Portion of Gokulpuri Metro Station collapses, one dies
New Delhi (PTI): A 53-year-old man died on Thursday when a portion of the Gokulpuri Metro Station on the Pink Line in northeast Delhi collapsed, police said.
The man was on his scooter when he came under the debris of the collapsed wall of the elevated station platform.
The deceased was identified as Vinod Kumar by police, a resident of Shaheed Bhagat Singh Colony of nearby Karawal Nagar area.
According to police, four more people sustained injuries in the incident and are undergoing treatment at GTB Hospital in Dilshad Garden. Two motor cycles and two scooters were damaged in the collapse.
The incident took place at 11 am when a boundary wall (Eastern side) of the elevated platform and part of a slab fell on the road below, according to a police officer. Some portion of the slab is still hanging.
The Pink Line metro runs between Majlis Park and Shiv Vihar metro stations.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (northeast Delhi) Joy Tirkey said as the Gokulpuri Police Station is located next to the metro station, the local staff including the Station House Officer rushed to the spot soon after the incident.
"Four persons were injured due to the collapse. Our staff with the help of locals and officials of fire departments pulled them out of the debris and rushed to them GTB hospital," Tirkey had earlier said.
Tirkey said that about 40-50 metres of the wall along with the slab collapsed.
Several video clips of the incident shot on mobile phones by passersby also emerged on the social media, showing policemen removing the rubble of the collapsed portion from road and part of a ledge hanging precariously.
A Delhi Fire Service (DFS) official said the collapse was reported at 11.10 am and four fire tenders were immediately pressed into service.
Assistant Divisional Officer (DFS) CL Meena said two persons were rescued by the Delhi police while two others were taken out by the fire officials.
He said the area on the road has been cordoned off till the hanging portion of the slab be removed.
A police officer said the metro station has been shut for now. An inspection will be conducted the team of experts before a repair work can be carried ut.
A case under relevant sections of law will be registered in this matter, police said.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Israel launches first airstrike on Lebanon since ceasefire, accusing Hezbollah of breaching truce
Beirut, Nov 28: The Israeli military on Thursday said its warplanes fired on southern Lebanon after detecting Hezbollah activity at a rocket storage facility, the first Israeli airstrike a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took hold.
There was no immediate word on casualties from Israel's aerial attack, which came hours after the Israeli military said it fired on people trying to return to certain areas in southern Lebanon. Israel said they were violating the ceasefire agreement, without providing details. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said two people were wounded.
The back-to-back incidents stirred unease about the agreement, brokered by the United States and France, which includes an initial two-month ceasefire in which Hezbollah members are to withdraw north of the Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border. The buffer zone would be patrolled by Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers.
On Thursday, the second day of a ceasefire after more than a year of bloody conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon's state news agency reported that Israeli fire targeted civilians in Markaba, close to the border, without providing further details. Israel said it fired artillery in three other locations near the border. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
An Associated Press reporter in northern Israel near the border heard Israeli drones buzzing overhead and the sound of artillery strikes from the Lebanese side.
The Israeli military said in a statement that “several suspects were identified arriving with vehicles to a number of areas in southern Lebanon, breaching the conditions of the ceasefire.” It said troops “opened fire toward them” and would “actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement.”
Israeli officials have said forces will be withdrawn gradually as it ensures that the agreement is being enforced. Israel has warned people not to return to areas where troops are deployed, and says it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah if it violates the terms of the truce.
A Lebanese military official said Lebanese troops would gradually deploy in the south as Israeli troops withdraw. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.
The ceasefire agreement announced late Tuesday ended 14 months of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began a day after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, when the Lebanese Hezbollah group began firing rockets, drones and missiles in solidarity.
Israel retaliated with airstrikes, and the conflict steadily intensified for nearly a year before boiling over into all-out war in mid-September. The war in Gaza is still raging with no end in sight.
More than 3,760 people were killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon during the conflict, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting killed more than 70 people in Israel — over half of them civilians — as well as dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.
Some 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon, and thousands began streaming back to their homes on Wednesday despite warnings from the Lebanese military and the Israeli army to stay out of certain areas. Some 50,000 people were displaced on the Israeli side, but few have returned and the communities near the northern border are still largely deserted.
In Menara, an Israeli community on the border with views into Lebanon, around three quarters of homes are damaged, some with collapsed roofs and burnt-out interiors. A few residents could be seen gathering their belongings on Thursday before leaving again.
