British Indian family in freak Iceland crash, 3 dead
London, Dec 28: Seven members of a UK-based Indian-origin family were involved in a freak accident in Iceland when their SUV crashed off a bridge on Thursday, killing two women and a child.
Four others, including two British Indian brothers and two young children, remain in critical condition after being airlifted to a hospital in Iceland's capital Reykjavik.
The family was reportedly on holiday in the Nordic island country when their hired Toyota Land Cruiser slammed through a railing while crossing a high single-lane bridge at Skeidararsandur, a vast sand plain in the southern part of the country.
Icelandic Police have only identified the victims as British, with their names to be released on formal identification.
Local media reports have named the deceased women as sisters-in-law Rajshree and Khushboo Laturia and an infant girl.
Rajshree's husband, Shreeraj, and his brother Supreme remain in hospital with two young children.
The Indian Ambassador to Iceland, T Armstrong Changsan, visited the injured at Landspitali hospital, where he spoke to hospital staff and the chaplain before contacting family members in India.
He confirmed that three people died, one of them a young child, and said the other family members were in a "stable" condition in hospital on Thursday night.
"It is a very tragic case. A group of close family friends have arrived from London to be by their side and their brother and parents from Maharashtra are organising their travel from India," he told PTI.
"The Indian embassy is trying to expedite the travel arrangements and we remain in constant touch with the local authorities," he said.
He later issued a message on Twitter thanking Iceland President, Gudni Th. Johannesson, for his call to convey his "deepest condolences".
"Icelandic authorities have assured visa on arrival for relatives from India," he said.
The holidaymakers from the UK included two couples in their thirties and three children, aged around 10 months old, eight and nine. While the youngest girl was killed on the spot, the other children remain in hospital.
According to local reports, the two adults killed in the crash were the wives of the two British Indian brothers.
Chief Superintendent of South Iceland Police Sveinn Kristjan Runarsso confirmed the four survivors have been taken to hospital with serious injuries and that "we haven't been able to talk to them about what happened".
The crash site was described as "horrifying" by tour guide Adolf Erlingsson, who was among the first on the scene with two police officers.
"The car was totally smashed up after flying off the bridge and plunging down there," he told Icelandic radio station Bylgjan.
"The car seemed to have hit the ground many metres from where it stopped. We struggled getting everyone out," he said.
Police officers have said that humidity could have made the surface slippery, but it remains unclear what caused the driver to lose control of the vehicle.
Temperatures were around freezing at the time of the accident, which occurred hours before the North Atlantic island saw sunrise at nearly 11.30 am local time.
The vehicle the family were travelling in slammed through a railing while crossing a high single-lane bridge over the Nps river at Skeidararsandur.
The bridge is described as "really narrow" and the vehicle plummeted on to the dry riverbed below and landed on its roof.
Iceland's national ring road, also known as Route 1, is popular among tourists from around the world and the site of the crash was near Skaftafell in the south-east of the country, which is made up of mountains, glaciers, waterfalls and beaches.
Of the 18 people who have died in traffic accidents in Iceland this year, half of them have been foreign nationals.
The UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office said: "We are supporting the family of several British nationals who were involved in a road traffic accident in Iceland and are in close contact with the Icelandic authorities."
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Karnataka govt directs municipal corps to regulate, prohibit pigeon feeding
Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka government has issued directions to municipal corporations across the state to regulate and prohibit feeding pigeons in public places, citing serious public health concerns.
Deputy Secretary to Government V Lakshmikanth has written to the Urban Development Department requesting it to issue directions to the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) and all municipal corporations to take immediate steps to implement the measures.
In an official note dated December 16 issued by the Health and Family Welfare Department and released to the media on Wednesday, the department said uncontrolled feeding of pigeons in public places has resulted in large congregations of birds, excessive droppings and serious health concerns, particularly respiratory illnesses linked to prolonged exposure to pigeon droppings and feathers such as hypersensitivity pneumonitis and other lung diseases.
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"The commissioner, the Greater Bengaluru Authority and the Commissioners and chief officers of other municipal corporations shall take necessary action to mitigate the causes of dangerous disease spread by pigeon and enforce specified guidelines in their respective jurisdiction," the note said.
According to the department, these include a prohibition on feeding pigeons or causing pigeons to be fed in areas where it may cause nuisance or pose a health hazard to the public. Pigeon feeding shall be permitted only in designated areas in a controlled manner, subject to certain conditions.
"The designated areas may be selected in consultation with stakeholders. The responsibility for upkeep of the designated areas and compliance to the directions shall be taken up by some charitable organisation or an NGO. The feeding in designated areas shall be permitted only for some limited hours in the day," it said.
The note further stated that authorised officers of local authorities shall issue on-the-spot warnings and may impose fines for violation of the order, or lodge complaints to prosecute offenders under Sections 271 (Negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) and 272 (Malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
It also directed local authorities to conduct public awareness campaigns, including the display of signboards, banners and digital messages, explaining the health hazards associated with pigeon droppings and feathers, the content of the regulatory directions and penalties for violations, and alternative humane methods of bird conservation that do not endanger public health.
