are hospital beds, the report said.

The counties home to Dallas, Phoenix, and Tampa all reported record-high averages on at least 15 straight days in June.

The hardest-hit states are California, Texas, Florida and those that thought they had the virus under control, like Utah and Oregon.

"I think the politicians are in denial," said Kami Kim, director of the Division of Infectious Disease and International Medicine at the University of South Florida.

The chief of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at the University of Utah Health, Andrew T. Pavia, is of the view that the push to reopen quickly even as cases climb sends a dangerous and inaccurate message.

"On the one hand, you get messages from politicians and the business community that we have to go, go, go and open up," he said. "On the other hand, you're seeing epidemiological indicators that we still have to be very careful."

"It's cognitive dissonance," he added.

The Trump administration has tried to downplay the rising number. Pence called concerns about another surge of infections "overblown," the product of media "fearmongering."

Some governors have followed the administration's lead, blaming rising caseloads on more testing.

Testifying before a congressional committee this week, Anthony S. Fauci, the nation's top infectious-diseases expert, said the new cases were "a disturbing surge" spurred by community transmission rather than testing.

"That's something I'm really quite concerned about," Fauci said. "A couple of days ago, there were 30,000 new infections. That's very disturbing to me."

Several states like Arizona, Arkansas, the Carolinas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Texas and Utah have recently reported new highs in the number of coronavirus patients hospitalized.

"We're seeing a 40 per cent increase in the last two weeks in hospitalizations," said Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins (D), the jurisdiction's top elected official. "We're by far at our record numbers, and we're at record numbers in north Texas. Houston is at a record, the state is at a record." The Texas Medical Center in Houston, a massive medical complex, reported Thursday that 100 per cent of the beds in its intensive care unit are occupied.

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News Network
July 24,2020

Kathmandu, Jul 24: At least 132 people lost their lives as a result of heavy rains triggering landslides, and flash floods in Nepal.

"132 people dead, 128 injured, 53 missing and 998 families affected due to rainfall, landslides and floods in the country as of 23rd July," Nepal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority Within the last two weeks, the Myagdi district of western Nepal was the worst affected with 27 reported deaths.

Search and rescue operations are being conducted continuously with officials and police personnel who are looking through the debris to find missing people.

Monsoon-induced disasters are common in Nepal owing to the country's mountainous topography. Hundreds have been displaced as landslides have swept away their homes. They ended up taking refuge in local schools and community centers.

Nepal's Meteorological Forecasting Division earlier last week had predicted heavy downpour across the country. The Division had warned of monsoon winds being near the low-pressure line in the Terai belt, which would consequently cause more rainfall.

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News Network
May 21,2020

London, May 21: Working mothers in Europe and the United States are taking on most of the extra housework and childcare created by lockdown - and many are struggling to cope, a survey showed on Thursday.

Women with children now spend an average 65 hours a week on the unpaid chores - nearly a third more than fathers - according to the Boston Consulting Group, which questioned parents in five countries.

"Women have been doing too much household work for too long, and this crisis is pushing them to a point that's simply unsustainable," Rachel Thomas, of U.S.-based women's rights group LeanIn.Org, said in response to the data.

"We need a major culture shift in our homes and in our companies ... We should use this moment to build a better way to work and live – one that's fair for everybody."

Researchers say fallout from the pandemic weighs on women in a host of ways, be it in rising domestic violence or in lower wages, as some women cut paid work to take on the new duties.

With lockdowns shutting schools and keeping citizens at home, creating a mountain of domestic work, public campaigns from Georgia to Mexico have urged men to do their fair share.

But women, who on average already do more at home than men, are now shouldering most of the new coronavirus burden, too, said the survey of more than 3,000 working parents in the United States, Britain, Italy, Germany and France.

Women's unpaid hours at home have nearly doubled to 65 hours a week, said the survey, against 50 logged by an average father.

British women are more likely to support others in the COVID-19 pandemic and are finding it harder to stay positive, according to separate analysis released this week by polling firm Ipsos MORI and feminist organisation The Fawcett Society.

It is "no surprise" to see women do more childcare and housekeeping on top of their day jobs, Jacqui Hunt of women's rights group Equality Now, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

However, there are "hopeful signs" that men in West Africa are sharing more childcare during the pandemic in a shift in social norms, found a small rapid analysis by humanitarian organisation CARE International released on Wednesday.

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