India probes suspected human trafficking after 276 nationals return home
Ahmedabad, India Reuters India has launched an investigation into how 303 Indians ended up on a chartered flight that was grounded in France last week because of suspected human trafficking, authorities in the western Indian state of Gujarat said on Wednesday. Tipped off by an anonymous informant, French authorities on Friday prevented the plane from […]
Cyclone Biparjoy damages power lines, uproots trees as it makes India landfall
Mandvi, India/Karachi, Pakistan Reuters Strong winds, heavy rain and high tides lashed India’s Gujarat coast late on Thursday as cyclone Biparjoy made landfall after authorities there and in neighbouring Pakistan had evacuated more than 180,000 people to safety. Deserted coastal towns were battered in the dark in parts of Gujarat as power went out after […]
India, Pakistan brace for fast approaching cyclone
Mandvi, India/Karachi, PakistanReuters Authorities in India’s western state of Gujarat evacuated more than 75,000 people from vulnerable coastal communities with cyclone Biparjoy expected to whirl in from the Arabian Sea and make landfall by Thursday evening. Early on Thursday, the storm, classified as a very severe cyclone, was centred 180 kilometres off Jakhau port in […]
Seven die as cyclone barrels towards western India, Pakistan
Ahmedabad/Mumbai, India Reuters Four boys drowned in rough seas off the western Indian financial hub of Mumbai on Tuesday as India and Pakistan began evacuating people from coastal areas, two days before a cyclone is expected to make landfall. Classified as a very severe cyclonic storm, Biparjoy is expected to land around Thursday evening between […]
Broken wires, faulty renovation caused deadly India bridge collapse, probe finds
Ahmedabad, India Reuters Broken corroded wires, improper welding and changes to the walking surface of a 145-year-old hanging bridge in India contributed to its collapse last year that killed 135 people, an investigation has found. The colonial-era suspension bridge in the town of Morbi in the western state of Gujarat was packed with sightseers when it collapsed […]
India bridge collapse toll jumps to 134, could rise further
Ahmedabad, IndiaReuters The death toll from a suspension bridge collapse in India rose to 134 on Monday and officials fear the number could grow as authorities opened a criminal case into one of the deadliest accidents in the country in the past 10 years. The colonial-era footbridge over the Machhu River in the centre of […]
More than 80 killed in India as bridge packed with holiday sightseers collapses
Ahmedabad, India Reuters At least 81 people were killed in the western Indian state of Gujarat on Sunday when a footbridge packed with sightseers enjoying holiday festivities collapsed and plunged them into the river below. Reuters TV footage showed dozens of people clinging onto the cables and twisted remains of the bridge over the Machhu […]
Scores missing at sea as cyclone pummels Indian coast, killing at least 29
Ahmedabad, India Reuters The Indian Navy mounted a massive air and sea rescue mission on Tuesday for 79 oil workers and crew whose barge sank in heavy seas following a powerful cyclone that tore up the west coast killing at least 29 people. Around 182 of those on board the barge, which sank off the […]
Updated: India’s Gujarat state evacuates over 200,000 people as cyclone hits
Updated: 9.05amAhmedabad, IndiaReuters More than 200,000 people were evacuated from their homes in the Indian state of Gujarat and authorities shut ports and major airports as the most powerful cyclone in more than two decades made landfall in the state late on Monday. Rain intensified and several incidents of power outages were reported in the state. […]
India’s Gujarat state land grabbing law hurting women, poor
Thomson Reuters Foundation A new law to curb illegal land occupation in the western Indian state of Gujarat is hurting the urban poor, women and lower-caste Dalits, land rights groups said on Wednesday, with thousands facing eviction and loss of their livelihoods. Under the Gujarat Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Act, enacted in December, anyone found to […]