Though no peripheral burning is taking place at the moment at the well's site at Baghjan, the company has declared an area up to 1.5 km radius as "red zone" to avoid any untoward incident and harm to the general public.
In view of the widespread rains and 'red alert' for extremely heavy showers issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) for several districts, control rooms are working round the clock to monitor the situation and help stranded people, he said.
The owner and the coordinator of a coaching centre where three civil services aspirants died due to rain-induced flooding in the basement were arrested on Sunday even as protests erupted in the area over the incident.
In one of the worst natural disasters in Kerala, at least 123 persons were killed and 128 injured in massive landslides triggered by torrential rains in Wayanad on Tuesday. With hundreds trapped under the debris, sparking fears of mounting fatalities, rescue agencies were racing against time to pull out any survivors.
The intensity was measured 7 on the Japanese scale -- which ranges from zero to seven -- on the Noto Peninsula, Ishikawa Prefecture, according to NHK.
An overloaded boat carrying 38 people capsized on Sunday close to the 'Pavitra Sangamam'.
Heavy rains continued to pound Chennai and nearby districts on Monday under the impact of a cyclonic storm, which is likely to cross the coast in Andhra Pradesh on December 5.
Odisha is bracing for heavy rainfall early next week under the impact of a possible cyclone in the Bay of Bengal, which is likely to skirt the state and move towards West Bengal and Bangladesh, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Friday.
We the people are left in the wind, waiting on the whims of an unengaged president and an oligarch with a nearly bottomless wallet, observes Sree Sreenivasan.
Witnesses and media have reported that smokes were still coming out from the sight despite claims by the fire fighters to have douse the fire.
'It is very likely to move nearly northwards for next few hour and recurve slowly north-northeastwards along Narsapur, Yanam, Kakinada, Tuni and Visakhapatnam coasts during noon to evening on Wednesday and emerge into west central Bay of Bengal off North Andhra Pradesh coasts by night,' the India Meteorological Department said in its national bulletin.
In the last 24 hours, eight people have died after drowning in flood waters -- two each in Barpeta and Karimganj districts, one each in Darrang, Hailakandi, Nalbari and Sonitpur districts and eight people are still missing.
Local train services came to a halt between Badlapur and Ambarnath section in Maharashtra's Thane district adjoining Mumbai due to water-logging on railway tracks after heavy rains, officials said.
All 12 who had been buried under the rubble while repairing a drain adjoining it at the Jal Vayu Vihar in Sector 21 around 10 am were labourers.
'Yaas' is likely to cross the Odisha-West Bengal coasts between Paradip and Sagar Islands around noon on May 26 as a very severe cyclonic storm with wind speeds of 155-165 kmph, Kolkata's Regional Meteorological Centre Deputy Director Sanjib Bandopadhyay said.
In just 10 days, the city received 864.5 mm rain, which is nearly equal to what it gets in an entire month.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee visited the building collapse site at Azan Molla Lane in the city's western periphery and assured local residents of stern action against illegal construction.
Police said around 15 people were rescued and shifted to Acharya Bhikshu hospital. Of them, seven died and four people, who were critical, have been shifted to Safdarjung hospital. A few more persons are feared trapped under the debris, they said.
Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik had on Tuesday sent a letter to the Election Commission requesting withdrawal of the MCC from all coastal districts to make it easier for the government to handle the impending cyclonic storm "Fani" in the state.
The state government asked the local administration to shift people from low-lying areas in Vadodara if needed as water entered into houses in several localities.
The world organisation said UN humanitarians and partners were working hard to assist the people of Bangladesh and India suffering from the impact of the cyclone, which made landfall on Wednesday, wreaking havoc, causing high tidal surges, flooding and embankments to collapse.
Three of those killed were charred beyond recognition, an official said.
The two firefighters had gone missing after the well caught fire on Tuesday and their bodies were recovered by a National Disaster Relief Force team on Wednesday morning, said Oil India Spokesperson Tridiv Hazarika.
An ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh, including an immediate relief of Rs 50,000, was announced by the collector for the kin of the deceased.
"The death toll has gone up to 24. The search operations are still going on. However, rains have started. "Despite that, our officials, and the NDRF are engaged in search and rescue operations," Idukki District Collector H Dineshan said.
Six teams of the National Disaster Response Force are being deployed in four coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh as cyclonic storm 'Helen' is expected to cross the Bay of Bengal coast near Kavali on Thursday evening.
The IMD has also issued a red-coded warning alert to the Odisha and West Bengal coasts.
Recent statistics show that the situation is no different across the country with several hospitals lacking the infrastructure to manage a breakout of a blaze.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Tuesday gave away a total sum of Rs 98 lakh as relief to families of 14 persons killed in the June 28 building collapse near suburban Porur.
State pegs total loss due to rains at Rs 8,481 crore.
Under its impact, rains will start on Sunday night and gradually increase on Monday in the northern districts of Chennai, Tiruvallur and Kancheepuram, S Balachandran, Director, Area Cyclone Warning Centre, said.
All existing emergency numbers will be phased out within a year of rolling out 112, depending upon the awareness about this new facility.
The cyclonic depression may have crossed the Tamil Nadu coast on Thursday evening, but the state continues to be battered by heavy rains.
As the low-pressure area in the south-eastern Arabian Sea intensified into a severe depression on Friday, heavy rains lashed many parts of Kerala and huge tidal waves started hitting low-lying coastal areas.
Incessant showers lashed Mumbai and its neighbouring areas on Wednesday morning, leading to flooding in many low-lying areas and traffic snarls on roads.
According to the SRC, the evacuation of eight lakh people is the largest-ever evacuation operation in the country.
Fires are blazing across Jammu and Kashmir, the state of Uttarakhand and have reached the doorstep of Himachal Pradesh's capital city Shimla.
The India Meteorological Department on Friday predicted that Delhi will likely receive light to moderate rain accompanied by thunderstorms for the next 4-5 days.
With Tamil Nadu hit by floods, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday spoke to Chief Minister Jayalalithaa and assured her all possible support and cooperation from the Centre.
Uttar Pradesh's police helpline recently got a strange call when an elderly person made an 'urgent request' for rasogullas. The cop who answered the phone thought it was a prank. But when a volunteer delivered the sweets in Lucknow's Hazratganj, it was found that the man in his 80s really needed them.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances