'Imagine hanging from a thin steel cable under a helicopter with certain death staring at you below, being pulled up slowly in the din and downwash of the helicopter.' IAF Veteran Air Commodore Nitin Sathe, a helicopter pilot himself, reports on how the air force rescued those trapped in the Deoghar cable cars disaster last fortnight.
Indian rescue personnel are being lauded for their compassion and expertise in assisting with the recovery efforts in earthquake-stricken Mandalay, Myanmar. The story of a Muslim family resisting initial attempts to recover a deceased loved one from the rubble, ultimately accepting the help of Indian rescuers who preserved the dignity of the woman's final posture in prayer, highlights the sensitivity and skill of the Indian team. The NDRF has rescued around 30 bodies and is working tirelessly in different locations, including the historic U Hla Thein monastery and Ganga Ghat Hindu Temple, where many are still missing. The Indian Army has also set up a field hospital, treating over 200 patients, and providing food to earthquake victims.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat said saving lives and extending all help to the families of the deceased is the state government's priority.
The cyclone is expected to make landfall on Thursday evening as a 'very severe cyclonic storm' with maximum wind speed reaching up to 150 kilometres per hour, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
Glimpses of the preparations in Odisha and West Bengal for Cyclone Dana which is expected to make landfall between October 24 and 25.
National security advisor Ajit Doval on Friday suggested that various central armed police forces of the country should have "jointness" and interoperability among themselves like the ongoing plan for the defence forces.
What happened in Bengaluru is a wake-up call, no celebration of sport should ever come at the cost of human life, asserts veteran cricket correspondent K R Nayar.
They said the incident occurred around 4 am when a 150-metre-long portion of the four-and-a-half-kilometer-long tunnel collapsed.
An alert has been sounded across Assam as cyclone 'Mahasen' is likely to hit the northeastern states on Thursday night, officials have said. All boats and ferry services on Brahmaputra have been closed for the next three days and fishermen have been directed not to venture out to the river.
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 India meteorological department on Sunday issued an 'orange' alert for Gujarat, saying the state was expected to receive "heavy to very heavy rainfall" on July 24.
The uncontrollable fire has so far burned over 70 sq km in three areas: Palisades, west of Los Angeles; Eaton, north of Pasadena and San Fernando Valley.
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 construction of a Bailey bridge to connect the landslide-hit areas, where several people are believed to be stranded, alongside the deployment of sniffer dogs and over 1,000 rescuers from Central and state emergency response teams conducting massive search operations, constitutes one of the largest rescue efforts in the Wayanad, devastated by a deadly calamity.
The administration is geared up for more showers as the India meteorological department has warned of heavy to very heavy rains with isolated extremely heavy rains in several districts of the state till Thursday morning.
The government declared Monday (Dec 4) a public holiday and urged private companies to encourage 'work from home' option for its employees in Chennai, Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram and Chengalpattu districts.
More than 11,000 personnel of various agencies including Gujarat Police, NSG, RAF, and home guards among others will be deployed in Ahmedabad and at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad during the India-Pakistan World Cup cricket match on October 14, a senior officer said on Monday.
Landslides triggered by incessant rain snapped rail and road links, an official bulletin said.
All efforts should be on relief, restoration and rehabilitation, Nadda told reporters in Shimla after visiting the rain-affected areas of Poanta in Sirmaur and Shimla town.
The police said the child was shifted to a hospital in Indi where he was given preliminary treatment and was later shifted to a district hospital. He is currently stated to be stable, they said.
Heavy downpour continued in various parts of Gujarat on Tuesday and six people died in rain-related incidents in the last 24 hours, raising the toll to 69 since June 1, officials said.
The home minister will also review the preparation for the annual Amarnath pilgrimage set to start on June 29.
The weather office has forecast intense spells of rain at isolated places in Nainital, Champawat, Pithoragarh, Bageshwar, Dehradun, Tehri and Pauri districts on Sunday.
The IMD also issued a red alert in the same 10 districts for August 3 also.
The flood situation in Assam deteriorated drastically on Thursday with one person losing his life and nearly five lakh people reeling under the deluge across 12 districts, an official bulletin said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday reviewed the preparedness to deal with the situation arising out of the likely formation of Cyclone Jawad that is expected to hit the North Andhra Pradesh-Odisha coast and directed officials to take every possible measure to ensure that people are safely evacuated.
Another woman from Malda district said that her son was killed in the accident.
According to the home ministry's National Emergency Response Centre, 138 people have died in Maharashtra, 125 in Kerala, 116 in West Bengal, 52 in Gujarat and 34 in Assam due to the floods and rains.
While incessant rain in the past 24 hours has wreaked havoc in parts of the northeast, triggering flash floods, the national capital experienced one of its hottest days.
Our men are deputed in the dedicated control rooms of states so that we are on the same page with the local authority in terms of the information, work and tasking, he added.
Nine more people have died as heavy rains lashed Uttar Pradesh for the third day, taking the death toll to 28, while a red alert has been sounded on Tuesday in six districts including the worst-hit Barabanki and Gonda.
The cyclone ravaged adjacent coasts of the state and Bangladesh between Sagar Island and Khepupara, near the southwest of Mongla in the neighbouring country, after its landfall process began at 8.30 pm on Sunday.
The labourers have been trapped since Sunday morning when a part of the tunnel collapsed following a landslide.
India needs another shot of difficult reform, of the kind only possible at gunpoint. Mr Trump holds that gun to our heads now. A drastic reduction in tariff protection, other elements of sarkari wet-nursing will force entrepreneurial India to become competitive again, argues Shekhar Gupta.
As severe cyclonic storm 'Remal' initiated its landfall process between the coasts of Bangladesh and adjoining West Bengal on Sunday evening, authorities took swift action, evacuating over 1 lakh people from vulnerable areas of the state to safety.
As Cyclone Dana barrels toward the coasts of Odisha, threatening to impact nearly half of the state's population, the government is racing against time to execute a massive evacuation plan aimed at relocating about 10 lakh people in several coastal districts to safety. In West Bengal, the cyclone is set to bring heavy rainfall in several southern West Bengal districts, including Kolkata, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said.
Boring through the rubble of the collapsed Silkyara tunnel was put on hold again on Thursday apparently after cracks appeared in the platform on which the drilling machine rests, in a fresh hurdle to the rescue of 41 workers trapped inside for 11 days.
Rain-related incidents claimed nine more lives in Gujarat, taking the death toll to 16 in two days, while another 8,500 people were relocated and rescued from flood-affected areas with rains continuing to lash some parts of the state for the fourth consecutive day on Wednesday, officials said.
Several kutcha houses, temporary shades were destroyed, while hundreds of trees and many electrical poles were uprooted and roofs of some structures were blown away by the storm.
According to IMD, the cyclonic storm weakened into a 'deep depression' at 11:30 pm on Friday over Southeast Pakistan.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances