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Sunday, December 14, 2008

Mark Vinar, an Australian climber from Perth, has been presumed dead after falling over half a kilometre from New Zealand’s highest peak, Aoraki/Mount Cook. He is said to have lost his footing whilst descending the Zurbriggen Ridge.

His brother, Miles Vinar, was rescued by an alpine rescue team after being stranded for two days on a ridge on the mountain and airlifted by helicopter to Plateau Hut in Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park on early morning Saturday.

Guides at Plateau Hut became concerned for the two brothers on Friday, when the latter did not return as was scheduled.

Police reports say that the two brothers were descending the ridge, with Miles Vinar going first: “Miles had to climb down using an ice pick and crampons. He instructed Mark about it, but for some reason Mark lost his footing and fell backwards and started rolling. He went behind some rocks, then appeared again rolling down the hill. He went down about 500 metres and then disappeared,” said Omarama police constable Les Andrew, adding that Miles was certain that it was poor that he was obliged to take cover in the snow and wait for rescue.

“There is no sign of the missing climber and it is presumed he has either fallen into a crevasse and become buried, or has been buried under snow and ice debris,” stated the New Zealand Department of Conservation, adding that there had been thirty centimetres of fresh snow.

Mark Vinar is the seventieth person to die on Mt Cook in a century, as well as the ninth to die on Zurbriggen Ridge. This is the second death on the mountain in only eight days: Kiyoshi Ikenouchi, a Japanese climber, died after being stranded on Mt Cook for a week, just hours before help arrived.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Around 2500 tonnes of oil were spilled into the Strait of Singapore today after two ships collided.

The two ships involved in the collision were the oil tanker MT Bunga Kelana 3 and the bulk ship MV Wally, which collided around thirteen kilometers south of Singapore. The tanker received an estimated ten meter gash on its left side, while the bulk ship sustained only minor damage. After the incident, both ships moved away from the spill and are now anchored.

The oil slick has moved north, and is now now encompassing an estimated four square kilometers around six kilometers south of Singapore. Emergency teams from both Singapore and Malaysia have been mobilized, and around twenty vessels are taking part in the clean-up operations. Both containment booms and chemical dispersants are being used to clean up the oil.

The spill is not expected to have any major effects on shipping; Victor Shum, an official from a consulting firm in Singapore, said that “[i]f it is contained within an oil retaining booms, it may not disrupt shipping traffic. There is no comparison. That one has really no limit at this stage.” Shum also expressed environmental concerns, saying that “certainly the concerns are there. Even if it is contained, it will take some time to clean up.”

No crew members from either of the ships involved were reported to be injured.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

A dead body was left in a ward in Stobhill Hospital, Glasgow, Scotland for seven hours before it was removed.

Christine Martin, who saw the body, said that although there were curtains around the body, they “were open sufficiently for me to see this man, whom we had got to know over a period of 10 days, lying dead, face uncovered.”

Officials from the hospital have apologized for having allowed the incident to occur. The son of the dead man said that the hospital acted with “utter compassion” when permitting his request to see his father’s dead body in the ward.

National Health Service Greater Glasgow and Clyde said in a statement that, “we have acknowledged to the Martins that, beyond this, there was some delay in the transfer of the patient to the mortuary and steps have already been taken to ensure that this does not happen again.”

The Royal College of Nursing also released a statement on this incident. “The normal practice if someone has died in a four-bedded ward is to access a single room where the deceased could be viewed by the family and the family can have some time with the relative, and for that to be done in as dignified manner as possible,” said Lynn McDowall, a professional officer for the organization. “This case highlights the campaign we’re running and highlights the kind of problems nurses come across, because no nurse would want a deceased patient lying on a ward for seven hours.”

Saturday, September 22, 2007

The Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office said yesterday that pop music super-star Britney Spears was facing charges for a hit and run offence and driving without a valid drivers’ license.

Charges were filed following an accident in which police allege Spears smashed her car into another vehicle in a parking area in August of 2007.

She could face a maximum of six months in jail and US$2,000 in fines if convicted.

A group of paparazzi recorded a video Britney steering her car into another vehicle on August 6 as she tried to pull into a parking spot in a Studio City lot.

Kim Robard-Rifkin was the owner of the other car and she filed a police report three days after the accident. The 59-year-old nurse found out that it was Spears who ran into her car after watching a video on a celebrity website.

Robard-Rifkin said, “I simply want my car fixed, the same as I would fix somebody’s car if I had done that.”

Spears will be arraigned on October 10.

Monday, February 8, 2010

A man from the Naperville, Illinois, United States area has been accused of allegedly threatening to kill his ex-girlfriend and her current boyfriend via messages posted on her Facebook account. 

Nineteen-year-old Christopher J. Bensfield was arrested Jan. 28 at his home in unincorporated DuPage County near the far west-central part of Naperville. He is being held on a $12,500 bond at the DuPage County Jail in Wheaton. He is scheduled to appear at the DuPage County Circuit Court on a felony charge of harassment via electronic communication. Police Sergeant Gregg Bell said the ex-girlfriend, a Naperville-resident, asked Bensfield to stop sending the messages many times before she submitted printed copies of the threatening messages to Naperville police.

Court records indicate Bensfield is already on probation after pleading guilty last September to possession of a controlled substance. He was arrested in August 2008 after disobeying a stop sign in Naperville. Police searched his car and found marijuana and drug paraphernalia. This was the third time Benfield had been arrested for having marijuana since April 2007, when drugs were found in his possession at Naperville Central High School. Last October, a judge issued a fine and required him to join the DuPage County Sheriff’s Work Alternative Program. He has also received five tickets within three months in 2008 for driving violations, including speeding, driving without insurance, transportation of an open alcohol container, and driving too fast for conditions.

Bensfield’s mother also has an order of protection against him. Ms. Bensfield stated that he asked her for money in late December; he then broke into her home in Naperville’s far southeast-side, punching holes in the walls and breaking various items before leaving. Christopher was arrested Dec. 29 and faced a misdemeanor charge of criminal damage to property. He “suffers from bipolar disorder and has not been taking his medication,” according to information the Naperville Daily Herald has received from Ms. Bensfield.

Saturday, July 9, 2005

After a press conference in London from the Metropolitan Police and Transport for London, more details are emerging about the attacks in London on Thursday.

Data from the Underground system’s power and control systems have revealed that all three bombs went off within 50 seconds of each other, at 8.50am, with the managing director of Transport for London, Tim O’Toole saying the bombs went “bang bang bang, very close together”.

The first bomb to detonate was on the Liverpool Street train soon after it left for Aldgate on the Circle line, seconds before the others. The blast tripped out the power system, visible in the control room. The first call the police received that morning reported “a bang” at Aldgate East, coming within a minute of the blast.

The Edgware Road train, leaving for Paddington and also on the Circle, exploded opposite a train coming from the other direction, making people think at first that it was a derailment. The first call to the Police spoke not of an explosion, but of a person falling under the wheels of the train. The confirmation of a bomb did not come until 9.17am, but by that time the emergency services were already on scene.

Transport for London’s new TrackerNet software is fully opertational on the Circle line, which allows for precise tracking of trains, but is not yet fully installed on the Piccadilly line. The first indication of the Piccadilly line bomb was when the tunnel telephone system wires were cut by the blast, an event logged by other software. The cutting of the lines then tripped out the track current. The tunnel itself suffered only slight damage and is safe, but the train – which was packed with commuters heading for Russell Square – is very badly damaged.

London Underground declared a ‘code Amber’ within minutes, moving trains to platforms and opening all doors. A ‘code Red’ – full evacuation – was set at around 9.15am. O’Toole described the decision to evacuate as being “very grave, not taken lightly”. When questioned as to whether everything possible had been done on the day to save lives, the managing director of Transport for London was “very proud” of the choices made that morning.

As investigations continue, all bodies have been removed from the sub-surface Circle line trains, but the carriages themselves are still in situ while a painstaking forensic investigation takes place.

Currently, work is on-going to retrieve bodies and forensic evidence from the carriage of the train in the deep tunnel of the Piccadilly line near King’s Cross. Teams of rescue workers looking for human remains are working alongside forensics experts in a “meticulous” search to find evidence.

Conditions are described as being very difficult, with high temperatures and lots of dust. Work was halted over Friday night when conditions became too bad, and resumed this morning. Efforts have been made to improve the ventilation.

Work will continue throughout tonight and possibly into Sunday. The exact number of bodies still in the wrecked carriage is unknown.

Access from King’s Cross is impossible, so workers are taking the longer route from Russell Square station to get to the front of the train.

Police have revealed that the bombs were ‘high explosives’ – not homemade. However they are declining to be specific about their composition as the information could be useful when they interrogate suspects.

Police will not confirm or deny if any parts of a timer have been found, but have said that “any device will now be in a million pieces”. Police believe the use of timers more likely than suicide bombings as the blasts were so closely timed, but are not ruling out anything.

Thursday, July 13, 2006

As many as eight people have been injured after two cable cars collided at the Nevis Range near Fort William in Scotland.

Two RAF helicopters, an air ambulance, four ambulance crews, police, fire brigade and a mountain rescue team are among those present. Police have confirmed that three people have been injured, including one child. Injuries include broken legs, head and chest injuries. The Scottish Ambulance Service have reported that up to seven people had been thrown on to the hillside. A reporter at the scene said one car near the top of the mountain had slid down a cable, hitting another and then one of the cars fell to the ground.

Northern Constabulary have stated “It’s understood that two gondolas would appeared to have collided and a number of casualties have been reported. The local mountain rescue team, Inverness helimed and other air support are in attendance to remove casualties”.

The Doppelmayr gondola system is made up of eighty six-seat closed cabins running on a continuous 4.6km steel cable.