Mortal remains of Sridevi reaches Mumbai along with family members

Agencies
February 27, 2018

The body of Bollywood icon Sridevi, whose sudden death triggered a frenzy of grief, disbelief and searching questions, was flown back to Mumbai today after Dubai authorities determined that she had accidently drowned in her hotel bathtub.

Family members, including her film-maker husband Boney Kapoor and stepson Arjun Kapoor, brought her body in a private jet after three days of uncertainty over her unexpected death on Saturday in Dubai.

Earlier today, Dubai Public Prosecutor's Office put an end to speculation about the cause of her death, saying she accidentally drowned in the bathtub following loss of consciousness, and that the "case was now closed".

It did not say what caused the 54-year-old superstar to lose consciousness. The Embraer jet, owned by industrialist Anil Ambani, landed in Mumbai around 9.30 p.m. and the cremation is scheduled tomorrow around 3.30 p.m.

Ending speculation over Bollywood diva Sridevi's sudden death, the Dubai Public Prosecutor's Office said on Tuesday that she accidentally drowned following loss of consciousness and that her body was "released" to the family after a comprehensive probe.

Sridevi's funeral will take place on Feb. 28 late afternoon here, the family said in a statement.

In a detailed announcement, the family said that her body will be kept at Celebration Sports Club in Lokhandwala for people to pay their last respects before it is taken for cremation.

"On behalf of Khushi, Janhvi, Boney Kapoor, the entire Kapoor and Ayyappan families, a sincere thanks to the media for your continued sensitivity and support during this emotional moment," the statement read. It said that well-wishers can pay their condolences from 9.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. at Celebration Sports Club, Garden No 5, Lokhandwala Complex, Andheri West.

The family said that the media can also pay their respects "provided camera, recording devices etc. are left outside the venue. The last journey will commence at 2 p.m. from Celebration Sports Club to Vile Parle Seva Samaj Crematorium and Hindu Cemetery." 

The cremation will take place at around 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The 54-year-old actress, known as Indian cinema's first woman superstar, passed away in her hotel room in the Jumeirah Emirates Towers late on Saturday. 

Three days after the actress was found dead, the family was finally given custody of her body. Family members, including her filmmaker husband Boney Kapoor and stepson Arjun Kapoor, took the body from the morgue to get it embalmed before heading to Dubai airport for her final journey home. A private jet had flown to Dubai from Mumbai on Sunday, a day after her death. Dubai Media Office, the official Twitter handle of the media office of the government, said in a series of tweets that the case is now closed.

"Dubai Public Prosecution has approved the release of the body of the Indian actress Sridevi to her family following the completion of a comprehensive investigation into the circumstances of her death," it said.

"Dubai Public Prosecution stressed that all regular procedures followed in such cases have been completed. As per the forensic report, the death of the Indian actress occurred due to accidental drowning following loss of consciousness. The case has now been closed."

The actress leaves behind her husband Boney and their two daughters Jhanvi and Khushi.

The Consulate General of India in Dubai also confirmed on Twitter that Dubai Police had given permission to take the body for embalming.

Arjun Kapoor reached Dubai this morning to be with his father. "Arjun has gone to Dubai this morning to be with his father at the hotel while the formalities are being wrapped up and to oversee the return journey," said an official statement from the family in Mumbai. The Dubai Police said on its Twitter handle on Monday that Sridevi drowned in her bathtub after she lost consciousness. The case was transferred to the Dubai Public Prosecutor's office, which carried out further investigations and procedures followed in such cases, it said.

"Following the completion of post-mortem analysis, Dubai police headquarters today stated that the death of the Indian actress Sridevi occurred due to drowning in her hotel apartment's bathtub following loss of consciousness," it said.

Sridevi was in Dubai for a family wedding and had stayed back after the ceremonies. Her husband had flown back to Mumbai with their younger daughter Khushi, but returned to Dubai to surprise her, reports said.

The news of her death, first reported at around 3 a.m. IST on Sunday, sent shock waves across India.

In Mumbai, industry insiders and friends visited the family in the home of actor Anil Kapoor, Boney's younger brother. With their father away, Khushi and Jhanvi were at their uncle's Juhu home. Director Anees Bazmi, who has worked with Boney Kapoor on "No Entry", was amongst the visitors today. "It is a big shock for everyone. I have worked with the entire Kapoor family. I can't imagine what Boneyji would be going through at this point. He loved her very much. Their two daughters are so young. It is a sad situation. "I have not told the family about what the media is reporting. It is sad, unfortunate. A person like her does not deserve this," Bazmi told PTI while referring to the sensational TV coverage of the death.

The others who have called on the family in their hour of grief include Shah Rukh Khan and his wife Gauri, Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Tabu, Rekha, Farah Khan and Javed Akhtar and Shabana Azmi. There were also huge crowds outside Sridevi's home at a Lokhandwala building.

Earlier post

Sridevi's body released to family; funeral set for Feb 28

Dubai, Feb 27: Ending speculation over Bollywood diva Sridevi's sudden death, the Dubai Public Prosecutor's Office said on Tuesday that she accidentally drowned following loss of consciousness and that her body was "released" to the family after a comprehensive probe.

Sridevi's funeral will take place on Feb. 28 late afternoon here, the family said in a statement.

In a detailed announcement, the family said that her body will be kept at Celebration Sports Club in Lokhandwala for people to pay their last respects before it is taken for cremation.

"On behalf of Khushi, Janhvi, Boney Kapoor, the entire Kapoor and Ayyappan families, a sincere thanks to the media for your continued sensitivity and support during this emotional moment," the statement read. It said that well-wishers can pay their condolences from 9.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. at Celebration Sports Club, Garden No 5, Lokhandwala Complex, Andheri West.

The family said that the media can also pay their respects "provided camera, recording devices etc. are left outside the venue. The last journey will commence at 2 p.m. from Celebration Sports Club to Vile Parle Seva Samaj Crematorium and Hindu Cemetery." 

The cremation will take place at around 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The 54-year-old actress, known as Indian cinema's first woman superstar, passed away in her hotel room in the Jumeirah Emirates Towers late on Saturday. 

Three days after the actress was found dead, the family was finally given custody of her body. Family members, including her filmmaker husband Boney Kapoor and stepson Arjun Kapoor, took the body from the morgue to get it embalmed before heading to Dubai airport for her final journey home. A private jet had flown to Dubai from Mumbai on Sunday, a day after her death. Dubai Media Office, the official Twitter handle of the media office of the government, said in a series of tweets that the case is now closed.

"Dubai Public Prosecution has approved the release of the body of the Indian actress Sridevi to her family following the completion of a comprehensive investigation into the circumstances of her death," it said.

"Dubai Public Prosecution stressed that all regular procedures followed in such cases have been completed. As per the forensic report, the death of the Indian actress occurred due to accidental drowning following loss of consciousness. The case has now been closed."

The actress leaves behind her husband Boney and their two daughters Jhanvi and Khushi.

The Consulate General of India in Dubai also confirmed on Twitter that Dubai Police had given permission to take the body for embalming.

Arjun Kapoor reached Dubai this morning to be with his father. "Arjun has gone to Dubai this morning to be with his father at the hotel while the formalities are being wrapped up and to oversee the return journey," said an official statement from the family in Mumbai. The Dubai Police said on its Twitter handle on Monday that Sridevi drowned in her bathtub after she lost consciousness. The case was transferred to the Dubai Public Prosecutor's office, which carried out further investigations and procedures followed in such cases, it said.

"Following the completion of post-mortem analysis, Dubai police headquarters today stated that the death of the Indian actress Sridevi occurred due to drowning in her hotel apartment's bathtub following loss of consciousness," it said.

Sridevi was in Dubai for a family wedding and had stayed back after the ceremonies. Her husband had flown back to Mumbai with their younger daughter Khushi, but returned to Dubai to surprise her, reports said.

The news of her death, first reported at around 3 a.m. IST on Sunday, sent shock waves across India.

In Mumbai, industry insiders and friends visited the family in the home of actor Anil Kapoor, Boney's younger brother. With their father away, Khushi and Jhanvi were at their uncle's Juhu home. Director Anees Bazmi, who has worked with Boney Kapoor on "No Entry", was amongst the visitors today. "It is a big shock for everyone. I have worked with the entire Kapoor family. I can't imagine what Boneyji would be going through at this point. He loved her very much. Their two daughters are so young. It is a sad situation. "I have not told the family about what the media is reporting. It is sad, unfortunate. A person like her does not deserve this," Bazmi told PTI while referring to the sensational TV coverage of the death.

The others who have called on the family in their hour of grief include Shah Rukh Khan and his wife Gauri, Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Tabu, Rekha, Farah Khan and Javed Akhtar and Shabana Azmi.

There were also huge crowds outside Sridevi's home at a Lokhandwala building.

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News Network
January 28,2020

Mumbai, Jan 28: Flag carrier Air India has kept one of its 423-seater jumbo planes ready in Mumbai for the evacuation of Indian citizens from Wuhan in China in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak in that country, an official source said on Tuesday.

The airline is awaiting necessary approvals from the ministries of external affairs and health to operate the special flight, the source said. The health ministry's nod is required because the operating crew has to fly in a virus outbreak territory.

"We have kept a Boeing 747-400 ready in Mumbai to operate an evacuation flight to China whenever we get a go ahead from the government," the source said.

Some 250 Indians are to be evacuated.

At a meeting of top secretaries called by the cabinet secretary on Monday, the government decided to be prepared for possible evacuation of Indian nationals in Wuhan.

Accordingly, Ministry of External Affairs will make a request to the Chinese authorities for evacuation of Indian nationals, mostly students, stuck in Wuhan city. The Ministry of Civil Aviation and Ministry of Health will make arrangements for transport and quarantine facilities respectively, an official release said on Monday.

Wuhan along 12 other cities have been completely sealed by the Chinese authorities to stop the virus from spreading. The death toll climbed to 80 with 2,744 confirmed cases.

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Agencies
July 2,2020

New Delhi, Jul 2: In the midst of India's tense border standoff with China, the defence ministry on Thursday approved procurement of a number of frontline fighter jets, missile systems and other platforms at a cost of Rs 38,900 crore to bolster the combat capability of the armed forces, officials said.

They said 21 MiG-29 fighter jets are being bought from Russia while 12 Su-30 MKI aircraft will be procured from Russia. The ministry has also approved a separate proposal to upgrade existing 59 MiG-29 aircraft.

The decisions were taken at a meeting of the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

The procurement of 21 MiG-29 and upgrading of the existing fleet of MiG-29 are estimated to cost the government Rs 7,418 crore while purchase of 12 new Su-30 MKI from the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd will be made at a cost of Rs 10,730 crore, the officials said.

The DAC also approved procurement of long-range land-attack cruise missile systems with a range of 1,000 KM and Astra Missiles for Navy and Air Force.

The officials said cost of these design and development proposals is in the range of Rs 20,400 crore.

"While acquisition of Pinaka missile systems will enable raising additional regiments over and above the ones already inducted, addition of long-range land attack missile systems having a firing range of 1000 KM to the existing arsenal will bolster the attack capabilities of the Navy and the Air Force," said a defence ministry official.

"Similarly induction of Astra Missiles having beyond visual range capability will serve as a force multiplier and immensely add to the strike capability of the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force," he said.

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News Network
January 2,2020

Washington, Jan 2: The number of people killed in large commercial airplane crashes fell by more than 50% in 2019 despite a high-profile Boeing 737 MAX crash in Ethiopia in March, a Dutch consulting firm said on Wednesday. Aviation consulting firm To70 said there were 86 accidents involving large commercial planes - including eight fatal incidents - resulting in 257 fatalities last year. In 2018, there were 160 accidents, including 13 fatal ones, resulting in 534 deaths, the firm said.

To70 said the fatal accident rate for large airplanes in commercial passenger air transport was just 0.18 fatal accident per million flights in 2019, or an average one fatal accident every 5.58 million flights, a significant improvement over 2018. The fatality numbers include passengers, air crew such as flight attendants and any people on the ground killed in a plane accident

Large passenger airplanes in the study are aircraft used by nearly all travelers on airlines worldwide but excludes small commuter airplanes in service, including the Cessna Caravan and some smaller turboprop airplanes, according to To70.

On Dec. 23, Boeing's board said it had fired Chief Executive Dennis Muilenburg after a pair of fatal crashes involving the 737 MAX forced it to announce it was halting output of its best-selling jetliner. The 737 MAX has been grounded since March after an October 2018 crash in Indonesia and the crash of a MAX in Ethiopia in March killed a total of 346 people.

To70 said the aviation industry spent significant effort in 2019 "focusing on so-called 'future threats' such as drones." But the MAX crashes "are a reminder that we need to retain our focus on the basics that make civil aviation so safe: well-designed and well-built aircraft flown by fully informed and well-trained crews."

The Aviation Safety Network said on Wednesday that, despite the MAX crash, 2019 "was one of the safest years ever for commercial aviation." The 157 people killed in March on Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 accounted for more than half of all deaths last year worldwide in passenger airline crashes.

Over the last two decades, aviation deaths around the world have been falling dramatically even as travel has increased. As recently as 2005, there were 1,015 deaths aboard commercial passenger flights worldwide, the Aviation Safety Network said.

Last week, 12 people were killed when a Fokker 100 operated by Kazakh carrier Bek Air crashed near Almaty after takeoff. In May, a Russian Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft caught fire as it made an emergency landing at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport, killing 41 people.

The figures do not include accidents involving military flights, training flights, private flights, cargo operations and helicopters.

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