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An Indian submarine caught fire after an explosion in a Mumbai dockyard killing the navy personnel, India’s defense minister has said.
The submarine caught fire after an explosion in a Mumbai dockyard
AK Antony said he felt “sad about those navy personnel who lost their lives”. Earlier reports said at least 18 sailors were feared trapped.
The blast on the INS Sindhurakshak took place after midnight and firefighters spent four hours putting out the fire.
Officials said the diesel-powered vessel was badly damaged.
It remains partly submerged at its berth.
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At least fourteen people have been injured due to malfunctioning fireworks at an annual 4th of July show in Simi Valley, northwest of Los Angeles.
Police Cmdr. John Parks said a detonation occurred about 9:20 p.m. Thursday at the city-run Fireworks Extravaganza located at Rancho Santa Susana Community Center and Park in Simi Valley.
It wasn’t clear how many people were in attendance but John Parks said the event usually attracts several thousand revelers.
At least 14 people have been injured due to malfunctioning fireworks at an annual 4th of July show in Simi Valley, northwest of Los Angeles
Jordan Roberts, a public safety dispatcher with the Ventura County Fire Department, said more than a dozen people were being taken to area hospitals with minor to moderate injuries.
Emergency medical and fire personnel were already at the park to monitor the fireworks show, so the victims were attended too quickly.
No other details were immediately made available.
After the blast, the park was evacuated but aerial footage showed dozens of people lingering on the outskirts of the scene and near the triage area set up on the grass.
Simi Valley is about 40 miles northwest of Los Angeles.
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A car bomb has exploded outside the French embassy in the Libyan capital Tripoli, wounding two guards and causing extensive damage.
The blast completely destroyed the embassy’s reception area and parts of neighboring homes.
One official told Reuters news agency: “We think it was a booby-trapped car.”
An investigation is under way into what French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius called an “odious act”.
A car bomb has exploded outside the French embassy in the Libyan capital Tripoli, wounding two guards and causing extensive damage
Laurent Fabius said French officials were working with the Libyan authorities to identify those responsible.
The explosion happened shortly after 07:00 in a smart, residential area of Tripoli.
The blast took place in a small side street, causing extensive damage to the buildings and parked cars.
Diplomatic missions in Libya have been attacked in the past, the most notable being the US consulate in the eastern city of Benghazi in September 2012 that led to the death of its ambassador Christopher Stevens and three Americans.
This is the first major attack on a foreign embassy in the Libyan capital, observers say.
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A man accompanied by his child has captured the moment of the huge explosion at West Fertilizer plant in Texas, just yards away from the blast.
The explosion at the fertilizer plant at 7:50 p.m. (CST) on Wednesday has reportedly left many people dead, hundreds injured and caused a nursing home to collapse, trapping residents inside.
An unidentified resident in small town West had parked his car to observe the fire at the plant earlier in the night and was filming the structure as it was engulfed in flames.
All of a sudden, something sparked a massive blast, causing flames to shoot into the sky, rocking the family’s car as the terrified father and child tried to scramble to safety.
“Daddy, I can’t hear,” the child screamed out after the explosion.
A man accompanied by his child has captured the moment of the huge explosion at West Fertilizer plant in Texas
“Get out of here. Please get out of here. Daddy, please get out of here,” the child kept repeating in the terrifying audio.
When the short YouTube clip began, the father was filming the large fire that was burning several hundred yards away at the plant.
He sounds relatively calm as he observes the direction of the wind and its strength.
For about 30 seconds, he captures the burning structure but is totally unaware for the danger that awaits.
Suddenly a massive blast occurs and footage shows flames exploding into the sky and toward the direction of the family’s car.
Shaken by the explosion, the father scrambles to turn his car around and drive in the opposite direction.
The child is heard pleading with the father to leave and get to safety.
There is no information on the identity of the man or the status of the family.
Texas Governor Rick Perry tweeted: “Thoughts and prayers with everyone in West, TX. Thx to all the first responders on the scene.”
West, Texas is located 20 miles north of the town of Waco and 40 miles north of the small community of Crawford, where former president George W. Bush has a ranch.
The town, that has a population of 2,600, is actually located in the central part of the Lone Star state. It is 70 miles south of Dallas.
The community of Waco is mobilizing to respond, as many of the victims have been transported to nearby hospitals.
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Up to 15 people are thought to have been killed by the huge explosion at West fertilizer plant near Waco, Texas.
More than 160 people were injured as dozens of homes and buildings were destroyed in the evening blast that witnesses said was “like a tornado”.
Emergency services are still going from home to home trying to find survivors.
A number of firefighters were tackling a blaze at the scene when the explosion happened, and are still missing.
The explosion happened at West Fertilizer on the edge of West, a town of about 2,700 people some 20 miles north of Waco.
Sgt. William Swanton of the Waco police department said he could not give an accurate figure of the number of people killed in the explosion – but estimated between five and 15.
But with a search still going on, other officials suggested the final toll could be significantly higher.
Up to 15 people are thought to have been killed by the huge explosion at West fertilizer plant near Waco, Texas
Sgt. William Swanton said at least 160 people had been treated at various hospitals.
He said the blast site was being treated as a crime scene – but this was procedural and he had “no indications this was anything other than an accidental fire”.
Emergency services officials said ammonia may have caused the explosion.
It has been reported the company had 54,000 lbs (20 tonnes) of anhydrous ammonia on site.
Police earlier said the half the town had been evacuated, amid fears of possible further explosions or a leak of toxic gas – though at his press conference just before 06:00 local time, Sgt. William Swanton said he did not believe there was a threat from air quality.
The West Fertilizer plant is right on the edge of town, only a few hundred metres from houses, a school and nursing home.
Several witnesses describe rushing to the nursing home to help residents, only to find it flattened – though it appears many people had already been evacuated because the fire was recognized as an explosion risk.
TV images showed streams of emergency vehicles descending on the site and ambulance crews using a nearby sports field as an emergency treatment area. The injured were being carried to hospital not just in ambulances but in police squad cars and helicopters.
Glenn A. Robinson, chief executive of Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center in Waco, told CNN the hospital was seeing “everything from orthopaedic injuries to patients that are experiencing serious blood loss”.
McLennan County Sheriff Parnell McNamara said: “It’s a lot of devastation. I’ve never seen anything like this. It looks like a war zone with all the debris.”
Witness Debby Marak told the Associated Press news agency that she had seen smoke coming from the area near the plant and had driven over to see what was happening.
She said that when she arrived, two boys ran towards her screaming that the authorities had told them to leave because the fertilizer plant was going to explode.
Debby Marak said she drove a short distance before the blast happened.
“It was like being in a tornado,” she said.
“Stuff was flying everywhere. It blew out my windshield. It was like the whole earth shook.”
Another resident told KWTX-TV that she heard several explosions from 13 miles away.
The Dallas Morning News reported that West Fertilizer had told the Environmental Protection Agency that it presented no risk of fire or explosion.
The newspaper said it had seen documents in which the plant said it stored large amounts of anhydrous ammonia, but the worst scenario envisaged was a release of ammonia gas that would harm no-one.
The explosion came almost on the anniversary of another ammonia explosion disaster in Texas.
On April 16, 1947, a fire on a ship loaded with ammonium nitrate set off a series of explosions in the port of Texas City, and fires that burned for days. More than 500 people were killed and more than 1,000 buildings damaged in what remains the deadliest industrial accident in US history.
What is anhydrous ammonia?
- Commonly used as fertilizer, injected into the soil
- Must be stored in high pressure tanks
- Produces poisonous vapor cloud on exposure to water
- Forms explosive mixture when combined with air
- Can cause severe burns to skin in concentrated form
Source: US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
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A huge explosion at a fertilizer plant near Waco, Texas, has left 60 people feared dead, more than 100 injured and caused multiple buildings to be flattened.
The blast at the plant in West, close to Waco, at 7.50 p.m. (CST) on Wednesday left fires burning as a three-mile radius around the blast zone was evacuated amid fears of a secondary explosion.
Six or seven fire crew are unaccounted for following the blast. Firefighters, many of whom are volunteers in West, were unable to battle the blaze at present because of the extreme danger.
Several buildings are still on fire, after the blast at the West Fertilizer plant.
An official confirmed there were deaths, but could not give a figure.
Dean Wilson, of the Texas Department of Public Safety, said during a press conference at midnight that it will be some time before authorities know the full extent of the loss of life and damage, adding that they were still conducting house to house searches.
The blast at the plant in West, close to Waco, at 7.50 p.m. (CST) on Wednesday left fires burning as a three-mile radius around the blast zone was evacuated amid fears of a secondary explosion
He said the fire was still smoldering and that no firefighters were tackling it as there was the risk of further explosions.
Half the town had been evacuated, Dean Wilson added.
The Waco Tribune-Herald reported that firefighters had been trying to put out a fire at the plant when the explosion happened, and that some were among those injured.
The blast happened in West, a town of about 2,700 people some 20 miles north of Waco.
TV images showed streams of emergency vehicles descending on the site and ambulance crews using a nearby sports field as an emergency treatment area.
Glenn A Robinson, chief executive of Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center in Waco, told CNN that his hospital had received 66 injured people including 38 who were seriously hurt.
He said the hospital was seeing “everything from orthopaedic injuries to patients that are experiencing serious blood loss”.
McLennan County Sheriff Parnell McNamara said: “It’s a lot of devastation. I’ve never seen anything like this. It looks like a war zone with all the debris.”
Unconfirmed reports said a nursing home had collapsed in the explosion and some people were believed trapped inside.
Witness Debby Marak told the Associated Press news agency that she had seen smoke coming from the area near the plant and had driven over to see what was happening.
She said that when she arrived, two boys ran toward her screaming that the authorities had told them to leave because the fertilizer plant was going to explode.
The air in town was still covered in acrid smoke more than two hours after the explosion.
The area around the site was littered with shards of wood, bricks and glass.
Texas Governor Rick Perry said in a statement: “We are monitoring developments and gathering information as details continue to emerge about this incident.
“We have also mobilized state resources to help local authorities. Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of West, and the first responders on the scene.”
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At least one person has been killed in a blast outside the US embassy in the Turkish capital, Ankara, with reports that it was a suicide bomber.
Dozens of ambulances and fire engines rushed to the scene after the explosion, in an area which is home to diplomatic missions.
According to Turkish broadcaster NTV, the explosion caused no damage inside the embassy itself.
There were no reports of any group saying it had carried out the attack.
The AP news agency quoted police as saying two people had been killed in a suicide attack and NTV said two security guards at the entrance had died.
A number of illegal groups ranging from Kurdish separatists to leftist and Islamist militants have launched attacks in recent years in Turkey, which is a member of NATO.
At least one person has been killed in a blast outside the US embassy in the Turkish capital, Ankara, with reports that it was a suicide bomber
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At least 25 people were killed by a blast in Mexico City at the headquarters of the state oil company, Pemex, the interior minister has said.
Another 100 people were injured and an unknown number are trapped in rubble at the base of the 54-storey tower. The search for survivors continues.
The cause of the blast is under investigation, Pemex says.
Last September, 30 people died in an explosion at a Pemex gas plant in northern Mexico.
Thursday’s explosion in the lower floors of the building happened as shifts were changing in the afternoon, making the area particularly crowded.
Television pictures showed debris from the blast spread out on to the street in front of the building, and Red Cross ambulances on the scene attending to the injured.
Hundreds of rescuers helped by dogs are searching the building for around 30 people thought to be trapped inside.
Police have cordoned off the streets around the building, which is located in a busy commercial area of Mexico City.
Pemex says its operations will continue to run normally – and commercial and financial obligations will continue to be met – despite the blast.
The company’s chief executive, Emilio Lozoya Austin, cut short a business trip to Asia and was on his way back to Mexico, a Pemex statement said.
At least 25 people were killed by a blast in Mexico City at the headquarters of the state oil company, Pemex
Relatives of employees have gathered outside the building in search of information about their loved ones, local media report. Some are said to have tried to reach employees on their mobile phones but have had no reply.
“The place shook, we lost power and suddenly there was debris everywhere. Colleagues were helping us out of the building,” eyewitness Cristian Obele said.
“We were talking and all of sudden we heard an explosion with white smoke and glass falling from the windows,” another witness said.
“People started running from the building covered in dust. A lot of pieces were flying.”
Images of the blast posted on Twitter revealed large clouds of smoke billowing from the building. TV footage showed people being transported from the scene by helicopters.
President Enrique Pena Nieto and Mexico City Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera headed to the scene of the blast.
Enrique Pena Nieto said Pemex rescue and security teams were working alongside city authorities to help the injured.
“I am deeply sorry for the deaths of our fellow workers at Pemex. My condolences to their relatives,” President Enrique Pena Nieto said on Twitter.
“At the moment, the priority is to help the injured and protect the physical safety of those who work there.”
The president said he has ordered an investigation into the causes of the blast.
Earlier on Thursday, Pemex had reported problems with the electricity in the building in a message on Twitter.
It later confirmed that an explosion had taken place “in the B2 building of the administrative centre”.
Plaster had fallen from the ceiling of the basement and the situation was “delicate”, a spokesman for local emergency services was quoted by the Reuters news agency as saying.
Pemex has experienced a number of fatal accidents in recent years.
Last September’s deadly blast at a gas plant near the northern town of Reynosa is thought to have been caused by a build-up of gas.
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A powerful explosion has rocked the eastern Turkish city of Tunceli and killed at least seven people, local media reports.
The blast targeted a military vehicle, security sources told Reuters news agency.
Turkish media are reporting that seven people have been killed.
A powerful explosion has rocked the eastern Turkish city of Tunceli and killed at least seven people
The city is near the country’s Kurdish area and suspicion will automatically fall upon Kurdish rebel group the PKK.
Fighting between Turkish troops and the PKK has escalated in recent months.
Turkish TV stations showed shaky footage of workers trying to put out fires in two burnt-out vehicles.
Reports said the vehicles were blown up by remote detonation.
At least 25 soldiers have been killed and four others have been wounded during an explosion at an ammunition store in Turkey, the military says.
The blast happened on Wednesday night at a military storage for hand grenades in the western province of Afyon.
Environment Minister Veysel Eroglu said the explosion was most likely caused by an accident and he ruled out a terrorist attack.
It is thought many of the soldiers were trapped inside the building as firefighters tackled the huge blaze.
Rescuers found it difficult to reach the soldiers because hand grenades lay strewn around the area, reports said.
The blast happened on Wednesday night at a military storage for hand grenades in the western province of Afyon
Identification of those killed at the scene was impossible because of the force of the explosion, Hurriyet newspaper said.
A large fire burned at the complex for several hours and emergency services had difficulty responding to the incident because of the high security in place.
The wounded have been sent to a military hospital for treatment.
On hearing the blast, witnesses described residents in the provincial capital, Afyonkarahisar, taking to the streets believing an earthquake had struck.
“It was probably caused after a hand grenade was dropped,” Veysel Eroglu told reporters.
The soldiers’ deaths come at a time of heightened activity by the Turkish military.
Turkish warplanes have reportedly carried out strikes against Kurdish position in the south-east near the border with the Syria.
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Ten people have been wounded in an explosion that badly damaged a police bus in Istanbul, Turkey, police say.
The blast, reportedly a bomb, happened near the offices of the ruling Justice and Development party.
Five of the wounded were police officers who had been on duty at a nearby business association building.
Istanbul police chief Huseyin Capkin said the explosion had been detonated by remote control.
“It appears that it [the bomb] went off as a police vehicle with 21 officers inside passed by,” Huseyin Capkin said.
None of the injuries was said to be serious.
Witnesses told Turkish TV that the explosives may have been carried on a motorcycle.
Forensic teams began searching the scene shortly afterwards. No group has admitted carrying out the attack although TV reports linked the blast to an attack on a bus stop last year in which eight people were hurt.
Kurdish rebels were blamed for that blast.
An explosion has hit an Israeli diplomat’s car outside the country’s embassy in Delhi, India, injuring one diplomat.
Police in Delhi said they were investigating “an incident” but could not confirm an attack had taken place.
The Israeli embassy in London said there had also been an attempted attack on a diplomat in Tbilisi, Georgia, but an explosive device had not gone off.
Israel’s Delhi embassy is defended by several layers of security.
David Goldfarb, the spokesman for Israel’s Delhi embassy, said the diplomat’s car was outside the embassy on Aurangzeb Road in central Delhi when the explosion went off.
He said they had no details as to who could have been behind it and the police have not given them any further information.
Indian TV showed pictures of a burning car outside Israel’s Delhi embassy.
In later images, the fire was extinguished and the car could be seen burnt out.
An explosion has hit an Israeli diplomat's car outside the country's embassy in Delhi, India, injuring one diplomat
The embassy is guarded by several layers of security and is in a well-defended area of central Delhi close to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s official residence.
Israel’s foreign ministry has condemned the attack and said that Israel had the ability to track down those who carried it out.
Police had cordoned off the scene. Forensic experts and members of the bomb disposal unit were examining the car.
Officials in Georgia said an explosive device was attached to the bottom of a diplomat’s car in the capital, Tbilisi, but was found and defused before it detonated.
An explosion near a secondary school killed three people, injured at least other 15 and set several vehicles on fire in the Turkish capital, Ankara, on Tuesday.
It was not immediately clear what caused the blast in the downtown Kizilay district but a deputy prime minister said a bomb was suspected.
According to Besir Atalay, Turkey’s deputy prime minister, there was “information that a bomb was planted” on a vehicle.
Five of the injured people are in critical condition, Besir Atalay said.
The explosion killed three people, injured at least other 15 and set several vehicles on fire in Ankara
The vehicle detonated across from the district governor’s office and about 200 meters (650 feet) from Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s office.
“I’ve learned that people who haven’t got any sense of humanity terrorized civilians and carried out an attack in Ankara,” President Abdullah Gul said in televised comments from Germany, where he is on a state visit.
“I strongly and vehemently curse this act of terrorism.”
Thick smoke could be seen rising from the central commercial area of Kizilay.
According to local mayor, Bulent Tanik, an eyewitness saw one person throwing a burning gas canister on to the vehicles from a nearby building.
“The investigation is under way,” Bulent Tanik said. “If true, that canister might have triggered the blast of a liquefied petroleum gas tank on a vehicle.”
The blast was powerful enough to destroy six cars and shatter windows in Kizilay, which is surrounded by government ministries. One of the vehicles was totally burnt down, television images showed.
Interior Minister Idris Naim Sahin said the initial blast, in an LPG-fueled car, triggered five other similar vehicles on the street to explode. The first car to detonate was sold September 13 and the transaction hadn’t yet been completed, he said.
IdrisNaim Sahin said it was “highly likely to be a terrorist attack”. Kurdish, leftist and Islamic militants have carried out bomb attacks in Turkey in the past.
Interior minister said the attackers wanted to target as many people as possible, because the street where the blast occurred was normally very busy.
A fire broke out but was quickly contained by firefighters. Several vehicles were damaged and windows were blown out in nearby buildings.
Television images showed several parked cars ablaze in front of a local state authority’s offices.
The area was quickly evacuated, for fear of further explosions and to allow ambulances to take away the casualties.
One person was detained in connection with the blast, said a policeman, who declined to be identified because he wasn’t authorized to speak on the matter. Hurriyet newspaper reported that two people were taken into custody, citing unidentified police officials
There have been several bomb attacks in Turkey’s main cities in recent years, many blamed on the Kurdish insurgent movement, the PKK.
However the last big attack in Ankara four years ago, which killed nine and injured 120, was blamed by police investigators on a lone, leftist suicide bomber.
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Two people have been killed and other 10 have been injured after an explosion rocked the centre of the Turkish capital, Ankara.
The cause of the explosion remains unclear.
Thick smoke could be seen rising from the commercial area of Kizilay in central Ankara.
Two people have been killed and other 10 have been injured after an explosion rocked the centre of the Turkish capital, Ankara
A fire started briefly, but was quickly contained by firefighters, reports say.
Several vehicles were damaged and the glass in the windows of nearby buildings shattered, TV reports.
TV footages showed several parked cars ablaze in front of a local state authority’s offices.
Police have cordoned off the area. A bomb squad was also deployed to the location of the blast, reports say.
The injured people are said to have been taken to a city hospital.
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