Second black box of crashed Chinese plane not found yet, says official media
Beijing (PTI): The second black box of the crashed Chinese passenger plane has yet to be found, official media reported on Friday, retracting an earlier announcement that it has been recovered from the crash site.
The state-run China Daily had reported earlier quoting the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) that the second black box has been recovered.
However, the daily quoted a report by the state-run news agency Xinhua that the second black box had not been found.
The black box could offer vital clues about the crash in which 132 people are feared to have died.
The first black box, stated to be the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) which was recovered earlier, is being decoded at a laboratory in Beijing and the data downloading and analysis work is underway, officials said.
The second black box located in the back of the plane was stated to be the flight data recorder (FDR). The flight data recorder stores information about speed, altitude and direction, as well as pilot actions and performance of important systems.
The data of the Cockpit Voice Recorder was awaited keenly as China Eastern Airlines flight MU5735 sharply dropped from an altitude of 29,100 feet to 9,075 feet in just two minutes and 15 seconds, crashing into a mountainous area.
Zhu Tao, head of the aviation safety office of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, said the possibility that the data storage unit of the cockpit voice recorder was damaged cannot be ruled out at present.
Hu Xiaobing, professor of School of Safety Science and Engineering of the Civil Aviation University of China, told state-run CGTN that this crash is very unusual for it being vertical. It seems to him, for some reason unknown yet, the pilots may have already become unconscious during the flight's steep descent.
The Boeing 737-800 plane with 132 people on board crashed on Monday in a village in Tengxian County in the city of Wuzhou. No survivors have been found so far.
China Eastern Airlines, which owned the crashed plane, and its subsidiaries temporarily grounded 223 Boeing 737-800 aircraft, and the airline has launched a sweeping safety overhaul, Liu Xiaodong, head of the airline's publicity department, told a press briefing.
All grounded aircraft are undergoing checks and maintenance according to the highest safety standards to ensure that they meet the airworthiness requirements, Liu said.
Liu added that 305 family members of 56 passengers on board the crashed plane arrived at Wuzhou by Thursday morning, with over 200 family members visiting the crash site.
On Thursday, pieces of engine wreckage from the crashed passenger plane were found.
The main impact point of the plane crash has been basically determined, Zhu said, adding that most of the plane wreckage was scattered within a radius of about 30 metres of the main impact point and the depth from the surface extends to about 20 metres underground.
So far, a total of 183 pieces of aircraft wreckage, some remains of victims and 21 pieces of belongings of victims have been found and handed over to the investigation team, Zheng Xi, head of the fire brigade of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region said.
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WC medal hasn't come for long time, I want to achieve it in my career: Harmanpreet
New Delhi (PTI): India men's hockey team captain Harmanpreet Singh has two Olympic bronze medals in his cabinet, but rues missing out on World Cup glory, an anomaly that he wants to set right in the next edition of the mega event in 2026.
India have till date won three World Cup medals -- bronze in 1971 (Barcelona), silver in 1973 (Amstelveen, Netherlands) and gold in 1975 (Kuala Lumpur) under Ajitpal Singh's leadership.
Harmanpreet, who won back-to-back Olympic bronze in Tokyo and Paris, the second one under his leadership, however, had won the Junior World Cup in Lucknow in 2016.
"The goal will always be to bag Olympic gold and a World Cup medal. The way we performed in Paris shows that we can compete with top teams and win," Harmanpreet told PTI.
"Our immediate target is next FIH Pro League matches and then win the Asia Cup and qualify directly for the World Cup. A World Cup medal hasn't come for a long time and I want to fulfil that in my career," said Harmanpreet, one the best defenders and drag-flickers of the world right now.
"...Hope we can relive those golden days during our career. We will not surrender till we achieve that," he added.
The 2026 men's FIH Hockey World Cup will be the 16th edition of the quadrennial tournament scheduled to be held from August 15 to 30 in Wavre, Belgium and Amstelveen, Netherlands
From a personal point of view, Harmanpreet wants to better his drag-flick skills and remain fit to prolong his career.
"Drag-flick is getting tough day-by-day and the goal is to work on how to improve myself, bring in more variations and remain fit."
Harmanpreet credits current Indian women's hockey team coach Harendra Singh for shaping his career and believes the women's side drag-flicker and star forward Deepika is in good hands.
"Deepika is doing great. She produced a great performance in the Asian Champions Trophy in Rajgir, Bihar. She is a good drag-flicker and a forward who can score. She is in safe hands under Harry (Harendra) sir," he said.
"I will never forget those days and the help Harry sir provided me."
By his own admission, hockey was a coincidence in his life as Harmanpreet never aspired to play the sport.
"Hockey has chosen me as in my family there was no player, neither I had interest in hockey. I had interest in many sports like volleyball, football, athletics, basketball," he said.
"A coach in my school said try hockey and from the day I started hockey, I became a fan of it. I started the sport at 7-8 years."
Harmanpreet was the toast of the revamped Hockey India League auction recently, bagging Rs 78 lakh bid from Soorma Hockey Club of Punjab.
The HIL will be revived this season after seven years. The franchise-based league will be held in both men's and women's categoory this time.
The men's league will begin on December 28 in Rourkela, with matches continuing through two stages until the final showdown on February 1, 2025.
The maiden women's league will start from January 2, 2025 in Ranchi, with their grand finale slated for January 26.
Harmanpreet believes the HIL will be a good learning experience for youngsters and will be a feeder line to the national team.
"The biggest thing is that HIL is starting again. Happy that the highest bid was for me. These things give you motivation. Financially also you need to be strong. These things help in personal life," he said.
"The HIL is a good opportunity for youngsters to learn. In my career HIL helped me a lot and definitely it is a chance to play against top players of the world.
"They (youngsters) will get to know what is their thinking, their understanding. HIL is going to benefit Indian hockey in future.
"We can get a lot of players from here who can represent India in future. This is the best opportunity before them," he noted.
But Harmanpreet said the hefty price tag will not add any pressure on him during the HIL.
"There is no pressure because till the last day of my career every match will be tough, I will take it as a responsibility.
"The scenario will be the same in HIL as well, I will try to live up to the responsibility given to me," he said.
