London chopper crash kills two

Emergency services are responding to reports of a helicopter crash in south London.

• Two dead, including pilot, in London chopper crash
• Aircraft hit crane atop tower building in morning rush hour
• Street aflame and cars burnt out in dreadful scenes

LONDONERS have told how they feared a terror attack as a helicopter spun from the sky and crashed near the MI6 building in an accident that has killed two people.

Emergency services were called to the scene near the River Thames at Wandsworth Road South Lambeth about 8am local time, after reports an aircraft hit a construction crane atop a new luxury housing development.

Witnesses said the helicopter appeared to clip a crane in heavy fog and cartwheeled to the road below on top of busy peak-hour traffic. The crash caused a fire to one side of the building.

Metropolitan Police commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe said there were 11 casualties, including two dead, one person critically ill, and others "less seriously injured".

A helicopter has crashed close to Vauxhall train station in central London during the morning rush hour.

One of the dead is the helicopter's pilot, Captain Pete Barnes, 50, who was one of the most experienced pilots in the United Kingdom, The Telegraph reports.

With 25 years experience, Captain Barnes had logged more than 10,500 flying hours and was highly regarded among his peers for his skill and professionalism.

Dramatic footage shot on mobile phone by bystanders showed a ferocious fire on the street as aviation fuel ignited.

Steve Heard posted this image of the scene on Twitter: "Helicopter Crash in Vauxhall Waterloo and Vauxhall stations now closed. #Chaos" Picture: @steveheard82/Twitter

A pall of smoke hung over the city, initially sparking fears an aircraft had gone down in a terror attack as the M16 intelligence building is a few metres away. The rumour was fuelled on social media.

But The Met Police quickly issued a bulletin confirming the accident was not terror related.

The busy London Heliport at Battersea is nearby and it is not clear whether the helicopter was coming or going.

Wayne Courtney posted this image of the crash on Twitter. Picture: @waynieboy75/ Twitter

Australian Patrick Gartland was cycling to work when the chopper crashed and he told Sky News that he and another cyclist took cover in a nearby bus shelter for up to 15 minutes as debris rained down.

"The helicopter was ablaze to the right of us," said the former Melbourne resident who moved to UK seven years ago.

"Watching the helicopter cartwheel down and the first realisation there's people in the helicopter and they're not going to survive," Mr Gartland said, relaying what went through his mind during the ordeal.

See the dramatic events unfold from ground level after a helicopter crashed on a busy London street.

"And then you watch the helicopter crash and explode and then you're snapped back into reality with construction workers yelling for people to take cover and you realise `I need to get away from this and protect my own safety.

"Your instincts kick in a little. Once we were under the safety of the bus shelter and you realise you're out of immediate danger, you start realising the gravity of what you've just witnessed."

One witness, Sarah-Beth Casey, who lives in a nearby apartment said that "you're always worried about things like 9/11".

Twitter user Tom posted this image of the fire on the road in Vauxhall with this caption: "Sh**ts gone down in vauxhall." Picture:@tim_avis/Twitter

"When I heard the explosion, it was like a little earthquake. I looked up to see debris falling off the tower," she said.

Allen Crosbie, site manager for the landscape firm Maylim company, who was working at the scene, said the explosion convinced him and others that London was being attacked.

"I was 100 per cent sure it was a terrorist attack," he said.

Nic Walker posted this image of the crash site on Twitter: "The remains of the helicopter fuel. It ditched into the building on the left." Picture: @Nic0/Twitter

"There was debris everywhere, a tonne of black smoke. Parts of the crane, parts of the helicopter. I heard bang, bang, bang - I presume it was the helicopter hitting the crane and then the ground. People were just panicking. Everyone thought it was a terrorist attack."

He and everyone just ran for their lives, he said.

Another witness, Erin Rogers, was waiting for a bus at Vauxhall station when she saw the crash.

The unrecognisable wreckage of the helicopter is cordoned off. (AP Photo/ Lewis Whyld)

"It was a bit surreal actually," she said.

"I just had a coffee in my hand I looked up heard a bang and saw bits of crane debris falling to the floor. Then the helicopter was in flames."

Construction worker Mat Haverson also thought it was a "terror attack". "It was extremely scary," he added.

Twitter user QuinMurray posted this image of the crane that had fallen to the ground: "Part of the crane on the ground by the crash site." Picture: @QuinMurray/Twitter

One of the first firefighters on the scene said it was "absolute chaos", but revealed that the helicopter blaze was extinguished within 20 minutes.

Station Officer Bruce Grain said the helicopter had clipped the crane, spun out of control and crash-landed, hitting several vehicles.

"It burst into flames, which spread to adjacent buildings," he said.

Twitter user QuinMurray posted this image:"Helicopter just hit a crane and crashed a few metres in front of me in vauxhall. Completely shaken." Picture: Twitter/@QuinMurray

"I could see smoke from a mile away. There was absolute chaos. The helicopter was still alight, part of the rotor blade was on the roof of nearby buildings.

"We were aware that the helicopter could have had a full tank of fuel, but we just used water."

Sharon Moore, who lives on the nearby Wyvil Estate, said she saw the aircraft slice through the crane "as if it was a piece of paper".

Debris and a burned out car where the chopper crashed. AFP PHOTO / LEON NEAL

The 36-year-old woman, who was with her nine-year-old daughter Tiah, described hearing four bangs and watching two cars explode.

"My daughter was so traumatised, it was so shocking," she said. "It sounded like a massive explosion, like something whining in the sky and then it just went 'bang'.

"You couldn't see a lot at first because of the fog. The helicopter did not seem to know which way to turn and then it just dropped, it sliced, screeching into the metal.

The damaged crane on St Georges Wharf Tower after a helicopter hit it. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

"I called the police and they got there in seconds. We could then see them trying to pull people out of the cars."

She described seeing what appeared to be body bags.

"We saw someone pulled out and they were covered."

Emergency services at the scene. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

She said the incident was "like something out of an action movie".

"We saw the helicopter falling out of the sky, loads of smoke as it landed.

"It went bang. Another car went bang. There was lots of smoke and debris."

Remnants of the helicopter which crashed onto a construction crane are seen on the ground.

View Larger Map

The horrific scene unfolded at the height of the morning commute, when thousands of pedestrians were trying to get to work.

William Belsey, 25, a landscape worker at the St. George Wharf Tower, said he heard the helicopter hit the crane.

"First we heard a big crash, looked up, that's when we saw the helicopter coming toward us. We heard an explosion as it hit the ground," he said.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe said he believed the helicopter was being diverted to a nearby heliport when it crashed.

"The top of the crane was actually obscured by fog so I didn't see the impact," witness Michael Gavin told the BBC. "But I heard a bang and saw the body of the helicopter falling to the ground along with pieces of the crane and then a large plume of smoke afterwards."

The area, roughly 10 blocks from the major Waterloo train and Underground station, is extremely congested during the morning rush hour. Many commuters arrive at the main line stations from London's southern suburbs and transfer to buses or trains there.

Aviation expert Chris Yates said that weather may have played a role. Investigators also would look at whether the crane had navigation lights.

"The question then becomes whether the pilot was fit," Mr Yates said. 

23.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Filmmaker accused of raping actress

Sex crimes against women have been in the spotlight in India after a 23-year-old student was gang-raped and murdered on a bus in New Delhi. An Indian film producer was due to appear in court yesterday after allegedly raping an aspiring actress. Source: AP

AN Indian film producer was due to appear in court yesterday after his arrest for allegedly raping an aspiring actress whom he had promised a role in his next movie, police said.

Ramesh Singh, 49, was detained on Tuesday after the woman complained to police in Mumbai about the alleged sexual assault, according to a police official at Oshiwara police station in the city's north.

"He had promised her a role in his upcoming movie, so he called her to read out the script. He showed her the script and locked the room," said the policeman on condition of anonymity.

"He told her to sit on the bed as there was a 'bed scene' and that's when she got spooked. She ran into the bathroom and locked the door. He broke open the door and she said he then raped her."

The Indian Express said Singh was a Marathi-language film producer, as opposed to working in Hindi-speaking Bollywood which dominates the Mumbai movie industry.

Sexual crimes against Indian women have been in the spotlight over the past month, since a 23-year-old student was gang-raped and murdered on a bus in the capital New Delhi in a case that has shocked the nation.

The crime sparked nationwide protests expressing outrage over the worrying numbers of sexual assaults and calling for tougher laws to punish rapists.

23.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Skytree snow crashes into home below

A large chunk of frozen snow fell from the 634-metre Tokyo Skytree and crashed into the roof of a home below, after the city was blanketed by heavy snowfall. Source: AP

A CHUNK of frozen snow that fell off the world's tallest tower crashed through the roof of a Tokyo home, leaving a 30 centimetre hole, officials said.

A spokeswoman for the 634-metre Tokyo Skytree, which opened last year, said the home was about 100 metres south of the tower.

It was unclear which part of the tower the chunk had fallen from before hitting the roof covering the home's verandah, she said.

"The snow was found splashed over the verandah, but no one was injured," said Skytree spokeswoman Ayumi Kimura, adding the incident happened on Tuesday.

The capital was hammered by an unusually large snowstorm earlier this week, leaving at least two people dead and almost 1600 others injured mainly from car accidents and slipping on icy streets, according to public broadcaster NHK.

People attempt to shield themselves from snow in Tokyo. The unusually large snowstorm earlier this week left two people dead and 1600 injured.

The Tokyo Skytree deployed about 60 security guards on the ground near the steel tower to warn passersby about the possibility of falling ice.

Last year, there were four similar incidents when snow fell off the tower and left holes in the roofs of nearby houses or commercial buildings.

23.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

10,000 displaced by floods in Jakarta

Indonesians wade through a flooded street in Jakarta on Wednesday.
Source: AP

SEVERE flooding following torrential rain has driven almost 10,000 people from their homes in the Indonesian capital, an official said, with two people killed so far in the seasonal chaos.

National disaster management agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said 9374 people had been evacuated to temporary shelters, while a child was among the two victims swept away in the floods Tuesday.

"Days of heavy downpours caused the rivers to overflow and triggered floods up to three metres (10 feet)," he told AFP, adding that rivers in the capital Jakarta had a low capacity to contain the monsoon rain.

Indonesia is regularly afflicted by deadly floods and landslides during its wet season, which lasts around half the year, and many in the capital live beside rivers that periodically overflow.

At least 11 people were killed and seven missing in November after flash floods triggered by heavy rain hit a village on Indonesia's Sulawesi island.

Flooding caused by monsoon rains have forced thousands of people to flee their homes.

A resident takes a look at his flood-hit house in Jakarta.

The National disaster management agency said 9374 people had been evacuated to temporary shelters, while a child was among the two victims swept away in the floods on Tuesday.

23.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

N Korea behind cyberattack on paper

North Korea hackers staged a cyberattack on a the website and news production system of a Seoul newspaper, South Korea said. Above, North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un delivers his New Year's address in Pyongyang. Picture: AFP/KCNA via KNS Source: AFP

SOUTH Korea said North Korea was behind a cyberattack last year against a conservative Seoul newspaper critical of Pyongyang.

North Korean hackers distorted the website of the mass-circulation JoongAng Ilbo newspaper and deleted some data from the paper's news filing and production system last June, the National Police Agency said in a statement.

The paper quickly restored the system and its newspaper production was done without any major problem. A picture of a grinning cat and the words, "Hacked by IsOne," were also posted on the paper's website at the time.

Police said a China-based IP address used in the cyberattack belongs to North Korea's Ministry of Post and Telecommunications.

Police offices said their finding was made after analysing data from the Asia Pacific Network Information Centre, a regional registry service for IP addresses.

An overseas server used in the cyberassault was also found to be the same one North Korea used when launching other types of cyberattacks on South Korea in recent years, the police statement said.

North Korea has denied being behind those previous cyberattacks. It hasn't immediately responded to the latest charge.

Last year's cyberattack came only days after North Korea's military warned that its troops had aimed artillery at the specific coordinates of the JoongAng Ilbo and other media groups over perceived insults on children's festivals in Pyongyang.

Animosity has run high between the Koreas since two attacks blamed on Pyongyang killed 50 South Koreans in 2010.

Last month, North Korea successfully shot a satellite into space on a long-range rocket, a launch South Korea and the US condemned as a banned test of missile technology.

The Korean Peninsula is still technically at war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty.
 

23.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Pippa under fire for joining hunt

Pippa Middleton is under fire for joining a hunting party that killed deer and wild boar. Source: AP

ROYAL in-law Pippa Middleton has again found herself in hot water with news that she joined a shooting party which killed 15 wild animals in Belgium.

The younger sister of Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, was invited to a Gerpinnes property in west Belgium owned by billionaire steel magnate Baron Albert Frere, local newspaper La Capital reported.

The December 1 hunt, organised by the Baron's grandsons, shot six wild boar and nine deer, the report said.

Pippa, 29, was among the 20-strong party, some of whom did not recognise the London party planner and author as she introduced herself as "Phillipa".

"It is sad to see someone in such an influential position indulging in this kind of needless cruelty for their own entertainment," League Against Cruel Sports spokesman Joe Duckworth told British tabloid the Daily Star.

Pippa's level of involvement in the hunt is unknown, but the brunette who shot to stardom after appearing as bridesmaid at her sister's royal wedding to Prince William, is reported by media to be a "keen shot" and has attended such events in the past.

In April 2012 it was a toy firearm that attracted unwanted attention for Pippa.

During that incident, she as was pursued by paparazzi through the streets of Paris, the driver of a convertible in which she was a passenger pointed a what appeared to be a handgun at a photographer.

The gunman, French aristocrat and fashion designer Viscount Arthur de Soultrait, later apologised for the incident, which he said involved a toy gun.

23.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Building collapses with families inside

Egyptians stand in rubble after an eight-storey building collapsed in Alexandria, Egypt. Picture: AP Source: AP

AN eight-storey apartment building has collapsed in Egypt's Mediterranean port city of Alexandria, killing 14 people.

Assistant Interior Minister Abdel-Aziz Tawfeeq said rescue teams were continuing to search for survivors under the rubble. Another eight people are injured, he added.

It was not immediately known what caused the collapse, but violations of building specifications have been blamed in the past for similar accidents. The governor of Alexandria, Mohammed Abbas Atta, told Egypt's official news agency that the building was constructed without a permit.

Alexandria's security chief Abdel-Mawgood Lutfi said the building was constructed five years ago and had 24 apartments.

That the building collapsed early in the day means that most tenants were home, a fact that could contribute to an even higher death toll. Police evacuated residents of two adjacent buildings out of concern that the collapse may have caused structural damage to them.

The collapse is likely to fuel a popular outcry against the administration of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, whose critics say he has failed to carry out reforms and overhaul the nation's deteriorating public services.

It came one day after 19 police conscripts were killed when the last car of the train they were riding on jumped the tracks and smashed into another train. Two months ago, 50 children died when a train rammed into their school bus in southern Egypt. That tragedy also sparked a storm of criticism of Mr Morsi, who took office in June.

The train wreck led to protests on Tuesday at train stations in Cairo, Alexandria and a third city in the Nile Delta. The demonstrators were protesting what they said was official negligence in maintaining and upgrading the country's aging rail network.

Mr Morsi's government has blamed Tuesday's train accident on what officials say is nearly 30 years of corruption and misrule under ousted president Hosni Mubarak.

23.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Angry neighbours chase out lesbians

A lesbian couple who disguised themselves as man and wife to marry have been run out of their Indonesian village. Above, a couple demonstrates in favour of gay marriage in Paris last year. Source: AFP

TWO women who married in Indonesia by disguising themselves as a heterosexual couple have been chased away from their village after neighbours discovered they were lesbians, community members say.

Neighbours raided the couple's home on Batam island near Singapore after growing suspicious that Musdalifa was a woman because he never socialised with other men in the village and the couple always kept to themselves.

"We reject homosexuals here, so last week we raided their house and saw Musdalifa was obviously a woman. She'd been walking around in loose men's clothes," Marlina, 34, told AFP Wednesday.

"We told Musdalifa to leave. They both fled and we haven't seen them since," said Marlina, who goes by one name.

It was discovered that Musdalifa was really a 23-year-old woman named Angga Soetjipto, who married her girlfriend Ninies Ramiluningtyas, 41, earlier this month.

The locals complained to the local Religious Affairs Office, which administers marriages and has reported the case to the Religious Affairs Ministry.

"There was no way we could have known, because they both had all the right documents, including a letter of identification from the village," office head Budi Dharmawan said.

He said the office would consider intensifying customary pre-marriage counselling to ensure illegal marriages do not slip through the net again.

Homosexuality is legal in Indonesia, the world's biggest Muslim-majority nation, though gay marriage is outlawed.

Although the majority of Indonesians practise a moderate form of Islam, the country's sharia stronghold Aceh province has deliberated flogging homosexuals and has forced gay and lesbian couples to separate.

23.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Gun lobby drags Obama's girls into debate

Powerful gun lobby group the NRA has accused US President Barack Obama of being a hypocrite, saying his daughters Malia and Sasha are protected by armed guards but Mr Obama won't put armed guards in all US schools. Source: AFP

GUN lobby group the National Rifle Association have dragged US President Barack Obama's daughters into the debate over armed guards at schools.

In a new ad, the NRA lashed out at Mr Obama, calling him an "elitist hypocrite" for providing armed Secret Service protection to his daughters but baulking at having armed guards in all schools.

In a 35-second video released on its website, the National Rifle Association slammed what it called "protection for their kids, and gun-free zones for ours," amid a heated, nationwide gun control debate in the wake of the deadly school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.

"Are the president's kids more important than yours?" the NRA's narrator asks in a deep voice.

"Then why is he sceptical about putting armed security in our schools when his kids are protected by armed guards at their school? Mr Obama demands the wealthy pay their fair share of taxes, but he's just another elitist hypocrite when it comes to a fair share of security."

In a December interview, Mr Obama said he was "sceptical" about an NRA proposal of placing armed security guards at schools around the country.

Customers line up at the gun counter at Duke's Sport Shop in New Castle, Pennsylvania.

"I am sceptical that the only answer is putting more guns in schools," Mr Obama told NBC television's Meet the Press.

"And I think the vast majority of the American people are sceptical that that somehow is going to solve our problem."

Most Americans - 55 per cent - back the NRA's proposal for armed guards in schools, according to a US ABC News/Washington Post poll out this week.

And 52 per cent of respondents said the shooting in Newtown had made them more supportive of gun control.

Adam Lanza gunned down twenty children aged just six and seven, along with six teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14. Lanza, who shot and killed his mother before his rampage at the school, also took his own life in one of the worst mass shootings in US history.

23.18 | 0 komentar | Read More