Trainer aircraft goes missing after take off from Jamshedpur, search on
Jamshedpur, Aug 20: A two-seater trainer aircraft went missing after it took off from an aerodrome in Jharkhand's East Singhbhum district on Tuesday, following which a massive search was started, officials said.
The aircraft, reported to be a Cessna 152 owned by flying school Alchemist Aviation, took off from the Sonari aerodrome in Jamshedpur around 11 am with a pilot and trainee on board, they said.
The aircraft was last located near Nimdih in Seraikela-Kharsawan district, East Singhbhum's Deputy Commissioner Ananya Mittal told PTI.
The administrations of the East Singhbhum and Seraikela-Kharswan districts, police and the Forest Department were searching for the aircraft, he said.
Besides the areas near Nimdih, searches were also being conducted in adjoining Purulia district of West Bengal, he added.
At night, the search was expanded to the Chandil dam after locals claimed that they saw the debris of the aircraft in the reservoir, officials said.
"Nothing concrete has been found yet but a search is being conducted in the dam," Superintendent of Police of Seraikela-Kharswan Mukesh Kumar Lunayat told PTI.
Senior police officers were overseeing the search operation as boats were scouting the waters, he said.
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Wildfires race across Chile, leaving 15 dead, forcing thousands to flee
Penco (Chile) (AP): Wildfires raging across central and southern Chile on Sunday left at least 15 people dead, scorched thousands of acres of forest and destroyed scores of homes, authorities said, as the South American country swelters under a heat wave.
Chilean President Gabriel Boric declared a state of catastrophe in the country's central Biobio region and the neighbouring Nuble region, around 500 kilometres south of Santiago, the capital.
The emergency designation allows greater coordination with the military to rein in two dozen wildfires that have so far blazed through 8,500 hectares and prompted 50,000 people to evacuate, according to Chilean Security Minister Luis Cordero.
“All resources are available,” Boric wrote on X.
But local officials reported that for hours on Sunday, destruction was everywhere and help from the federal government was nowhere.
“Dear President Boric, from the bottom of my heart, I have been here for four hours, a community is burning and there is no (government) presence,” said Rodrigo Vera, the mayor of the small coastal town of Penco in the Biobio region. “How can a minister do nothing but call me to tell me that the military is going to arrive at some point?”
Firefighters were struggling to extinguish the flames, but strong winds and scorching weather hampered their efforts Sunday with temperatures topping 38 C (100 F).
Residents said that the fires took them by surprise after midnight, trapping them in their homes.
“Many people didn't evacuate. They stayed in their houses because they thought the fire would stop at the edge of the forest,” said John Guzman, 55, surveying the scene in Penco, where smoke blanketed the sky in an orange haze. “It was completely out of control. No one expected it."
Although the total number of homes burned nationwide remained unclear, one municipality of Concepcion in Biobio reported 253 homes destroyed.
“We fled running, with the kids, in the dark,” said Juan Lagos, 52, also in Penco. The fire engulfed most of the city, burning cars, a school and a church.
Charred bodies were found across fields, homes, along roads and in cars.
“From what we can see, there are people who died ... and we knew them well," said Víctor Burboa, 54. "Everyone here knew them.”
