Tag Archives: Death

Bangkok Bomber Caught on Video

Investigators in the bombing of a shrine in Bangkok, Thailand say they have video showing the suspected bomber leaving the scene of the attack.

The bombing has left 22 people dead and more than 120 injured.  Officials said the death toll is hard to maintain because many of the bodies were dismembered in the blast.

Police say a man in a yellow shirt was shown on video approaching the area with a black backpack that is not shown when he leaves the area.

“It is quite clear that he is the perpetrator in this case,” said Lt. Gen. Prawut Thavornsiri, a spokesman for the Thai national police.

“There are individuals or a group of people in our country who have ill will to the country,” he said. “This is a movement that probably wishes for political gain, and to destroy the economy, destroy tourism, among other things.”

Gen. Prawut said it was obvious from the bomber’s mannerisms that he was a professional.

The bombing site was a major intersection between the shrine and a large shopping mall.  The blast was so powerful that blood was found on the second story of the shopping mall.

Military Troops Brought in to Fight Western Wildfires

With over 100 wildfires burning in Western states, the U.S. military is now training troops to join the fight against them and provide relief to some of the 25,000 firefighters on scene.

The National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) reported that 200 active duty troops will be split into 10 units of 20 men and all deployed to the same fire.  The move marks the first time that active duty military has been called out to fight domestic fires.  The troops will come from 17th Field Artillery Brigade of the 7th Infantry Division at Fort Lewis, Washington.

National Guard troops have already been on the scene at several fires to help firefighters.

Officials in Idaho reported that an elderly woman died and 50 homes were destroyed in a cluster of fires along the Clearwater River.  The “Clearwater Complex” fire has burned more than 50,000 acres of timber & brush.

A spokesman for Clearwater fire command said that they are facing significant shortages and have had requests for reinforcements for ground forces and aircraft returned “UTF” or “unable to fill.”

Currently fourteen major wildfires are impacting Idaho.  Oregon and Washington have more than 30 large fires and have totaled the highest property losses from the flames.

At least 32 homes were destroyed in fires burning in north-central Washington near the resort town of Chelan.

Ten Killed in Ukrainian Violence

Ten people are dead in eastern Ukraine after pro-Russian rebels opened fire on government forces and buildings.

The attacks by the Russian proxies killed two Ukrainian soldiers and eight civilians.

“We really strongly condemn this escalation of fighting and we call all sides to cease it and to observe the ceasefire,” European Commission spokeswoman Catherine Ray told journalists in Brussels.

Ukrainian military officials say that pro-Russian forces are continually violating the cease-fire agreed to in the Minsk II accord.

“This war looks like a war of attrition,” Gen. Viktor Muzhenko, the chief of staff of Ukraine’s armed forces, told the Wall Street Journal. “It’s Russia’s intent to demoralize our forces, and using that mechanism they want to influence Ukraine’s military leadership as well as the state leadership.”

The United Nations says the conflict in Ukraine has killed over 6,000 people since April 2014.  At least 1.4 million people have been forced to leave their homes.

Rain Could Release Cyanide into Air after Tianjin Explosion

Environmental officials are warning the deaths from the explosion at the port of Tianjin may not end with the dousing of the fires that are still burning.

There are now fears that rain could release poisonous hydrogen cyanide into the air in the event of a heavy rain.  Also, more explosions could be possible as many of the chemicals still at the site violently explode when they come into contact with water.

“If there is rain, it will produce hydrogen cyanide, so we are monitoring it closely,” Bao Jingling, chief engineer for the Tianjin Environmental Protection Bureau told NBC News.  He added the nation’s anti-chemical warfare military divisions are on site.

Scientists also have admitted that they have found sodium cyanide in the waters of Bohai Bay.  Local officials say that they learned over 700 tons of sodium cyanide was stored at the site, 70 times the legal limit and that the chemicals had not been reported to Chinese customs officials.

The government has cleared a 1.8 mile area of the city with over 6,000 families forced from their homes.

The death toll from the blast has officially reached 114 and local rescuers say at least 90 people are still reported missing including many firefighters.  One firefighter told the NY Times that he doesn’t know the fate of 25 men from his brigade and “no one told [his crew] the fire involved chemicals.”

Some fire experts are speculating that the water from the hoses of the fire crews came into contact with explosive chemicals, causing the massive second explosion that had the force of 21 tons of TNT.

A 40-year-old man was found alive in the debris on Saturday and is hospitalized.  Thousands are now homeless because of the fire’s impact on surrounding buildings.

The city’s residents have taken to the streets to demand the government buy out their homes so they can begin a new life.  They say the toxins from the explosion are likely much worse than the government will admit.

Chinese Firefighter Rescued After Being Trapped 32 Hours

In what might be the only good news to come out of the massive explosion at a Chinese port late Wednesday, a lone firefighter was found alive after 32 hours of being classified as “missing” by Chinese authorities.

The 19-year-old firefighter, Zhou Ti, was quickly rushed to a local hospital where it was reported he has significant injuries to his face, chest and feet.  Fire officials said that they are continuing to search for other missing fire personnel.

“Forces from all sides are searching for the (remaining) missing firefighters,” Tianjin Fire Department head Zhou Tian said at a news conference Friday, according to The Associated Press.

Chinese government officials confirmed that 56 people have died because of the explosion including 21 firefighters.  Over 700 remain hospitalized because of blast related injuries.

Western officials are now asking if the firefighters contributed to the intensity of the explosions because many of the chemicals reportedly stored at the site react with water to form explosive compounds.

David Leggett, a chemical safety expert, told Reuters that calcium carbide reacts with water to form acetylene, a highly explosive gas.  That could have ignited ammonium nitrate that was stored at the facility. (By comparison, ammonium nitrate and acetylene were used by terrorist Timothy McVeigh in the Oklahoma City bombing.)

“In my mind, the presence of ammonium nitrate makes it easier to explain the level of devastation,” he told the news agency.

Heat Wave Sets Records in Germany; More Deaths in Egypt

The death toll in the Middle East heat wave continues to climb.

Egyptian officials say that 76 people are now confirmed dead because of the extreme heat which reached 116 degrees in some parts of the country.  State media said that 21 people died from heatstroke on Tuesday.

Over 1,200 people are hospitalized with heat related illnesses.

The heat outside is also causing the heat to rise in the arena of socio-political problems within the Middle Eastern nation.

“It is highlighting the huge gap that exists between classes in the region in general and specifically in countries that are not as rich as the Gulf countries. So in Egypt, for example, it is dividing the classes further,” Ziad Akl, a senior researcher at the Cairo-based Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, told VOA.  He said that the rich remain inside with air conditioners while the poor have no choice but to use locations like public fountains.

In Iraq, the heat is causing people to short out electrical systems in attempts to keep cool.

“Last week most Iraqi areas were left without electricity for almost three days,” Suadad al-Salhy, a freelance journalist who covers Iraq for Middle East Eye said to VOA.

The heat wave is moving north from the Middle East into Europe causing electrical grid disruptions.

Poland’s national electric supplier cut power to factories for several hours Monday to try and keep the grid from total failure.  The heat combined with extended dry weather has reduced water levels to rivers that cool the nation’s power plants.

Wroclaw, Poland saw an all-time record high of 102 degrees.  The average high for that area is 72 degrees.

Germany tied its all time record high with a mark of 104.5 in Kitzingen.  It was the second time in a month the city had hit the 104.5 mark.

At least 19 cities in the Czech Republic have also tied or topped all-time heat records.

Chinese City Rocked by Massive Explosion

A massive explosion ripped through parts of the Chinese city of Tianjin Wednesday causing at least 300 reported injuries and seven deaths.

“The hospital cannot count how many patients we have received – there are too many of them and many of them have burn injuries,” an unidentified doctor told the London Guardian newspaper.  He said that doctors who had been in Beijing for a conference are being rushed back to the community because of the amount of injured.

The Chinese Seismological Network reported two major explosions, the first equivalent to the detonation of 3 tons of dynamite and the second which took place 30 seconds later equivalent to 21 tons of dynamite.

China’s state broadcaster, CCTV, reported that the explosions took place at a container port where flammable material was being stored.  The initial blast also triggered secondary blasts that residents reported feeling similar to earthquake tremors.

The blasts shattered windows and in some cases blew apart fish tanks in homes of nearby residents.

Chinese Public Security Ministry released information that they initially were called to the scene because of a fire and that the explosions took place after they arrived on the scene.  At least four firefighters are injured and two have been reported to have “lost contact” with Ministry officials.

Middle East Heatwave Kills 42 in Egypt

A heatwave scorching Egypt has left 42 people dead.

Egyptian officials said 21 people died on Sunday and 19 more died on Monday.  They added most of the dead were elderly people although they confirmed one German national, patients at a psychiatric hospital and some prisoners also died from the heat.

Temperatures in parts of the northern half of the country reached 120 and in the lower part of the nation topped 115.   The capital city of Cairo hit 105.

The heatwave has also caused power outages.  The Cairo subway was shut down due to power loss and many neighborhoods are getting one hour of power a day.

The heat wave is also causing problems in other nations.

In Beirut, Lebanon, which is on the Mediterranean coast, temperatures are in the 90’s but with 50% or greater humidity the conditions are almost unbearable.

“We had electricity from 3am to 6am last night, and the power comes on one hour during the day,” said Hasan, who lives in Beirut’s southern suburbs, where power cuts have been especially dire during the heatwave. “Officials sit in their offices with electricity.”

On Friday, the heat and humidity in Bandar Mahshahr, Iran, combined to give a feeling of a temperature of 165.

“That was one of the most incredible temperature observations I have ever seen and it is one of the most extreme readings ever in the world,” said AccuWeather Meteorologist Anthony Sagliani in a statement.

At Least 28 Dead from Typhoon Soudelor

Officials in China and Taiwan report that at least 28 people have been confirmed dead as a result of Typhoon Soudelor.  The death toll has been steadily rising since the storm roared through Taiwan into mainland China.

Taiwanese officials say that six people are confirmed dead including a mother and her twin daughters who were swept out to sea.  At least 379 people were injured by the storm and over four million homes were without power, a record for most homes without power at one time.

Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported the storm’s heavy rains caused mudslides which buried homes in the Wenzhou and Lishui areas.

Some areas reported 27 inches of rain in a 24 hour period, the most for that area in over 120 years according to state media.

Damage to crops from the storm is estimated at $644 million with overall damage estimated at $1.43 billion.

The western Pacific has experienced ten typhoons this year.

Second California Firefighter Killed Fighting Wildfires

A second firefighter is dead in the battle against multiple wildfires raging through drought-stricken California.

Michael Hallenbeck, 21, died from injuries sustained when he was struck by a falling tree while fighting a fire in the Lake Tahoe area.  Cal Fire reported that Hallenbeck was struck by the tree during the crew’s initial attack on the fire south of the Echo Summit mountain pass.

“The grief we are feeling at the sudden loss of two of our firefighters … reminds us of the sacrifices these men and women make every day,” said Randy Moore, the agency’s Pacific Southwest regional forester.

Cal Fire reports over 10,000 firefighters are currently fighting 18 wildfires in the state.

The largest fire, the Rocky Fire, has burned over 109 square miles including 43 homes, 53 outbuildings and 8 other buildings.  Cal Fire says the fire is 85% contained as of Sunday evening.

Some of the firefighters fighting the Rocky Fire have moved to fight a nearby fire outside the community of Lower Lake.  The flames are threatening the Jerusalem Valley, forcing the evacuation of hundreds of residents who had just returned Thursday from a forced evacuation due to the Rocky Fire.

Cal Fire Capt. Joe Fletcher said the two fires will likely merge.