At least nine injured in a hot air balloon crash on the edge of the Alps in Austria

The accident to the hot air balloon happened in the Bucklige Welt region known for its hilly landscape. Its location is about 53 miles south of the capital Vienna. Nine people suffered injuries after a hot air balloon crashed on the eastern edge of the Alps in Austria. Emergency services rushed to the scene of the accident. Initial reports mention about serious injuries to two of the passengers. The injured people scattered in different locations. Two were in the rural town of Untereck and five others with minor injuries were about three miles away near Stang. Moreover, a couple of seriously hurt people were airlifted by helicopter to local hospitals. The cause of the crash remains unclear but according to an Austria newspaper, the crash happened as the balloon was about to land on a meadow. Hot air balloon crash in the Austrian Alps leaves nine hurt. It seems the balloon descended at a fast rate and bounced off the ground. That knocked four people including the pilot and co-pilot out of the basket. The momentum dragged four of them along for a distance before the aircraft took off again with the five remaining passengers.

While in the air, the pilot apparently instructed the passengers by phone on how to make an emergency landing by phone. The balloon finally halted in a forest. Incidentally, there have been earlier instances of accidents to hot air balloons. In June last year, five people died after a gust of wind blew the hot air balloon into a power line. This happened in New Mexico, US. The pilot and three passengers were declared dead at the scene of the tragedy and the fifth person died after being rushed to hospital with serious injuries. Later, in July 2020 there was an accident in Germany. It happened in the city of Wesel, 35 miles north of Dusseldorf when a plane collided with the balloon which crashed into an apartment block.

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Helicopter crash kills six pilgrims on their way to Mata Vaishno Devi

In a tragic air disaster, a helicopter ferrying pilgrims to Mata Baishno Devi temple crashed in Reasi district and six pilgrims with the pilot were killed. The helicopter belonged to the Himalayan Heli Services and the services have, since been suspended pending investigations.
This has been reported in zeenews.india.com dated 23 November 2015.
The weather on ground was fine at the time of the incident and, the ill-fated helicopter had taken off from Sanjhichhat helipad (in Trikuta hills) near the shrine. It was supposed to land at the Katra Bus Stand helipad when it crashed in the mountain area.

Those on board the helicopter have been identified and the chopper caught fire immediately on crashing on the mountainside. Authorities from police and civil administration including the district magistrate and the district police chief, rushed to the crash spot immediately after receiving the news.

(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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Beijing has inaugurated its dial-a-copter scheme. It is a trial helicopter hailing service and has been jointly launched by a Chinese general aviation operator and China`s biggest taxi hailing platform. It has reportedly proved to be a great hit over the weekend.
This has been reported in zeenews.india.com dated 18 May 2015.

It seems over 10,000 applicants had signed-up for the helicopter service using Didi Kuaidi`s platform, but only 100 managed to hail a ride. It was a three-day trial run from May 15 and, while many did sign up, it was not possible to accommodate all of them.
The itinerary of the trip was a 230-Km Beijing-Tianjin round trip in a Bell-429 helicopter. The fare was 3,500 yuan ($560) per person, and the round trip to suburban Yanxi Lake was billed at 1,999 yuan ($321).
Incidentally, such a helicopter leisure flight is a new concept in China because, here, the military controls most of the airspace and the operators would have to apply for regulatory approval for tours one day in advance.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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#cannabisfarms #drugraid The police of New Zealand has located nearly 2000 to 2500 cannabis plants through air surveillance and have succeeded in preventing $200,000 worth of cannabis from hitting the streets. It was a part of the annual drug raid.
This has been reported in nzherald.co.nz dated 21 March 2015.
The operation involved 18 hours searching for crops on a Royal New Zealand Air Force helicopter. Most of the plants we well concealed behind houses to major bush areas and appeared to be very well hidden.
The search covered areas from Waitati to Middlemarch to Southland and the Otago Peninsula and the searchers made use of tips from the public and spotting the plots from the air to discover the plants. Those who grow cannabis want to mint money and are not bothered as to whether it goes to 13-year-olds or to 35-year-olds.
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Missing AirAsia Flight 8501 - US sending destroyer to join search operations

#AirAsia #Flight 8501 #JavaSea #Airbus #USSSampson AirAsia Flight 8501, an Airbus A320-200 with 162 people on board vanished after seeking permission to climb above threatening clouds – permission was denied and possibilities of the Boeing crashing into the Java Sea cannot be ruled out especially when there are reports of oil slicks having been noticed.
It seems one of the pilots had sought permission to climb from 32,000 feet (9,754 meters) to 38,000 feet (11,582 meters) because of the weather. It was a two-hour journey from Surabaya, Indonesia, to Singapore.
A U.S. destroyer is therefore on its way to the Java Sea to join the search for the AirAsia jet that was on a scheduled flight from Indonesia to Singapore over the weekend.
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The probable location based on the plane's last known coordinates appears that the aircraft "is at the bottom of the sea" – this has been informed by Indonesia search-and-rescue chief Henry Bambang Soelistyo. However, searchers have plans to expand their efforts to the land as well.
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Malaysia flooding forces PM Najib Razak to cut short his Hawaii vacation

#NajibRazak #Kelantan #Malaysia #floods #2004Tsunami Malaysia is facing some of the worst floods in decades along its east coast and there are reports of at least five deaths. The Kelantan state is the worst hit and over 100,000 people have been forced out from their homes.
Prime Minister Najib Razak has returned early from holiday in Hawaii in the US where he was shown playing golf with US President Barack Obama. The Prime Minister would be visiting the worst-hit areas of northern Kelantan state.
It is not unusual for the eastern states to be flooded during the monsoon season, but this time around, there was heavier rain and stronger winds that have made things worse for the people. But, as per the Malaysian government, this flooding is the worst in more than 30 years with entire towns submerged in some of the areas. Rescue workers are working overtime and struggling to bring in enough food and supplies for families that are in relief centers.
In the opinion of weather forecasters, there would be no respite for north-eastern states of Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang. This Northeastern peninsula of Malaysia is worst affected. It is regularly hit by flooding during the annual Northeast Monsoon, but this year's rains have been particularly bad.
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