Teenager dies after suspected ice bucket challenge goes horribly wrong

August 26, 2014

Aug 26: The death of a teenager who drowned in a disused quarry was last night being investigated as possibly the first fatality linked to the ice bucket challenge craze.

Ice Backet tragedayCameron Lancaster, 18, died after disappearing under the water at Prestonhill Quarry in Inverkeithing, Fife, on Sunday evening. It is thought that he took part in the ice bucket challenge before entering the water in the quarry.

The ice bucket challenge has spawned hundreds of internet videos of famous and non-famous alike being doused in cold water to raise awareness and money for the fight against motor neurone disease.

Among those to have taken part are Victoria Beckham, the model Cara Delevingne, Vogue editor Anna Wintour, Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, former US President George W Bush who had a bucket of water poured over his head by his wife Laura.

The ice bucket challenge has raised at least £250,000 for the UK Motor Neurone Disease Association and $62.5million (£37.7million) for its equivalent the ALS Association in the US, where the craze originated. It has, however, faced criticism that it has become more about celebrities getting publicity for themselves than raising money. Other sceptics have claimed that versions of the challenge let people have a bucket of ice cold water thrown over them as alternative to donating, instead of doing both.

The craze was also hit by tragedy last week when Corey Griffin, 27, credited with being one of the American inventors of the ice bucket challenge, drowned in a swimming accident in Nantucket, Massachusetts.

Lancaster's death, however, is thought to be the first fatality directly linked to the ice bucket challenge.

Emergency services were called to the quarry at 5pm on Sunday and the body of Mr Lancaster from Burntisland, Fife, was recovered after a four-hour search of the deep water.

One witness, Wilma Sutherland, 41, said: "I asked my son who's 15 if he had heard anything and he told me that a young guy had taken part in the ice bucket challenge and then jumped in the quarry and didn't come up.

"It's a popular spot for swimming and I've seen lots of teenagers jumping in.

The family of Lancaster, who was about to start at Edinburgh Napier University, on Monday paid tribute to his "friendliness, kindness and thoughtful generosity of spirit".

In a statement released via Police Scotland they said: "His death is such a great loss.

"During his short life, he touched so many people with his friendliness, kindness and thoughtful generosity of spirit. He will be hugely missed by his family and friends."

A police spokesman said: "Inquiries are under way to establish the full circumstances of what happened and Police Scotland's thoughts are with the family at this very difficult time."

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News Network
May 25,2020

Islamabad, May 25: Pakistan’s coronavirus cases on Monday reached 56,349 with 1,748 new patients while the death toll climbed to 1,167, the health ministry said.

The Ministry of National Health Services reported that 22,491 cases were diagnosed in Sindh, 20,077 in Punjab, 7,905 in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, 3,407 in Balochistan, 1,641 in Islamabad, 619 in Gilgit-Baltistan and 209 in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

So far 1,167 people have died of the COVID-19 including 34 who lost their lives in the last 24 hours. A total of 17,482 patients have recovered from the deadly contagion.

The authorities have conducted 483,656 tests in the country, including 10,049 on Sunday. The trajectory showed that the number was steadily going up with authorities fearing a rise in cases in the wake of the easing of lockdown before Eid which was observed in the country on Sunday.

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News Network
April 24,2020

Washington, Apr 24: President Donald Trump has favoured a phased reopening of the US economy, devastated by the coronavirus pandemic, which has claimed nearly 50,000 lives and infected over eight lakh people in the country.

More than 95 per cent of the country's 330 million people are under stay-at-home order as a result of the social mitigation measures, including social distancing, being enforced till May 1.

Trump on Thursday indicated that the stay-at-home order might be extended beyond May 1, but vehemently advocated the need to gradually open up the economy.

In the past few weeks, more than 26 million Americans have filed for unemployment benefits and the figure is soon likely to cross 40 million.

Both the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have projected a negative growth in the US in 2020.

To keep America gaining momentum, every citizen needs to maintain the vigilance, and we all understand that very well we've gone over it many, many times this includes practising good hygiene, maintaining social distance, and the voluntary use of face covering, Trump said.

Safe and phased reopening of our economy -- it's very exciting, but it does not mean that we are letting down our guard at all in any way; on the contrary, continued diligence is an essential part of our strategy to get our country back to work to take our country back, he told reporters at his daily White House news conference on coronavirus.

The data and facts on the ground suggest that the US is making great progress, he said.

In 23 states, new cases have declined. In the peak week, 40 per cent of the American counties have seen a rapid decline in new cases. As many as 46 states report a drop in patients showing coronavirus-like symptoms, he said.

Trump said the US is very close to finding a vaccine for COVID-19.

We are very close to testing... when testing starts it takes a period of time but we will get it done, he said.

According to Vice President Mike Pence, data continues to show promising signs of progress in the New York Metro area, New Jersey, Connecticut, Detroit and New Orleans. All appear to be passed their peak and we are seeing consistent declines in hospitalisation and cases in regions across the country, he said.

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News Network
July 4,2020

Maryland, Jul 4: The total number of coronavirus cases worldwide has touched 11 million, according to the latest data by the Johns Hopkins University on Saturday.
More than 523,613 people have died globally due to the infection, according to the data compiled by the university.

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At least 129,275 people have died in the US from the coronavirus, according to Johns Hopkins University's latest tally.
There are at least 2,786,178 cases of the disease in the country. The US has the highest number of cases in the world.

The second worst-hit country is Brazil, which has reported 1,496,858 lakh cases. The country's death toll stands at 61,884.

The countries around the world including the US, India, Denmark, and Italy have started the process of lifting the lockdown by easing restrictions despite the number of cases continues to rise.

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