16 killed, 26 injured as bus collides with truck in Jharkhand's Pakur
Pakur(PTI): Sixteen people were killed and 26 others injured in a head-on collision between a bus and a truck transporting gas cylinders in Jharkhand's Pakur district on Wednesday morning, police said.
The accident happened around 8.30 am on Govindpur-Sahibganj state highway at Paderkola village in Amrapara police station area, they said.
The bus with 40 passengers on board was heading to Jasidih in Deoghar district from Barharwa in Sahibganj district, they added.
"The death toll in the accident has increased to 16, while the number of injured is 26. At least three of them are critical," Civil Surgeon of Pakur RD Paswan told PTI in the afternoon.
One of the critical patients has been referred to Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Ranchi and the process to shift the others is on, Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Ajit Kumar Vimal said.
The injured persons were initially admitted to the Sadar Hospital in the district. Several people were trapped inside the bus, and they were being brought out after dismantling the vehicle with gas-cutters, police said.
The impact of the accident was such that the front ends of both the vehicles got stuck to each other. Both the bus and the truck were speeding, and it is suspected that heavy fog in the area, which brought down the visibility, led to the accident, they said.
Fortunately, none of the gas cylinders on the truck exploded, otherwise the accident could have taken many more lives, police said.
Considering the situation, it is feared that the toll could rise, Vimal said.
Chief Minister Hemant Soren condoled the deaths and directed the district administration to ensure proper treatment of the injured persons.
"May God give peace to the departed souls and give strength to the bereaved families to bear the loss. Appropriate instructions have been given to the district administration to provide proper treatment to the injured," he said.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
