Passengers unharmed as plane skids off runway Killer floods sweep through Indian state
Worst in a century, scores left dead and thousands in camps
THOUSANDS of air travellers faced delays yesterday after a Chinese airliner skidded off the runway at the airport in the Philippine capital Manila, disrupting more than 200 flights as authorities struggled to remove the damaged plane.
All 157 passengers and eight crew aboard the Xiamen Air Boeing 737-800 were unharmed after the accident late on Thursday, according to the airline and airport officials.
The main runway at Manila’s international airport would remain closed until 5am today to allow for more time to remove the plane, authorities said.
Some 112 international and domestic flights were cancelled and 118 flights delayed.
The disruptions led to chaotic scenes at the Philippines’ biggest airport, as travellers waited in queues outside the terminals and check-in desks.
Several passengers expressed their dismay on Facebook.
“This is very unfortunate for us who booked the hotel and tours,” said Steph Iligan. “It can’t be cancelled/refunded.”
Images of the plane – operated by Xiamen Air, a subsidiary of China Southern Airlines – showed it next to an airport perimeter fence with the left wing touching the ground.
Efforts to remove the 43-tonne plane proved difficult, prompting authorities to bring in two cranes to try to lift it.
The plane “misapproached” on its first attempt to land and lost contact with the control tower on the second, when it skidded off the runway after touching down, said Ed Monreal, general manager at Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
“We offer no excuses, just a promise to bring flight operations back to normalcy by tomorrow using all our internal resources and if needed, employ outside resources notwithstanding the cost it will entail,” Monreal said. – Reuters THE worst floods in a century in the Indian state of Kerala have killed 164 people and forced more than 200 000 into relief camps, officials said, with more misery expected as heavy rain pushed water levels higher.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was due to have visited the south-west state later yesterday and its chief minister said he was hoping that the military could step up help for the rescue effort, which is already using dozens of helicopters and hundreds of boats.
“I spoke to the defence minister this (yesterday) morning and asked for more helicopters,” Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told a news conference in the state capital, Thiruvananthapuram, adding that he planned to send 11 more helicopters to the worsthit places.
“In some areas, airlifting is the only option as thousands are marooned,” said Vijayan.
The floods began nine days ago and Vijayan said 164 people had been killed – some in landslides – with about 223 000 people forced into 1 568 relief camps.
A Reuters journalist on board a relief helicopter in Chengannur town in the south of the state said people stranded on rooftops were seen waving desperately at navy aircraft.
“The town looked like an island dotted with houses and cars submerged in muddy flood waters and downed coconut trees,” said the journalist.
Helicopters dropped food and water in metal baskets and airlifted at least four people, including a 3-year-old child, from roofs.
Elsewhere, a man with a cast on his leg was seen lying on the roof of a church as he awaited rescue.
Anil Vasudevan, the head of the Kerala health disaster response wing, said his department had geared up to handle the needs of victims.
“We’ve deployed adequate doctors and staff and provided all essential medicines in the relief camps, where the evacuees will be housed,” he said.
But a big worry was what happens after the floodwaters ease.
People going home will be susceptible to water-borne diseases, Vasudevan said.
“We are making elaborate arrangements to deal with that,” he said.
Kerala is a major destination for both domestic and foreign tourists.
The airport in its main commercial city of Kochi has been flooded and it has suspended operations until August 26 with flights being diverted to two other airports in the state. Rail and road traffic has also been disrupted in many places.
“Water levels continue to overflow on track and surpassing danger level of bridges at different places,” Southern Railway said, adding that it had cancelled more than a dozen trains passing through Kerala.
The office of the chief minister said heavy rain was still falling in some places yesterday. More showers are expected over the weekend.
Modi said on Twitter that he would travel to Kerala “to take stock of the unfortunate situation”.
Kerala has been hit with 37% more rainfall than normal since the beginning of this monsoon, the Meteorological Department said.
Some plantations have also been inundated. The state is a major producer of rubber, tea, coffee and spices such as black pepper and cardamom.
“It’s very scary. I can still see people on their roofs waiting to be rescued,” said George Valy, a rubber dealer in Kottayam town. – Reuters THE WORLD Health Organization says at least 1 500 people have been potentially exposed to the deadly Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s North Kivu region, where insecurity prevents aid workers from reaching some areas.
The WHO expected more people to become infected and could not be sure it had identified all chains by which the virus is spreading in the eastern part of the country, which is beset by militia violence.
In this outbreak, there were 78 confirmed and probable cases and 44 deaths. – Reuters POLICE in China have detained a man who asked on social media what law prevented anyone calling self-ruled Taiwan a country, questioning a fundamental principle of China’s sovereignty.
Taiwan is China’s most sensitive diplomatic and political issue. Beijing views the democratic island as merely a wayward province and it has stepped up a campaign against the island.
Police in Maanshan said an 18-year-old man had used his Weibo account to post questions on a police site. – Reuters