Finnish footbridge collapse injures 27, mostly children
Some 27 young people, mostly children, were injured in Finland on Thursday when a temporary footbridge near a construction site collapsed and they fell several meters onto a road, officials said. The accident occurred at around 9:20 am (0620 GMT) in Espoo, near the capital, Helsinki, when wooden planks are believed to have given way and the group fell five to six meters (feet) onto the carriageway of the small side road. Most of the injured were eighth-year pupils aged around 14 or 15, who were on a school field trip, city officials said. Their teacher was among the injured. Twenty-four people were taken to various hospitals in the Helsinki region. "No one has life-threatening injuries," Helsinki hospital service HUS said, adding that the majority had limb fractures. "There has been no indication of any risk of paralysis but there are some head injuries involved as well," HUS medical director Eero Hirvensalo told reporters. Photos from the scene showed the sides of the footbridge largely intact but a gaping hole across half of it and a pile of wooden planks in a jumble under one end. Rescue workers could be seen treating multiple people lying injured on the road shortly after the accident. Cause unknown The cause of the collapse has not been confirmed and is being investigated, the Espoo city authorities said. "I saw the bridge was no longer up and many people (were) on the ground," Jaakko Markkula, who lives on the fifth floor of a building near where the accident took place, told AFP. The head of the Helsinki city education department, Satu Jarvenkallas, told AFP the injured were pupils from the Kalasatama comprehensive school in the capital. "They were on a normal field trip to the Emma Art Museum. And then the accident took place," she said. A crisis team has been set up at the school, she added. The city of Espoo said weekly inspections had been conducted on the structure, most recently on May 5. The contractor whose company built the bridge, Jarno Tuuri, told the Iltalehti daily "nothing out of the usual was observed" during the weekly checks. "The situation is of course very bad. We're now checking all the structures and making the necessary additional reinforcements," he said. "We're assisting the authorities in every way we can," he added. The director of Espoo city services, Jukka Makela, expressed his "regrets" to the injured, adding: "This simply should not happen." "Shocking news from Espoo. Our strength to those injured in the accident and their loved ones. You are in our thoughts," Prime Minister Sanna Marin said on Twitter. The post Finnish footbridge collapse injures 27, mostly children appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Morocco mourns quake victims as death toll passes 2,000
Moroccans on Sunday mourned the victims of a devastating earthquake that killed more than 2,000 people, as rescue teams raced to find survivors trapped in the rubble of flattened villages. The strongest-ever quake to hit the country has killed at least 2,012 people and injured over 2,059, many of them critically, according to the latest official figures. Friday's 6.8-magnitude quake struck 72 kilometers (45 miles) southwest of the tourist hub of Marrakesh, wiping out entire villages in rural areas. "I've lost everything", said Lahcen, a resident of the mountain village of Moulay Brahim, whose wife and four children were killed. Rescue workers recovered the bodies of Lahcen's three daughters from the rubble of what was once their home, but have not yet found the bodies of his wife and son. "I can't do anything about it now, I just want to get away from the world and mourn." Troops and emergency services have scrambled to reach remote mountain villages where victims are still feared trapped. Al-Haouz province, where the epicenter of the earthquake was located, suffered the most deaths with 1,293, followed by the province of Taroudant with 452. - First funerals - Bouchra, another resident of remote Moulay Brahim village, dried her tears with her scarf as she watched men digging graves to bury the victims. "My cousin's grandchildren are dead", she said in a knotted voice. "I saw the devastation of the earthquake live, and I'm still shaking. It's like a ball of fire that has swallowed up everything in its path," she said. "Everyone here has lost family, whether in our village or elsewhere in the region", she added. Authorities declared three days of national mourning, while several countries, including Israel, France, Spain, Italy and the United States, have offered aid. Neighboring Algeria, which has had rocky relations with Morocco, opened its airspace, which had been closed for two years, to flights carrying humanitarian aid and the injured. - 'Years of aid' - The Red Cross warned that it could take years to repair the damage. "It won't be a matter of a week or two... We are counting on a response that will take months, if not years", Hossam Elsharkawi, the organization's Middle East and North Africa director, said in a statement. The village of Tafeghaghte, 60 kilometers southwest of Marrakesh, was almost entirely destroyed by the quake, the epicenter of which was only about 50 kilometers away, an AFP team reported, with very few buildings still standing. "Three of my grandchildren and their mother are dead," said 72-year-old Omar Benhanna. "They're still under the debris. It wasn't so long ago that we were playing together." Residents buried around 70 victims in the nearby cemetery on Saturday, as the funeral rites were punctuated by cries and screams. In the evening, television channels broadcast aerial images showing entire villages of clay houses in the Al-Haouz region completely destroyed. "The public authorities are still mobilized to speed up rescue operations and evacuate the injured", the interior ministry said Saturday evening. The tremor was also felt in the coastal cities of Rabat, Casablanca, Agadir and Essaouira, where many panicked residents took to the streets in the middle of the night, fearing that their homes would collapse. This earthquake is the deadliest in Morocco since the 1960 quake that destroyed Agadir, in which nearly 15,000 people, a third of the city's population, died. kao-ezz/roc/dhw/mtp © Agence France-Presse The post Morocco mourns quake victims as death toll passes 2,000 appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Over 100 collapse-prone schools told to close
Education authorities in the United Kingdom has told at least 104 schools and colleges to shut their buildings that are prone to collapse. The education ministry said Thursday that affected schools buildings are those made with Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete which was widely used for school and college constructions from the 1950s to the mid-1990s. RAAC poses collapse risk over time and schools were warned about this and told to implement mitigations as early as 2018, according to the ministry. In its new guidance, the ministry asked that affected buildings be vacated and to either fully or partially relocate to alternative accommodation. The announcement comes as millions of pupils in England are returning to school after the lengthy summer holidays. “Nothing is more important than making sure children and staff are safe in schools and colleges, which is why we are acting on new evidence about RAAC now, ahead of the start of term,” Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said. Education officials, public-sector unions and opposition parties hit out at the government. Unison union’s head of education Mike Short said it “squandered valuable months hiding this crisis when they should have been fixing dangerous school buildings.” WITH AFP The post Over 100 collapse-prone schools told to close appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Finnish footbridge collapse injures 27, mostly children
Some 27 young people, mostly children, were injured in Finland on Thursday when a temporary footbridge near a construction site collapsed and they fell several meters onto a road, officials said. The accident occurred at around 9:20 am (0620 GMT) in Espoo, near the capital, Helsinki, when wooden planks are believed to have given way and the group fell five to six meters (feet) onto the carriageway of the small side road. Most of the injured were eighth-year pupils aged around 14 or 15, who were on a school field trip, city officials said. Their teacher was among the injured. Twenty-four people were taken to various hospitals in the Helsinki region. "No one has life-threatening injuries," Helsinki hospital service HUS said, adding that the majority had limb fractures. "There has been no indication of any risk of paralysis but there are some head injuries involved as well," HUS medical director Eero Hirvensalo told reporters. Photos from the scene showed the sides of the footbridge largely intact but a gaping hole across half of it and a pile of wooden planks in a jumble under one end. Rescue workers could be seen treating multiple people lying injured on the road shortly after the accident. Cause unknown The cause of the collapse has not been confirmed and is being investigated, the Espoo city authorities said. "I saw the bridge was no longer up and many people (were) on the ground," Jaakko Markkula, who lives on the fifth floor of a building near where the accident took place, told AFP. The head of the Helsinki city education department, Satu Jarvenkallas, told AFP the injured were pupils from the Kalasatama comprehensive school in the capital. "They were on a normal field trip to the Emma Art Museum. And then the accident took place," she said. A crisis team has been set up at the school, she added. The city of Espoo said weekly inspections had been conducted on the structure, most recently on May 5. The contractor whose company built the bridge, Jarno Tuuri, told the Iltalehti daily "nothing out of the usual was observed" during the weekly checks. "The situation is of course very bad. We're now checking all the structures and making the necessary additional reinforcements," he said. "We're assisting the authorities in every way we can," he added. The director of Espoo city services, Jukka Makela, expressed his "regrets" to the injured, adding: "This simply should not happen." "Shocking news from Espoo. Our strength to those injured in the accident and their loved ones. You are in our thoughts," Prime Minister Sanna Marin said on Twitter. The post Finnish footbridge collapse injures 27, mostly children appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Thousands flee Sudan capital
Thousands of residents fled Sudan’s capital Wednesday as fighting between the army and paramilitaries raged for a fifth day with the death toll rising to around 200 people. Loud explosions and heavy gunfire were heard in the capital on Wednesday morning, as witnesses said plumes of thick black smoke emanated from buildings around the army headquarters in central Khartoum. Streets were littered with dead bodies, the stench of which filled the air. A witness said the army’s fighter jets roared overhead and fired on Rapid Support Forces armored vehicles and pick-up trucks laden with heavy weapons and ammunition, and swarming the streets, according to Agence France-Presse. The fighting has left at least 185 people dead and more than 1,800 injured, according to the United Nations. Aside from local women and children driving out of Khartoum in cars or on foot, foreign diplomats and workers, including United Nations staffs, were also evacuating the capital. Japan said on Wednesday that its defense ministry had begun the “necessary preparations” to evacuate around 60 of its nationals from Sudan, including embassy staff. Electricity and water are cut in many parts of Khartoum, forcing residents to sneak out during lulls in fighting to buy food and supplies, witnesses said. The evacuations were triggered by the collapse on Tuesday of a 24-hour humanitarian ceasefire within minutes of its proposed start at 1600 GMT. The army and rebel militia blamed each other for failing to commit to it and of continuing “skirmishes around the army headquarters and the airport.” The post Thousands flee Sudan capital appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Sight-seeing flights to nowhere
Faced with the coronavirus collapse in travelers, Taiwanese airlines have begun offering sight-seeing "flights to nowhere" on their passenger jets—including flight attendant lessons for children......»»
Taiwan airlines offer sight-seeing flights during pandemic
Faced with the coronavirus collapse in travelers, Taiwanese airlines have begun offering sight-seeing “flights to nowhere” on their passenger jets — including flight attendant lessons for children. At the headquarters of Taiwan’s China Airlines in Taoyuan on Saturday, 50 children took a morning course on how to serve passengers aboard a mock cabin. Cheng Yu-wei, […] The post Taiwan airlines offer sight-seeing flights during pandemic appeared first on Cebu Daily News......»»
Philippines logs 40 pertussis deaths this year
MANILA, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Forty children have died of whopping cough, a respiratory infection also called pertussis, since this year, the Philippines' Department of Health (DOH) has reported. The DOH said in a statement on Wednesday that cases have continued to increase since the start of this year, recording 568 cases from Jan. 1 to March 16. "The total number of cases for the same period in 2023 was.....»»
Baltimore bridge collapse could lead to delayed shipments, higher shipping costs
The closure of the Port of Baltimore in the US following the collapse of the Baltimore key bridge is expected to lead to shipment delays and higher shipping costs......»»
Emergency protocols in case of bridge collapse sought
Emergency protocols in case of bridge collapse sought.....»»
Baltimore Bridge collapse: Police had about 90 seconds to stop traffic before bridge fell
BALTIMORE — It was the middle of the night when a dispatcher’s warning crackled over the radio: A massive cargo ship had lost its steering capabilities and was heading toward the Francis Scott Key Bridge. Within about 90 seconds, police officers who happened to be nearby responded that they managed to stop vehicle traffic over.....»»
Hope for more survivors from Baltimore bridge collapse fades
BALTIMORE – The coast guard announced on Wednesday that hope of finding more survivors of the Baltimore bridge collapse has dimmed, and efforts have switched to searching for the bodies of the missing persons, as well as seeking more answers as to why a container ship crashed into the span. The coast guard announced on.....»»
Pertussis or whooping cough: 40 child deaths so far this year – DOH
MANILA, Philippines — Assistant Health Secretary Albert Domingo reported on Wednesday that as of March 16 this year, some 40 children had died of whooping cough — a respiratory infection also called pertussis. An increase in new pertussis cases nationwide had been observed nationwide, with 28 cases reported from March 10 to 16. READ: What.....»»
EXPLAINER: Why did the Baltimore bridge collapse and what is the death toll?
(Reuters) -Divers recovered the remains of two of the six missing workers more than a day after a cargo ship smashed into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge. The bodies of two men were found in a red pickup truck submerged in the icy waters of the Patapsco River. Rescuers pulled two workers from the water.....»»
Marian Rivera takes on projects that her children can watch
With her upcoming primetime show, “My Guardian Alien,” Marian Rivera has added sci-fi to the growing array of genres — from drama, fantasy, romance, and action to historical and comedy — that the Kapuso actress has successfully ventured into thus far......»»
No Pinoy hurt in Baltimore bridge collapse
The Philippine embassy in Washington has not received any report of Filipinos hurt in the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland on Tuesday......»»
Victims of Baltimore bridge collapse include those from Mexico, Guatemala
Maryland [US], March 27 (ANI): Among those reported missing following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore in the US are Mexican nationals, CNN reported, citing Rafael Laveaga, Chief of the Consular Section of Mexico's Embassy in Washington. Laveaga refrained from specifying the exact number of missing Mexican nationals when he addressed reporters near the scene on Tuesday. A reporter asked Laveaga: ".....»»
Six presumed dead after ship destroys major US bridge
Authorities on Tuesday suspended their search for six people missing after a packed cargo ship slammed into a Baltimore bridge, causing it to collapse and blocking one of the busiest US commercial harbors......»»
Xinhua Asia-Pacific news summary at 1600 GMT, March 25
JAKARTA -- One was killed and nine others, including children, went missing after a landslide struck a village in the Indonesian province of West Java on Sunday, a local official said Monday. The disaster took place in Cibenda village in West Bandung regency on Sunday after torrential rain reportedly poured over the area for around two hours. (Indonesia-Landslide) - - - - SYDNEY -- Local media repo.....»»
200 brgy workers, children affected by DavNor floods receive assistance
200 brgy workers, children affected by DavNor floods receive assistance.....»»
Xinhua Asia-Pacific news summary at 1600 GMT, March 25
JAKARTA -- One was killed and nine others, including children, went missing after a landslide struck a village in the Indonesian province of West Java on Sunday, a local official said Monday. The disaster took place in Cibenda village in West Bandung regency on Sunday after torrential rain reportedly poured over the area for around two hours. (Indonesia-Landslide) - - - - SYDNEY -- Local media repo.....»»