Eight dead, 21 injured as bus collides with gas tanker in UP's Sambhal
Sambhal (UP), Dec 16: Eight people died, while 21 more sustained injuries on Wednesday morning when an Uttar Pradesh Roadways bus collided with a gas tanker here amid reduced visibility due to fog, police said.
The crash took place in the Dhanari police station area, they added.
"Eight people have died in the accident involving a bus of UP Roadways and a gas tanker. All the injured have been hospitalised. The number of injured persons is 21. The bodies of the deceased have been sent for post-mortem examination. Traffic has been diverted since there is still some gas in the tanker," Moradabad Inspector General of Police (IG) Ramit Sharma told reporters.
Earlier, Superintendent of Police Chakresh Mishra had put the number of injured at 25 and said that the head-on collision took place on the Agra-Moradabad road.
Police said the deceased are yet to be identified. District administration and police officials are at the spot and rescue operations are on, they added.
Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath condoled the loss of lives in the accident, an state government spokesperson said.
The chief minister also directed officials to ensure that the injured get adequate treatment, he added.
मुख्यमंत्री श्री @myogiadityanath जी ने जनपद सम्भल में एक सड़क दुर्घटना में लोगों की मृत्यु पर गहरा शोक व्यक्त किया है। उन्होंने ईश्वर से दिवंगत आत्मा की शांति की प्रार्थना करते हुए मृतकों के शोक संतप्त परिजनों के प्रति अपनी संवेदना व्यक्त की है।
— CM Office, GoUP (@CMOfficeUP) December 16, 2020
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Indian startup's 'Drishti' satellite launched aboard SpaceX rocket
New Delhi (PTI): Bengaluru-based space start-up GalaxEye's Mission Drishti satellite was launched on Sunday aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket from California.
Mission Drishti is the world's first OptoSAR satellite, integrating electro-optical (EO) and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) sensors into a single operational platform, according to the company.
While EO sensors capture high-resolution images during sunlight and clear skies, SAR sensors provide all-weather and all-time images, using radar pulses.
In a statement, Suyash Singh, founder and CEO of GalaxEye, said, "With the satellite (Mission Drishti) now successfully in orbit, our immediate focus is on completing its commissioning. As we move through this phase, we are already witnessing strong global interest in the differentiated datasets enabled by our OptoSAR payload."
The satellite will help address long-standing limitations of conventional systems and enable more reliable and consistent data acquisition across diverse environmental conditions, the company said.
As a dual-use Earth observation satellite, the mission will support use cases across defence, agriculture, disaster management, maritime monitoring, and infrastructure planning.
The satellite is also expected to complement India's broader initiatives, including the 29 active Earth Observation satellites outlined in ISRO's recent annual report.
The launch came after five years of indigenous research and development, and extensive environmental testing and performance validation of the Mission Drishti.
In a statement, Lt Gen AK Bhatt (Retd), director general of Indian Space Association (ISpA), said, "GalaxEye has achieved what only a few global players have, which is seamlessly combining optical and SAR capabilities on a single platform to enable persistent, all-weather intelligence."
What stands out is not just the technology, but its broader impact on how downstream applications will increasingly define value in the space economy, particularly in Earth observation, where timely, decision-grade insights are critical," he added.
ISpA is the premier industry association of space and satellite companies in the country.
Union Minister Jitendra Singh also took note of the Mission Drishti launch, saying the development marked a significant milestone in India's space journey.
In a post on X, the minister said, "The successful launch of the world's first OptoSAR satellite, and the largest privately-built satellite in the country, reflects the immense potential of our young innovators driving nation-building."
GalaxEye aims to scale up Mission Drishti to a constellation of 10 satellites by 2030, developing a robust and sovereign Earth observation infrastructure for India.
