Container ship hits bridge in Chinese city, two killed
Beijing (PTI): Two people were killed, three others listed as missing and five vehicles fell off when a section of a bridge collapsed after it was hit by a container ship in China's Guangzhou city on Thursday.
The accident took place in the early hours when a pier of the Lixinsha Bridge was hit by an empty container ship which led to collapse of part of the beam in the Nansha district of Guangzhou, 90-odd km northwest of Hong Kong.
The captain of the cargo ship has been arrested, Beijing News reported.
Of the five vehicles, including a bus and a motorbike that fell off the bridge, two plunged into the river and the others fell onto the vessel, a preliminary investigation has found, official media here reported.
Lixinsha Bridge on the Hongqili Waterway is the main transportation route for residents of Sanmin Island.
Currently, the cause of the accident and the extent of casualties are being investigated, state-run Global Times reported.
The Guangzhou bus company said one of its drivers was alone in his vehicle when it fell off the bridge. Rescue teams are on the scene but details of other casualties remain uncertain.
Footage carried by state broadcaster CCTV showed a partially collapsed bridge, with the empty ship jammed beneath the structure.
With the gaping breach in the span after the incident, the bridge was closed to traffic.
Zhong Weihong, the village Party secretary of Minjian village on the island, told reporters that there was an option of a ferry available for residents to travel.
❗⚓🇨🇳 - More images of the cargo ship that demolished part of a bridge in the city of Guangzhou, reports Xinhua in China.
— 🔥🗞The Informant (@theinformantofc) February 22, 2024
Several cars fell into the water and there is still no official information about casualties. pic.twitter.com/WTS09Dqxfj
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Kerala court sentences man to life imprisonment for doc's murder in hospital
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Kollam (PTI): A teacher convicted in the sensational murder of Dr Vandana Das inside a hospital here was sentenced to life term on Saturday, and the prosecution said it will move an appeal seeking death penalty for the accused. The victim's family also batted for "maximum punishment".
Dr Das was brutally killed inside a taluk hospital in May 2023 by G Sandeep.
Kollam Additional District and Sessions judge P N Vinod sentenced Sandeep to a total of 30 years for various offences under the then Indian Penal Code (IPC) and said that after he serves that period, his life imprisonment for Das' murder will commence.
The court also imposed a fine of Rs 2.35 lakh on the convict.
Though the prosecution had sought death penalty for the accused during the arguments on sentence, the court was of the view that the case does not fall under the rarest-of-rare category to warrant the maximum punishment.
It was also of the view that there was a chance of the convict getting reformed as he told the court that the rest of his life would be one of repentance, the order on sentence said.
"At the same time, I agree with the stand of the prosecution to the effect that the sentence should commensurate with the gravity of the crime and the sentence should not only be reformative, but should also have a deterrent effect."
"In my view, the said objective can be achieved by directing that the term sentences that will be imposed will run consecutively and life sentence that has to be imposed will commence only after the expiration of terms sentences," the judge said.
After the verdict, special public prosecutor (SPP) Prathap G Padickal told reporters outside the court that he will recommend to the prosecution to file an appeal seeking enhancement of the life imprisonment to death penalty.
The victim's father said that the verdict has come as a relief for the family, but that he cannot authoritatively say whether his late daughter has got justice. He indicated his dissatisfaction with the punishment, saying that steps will be taken to seek its enhancement after discussions with the public prosecutor.
Dr Das' mother said that the family can only wish for the maximum punishment and it was up to the court to decide what sentence should be given. She said that the family will go in appeal, but declined to comment on whether her daughter got justice.
She tearfully said that she wants the convict to suffer the same pain that her daughter underwent "as he stabbed her 27 times".
The court on March 17 had convicted Sandeep for various offences under the IPC, including murder, destruction of evidence and wrongful restraint.
It had also held him guilty under the provisions of the Kerala Healthcare Service Persons and Healthcare Service Institutions (Prevention of violence and damage to property) Act 2012.
Sandeep was brought to the taluk hospital by the police for medical treatment during the small hours of May 10, 2023 and he went on a sudden attacking spree using a pair of surgical scissors kept in the room where his leg injury was being dressed.
A school teacher by profession, he had initially attacked the police officers and another person who had accompanied him to the hospital and then turned on the young Dr Das, who could not escape to safety.
She was stabbed several times and later succumbed to her injuries in a private hospital in Thiruvananthapuram where she was rushed following the attack.
Dr Das was a native of the Kaduthuruthy area of Kottayam district and the only child of her parents.
She was a house surgeon at Azeezia Medical College Hospital and was working at the Kottarakkara taluk hospital as part of her training.
Sandeep had called the emergency number 112, claiming that his life was in danger. When local police located him, he was standing close by his home, surrounded by local residents and his relatives, and had a wound on his leg following an alleged quarrel.
He was then taken to the hospital for dressing the wound.
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