3 killed in Japan quake
Tokyo, June 18 : At least three people were killed and over 50 others injured on Monday when a an earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale jolted Japan's Osaka city.
The victims comprised a nine-year-old girl and two men, Japanese broadcaster NHK reported.
The earthquake was recorded at 7.58 a.m. and had its hypocenter at about 13 km depth in Osaka Prefecture on the island of Honshu, the largest in the Japanese archipelago, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA).
However, no tsunami warning was issued, reports Efe news. Several buildings in Osaka and Takatsuki collapsed and were on fire.
Railway services in Osaka, Shiga, Kyoto and Nara, both high speed bullet trains and local rail services, were halted. Osaka's Kansai Airport has been shut down while its runways were being checked for damage.
The authorities said that none of the 15 nuclear reactors in this region have been affected by the quake.
The Japanese government has set up a task force to gather information related to the strong earthquake and the Chief Cabinet Secretary, Yoshihide Suga, called on citizens to keep an eye on developments through the media.
Around 170,000 houses in Osaka prefecture are experiencing power outages following the quake, NHK reported.
According to the JMA, this is the first time that the Osaka prefecture has seen an earthquake of this intensity since 1923.
Japan sits on the so-called Ring of Fire, one of the most active seismic zones in the world, and experiences earthquakes frequently, which is why most infrastructure is specially designed to withstand earthquakes.
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
