Indian national dies in fire incident in Manhattan residential building
New York, Feb 25: A 27-year-old Indian national, who worked as a journalist here, tragically lost his life in a fire incident in an apartment building in Manhattan.
Fazil Khan was killed in the fire that broke out in a six-story residential building at 2 St. Nicholas Place in Harlem, Manhattan that left about 17 other people injured.
The New York City Fire Department said that its marshals have determined that the "devastating" fire was caused by a lithium-ion battery.
Khan is a journalist with New York-based media company The Hechinger Report, which is focused on innovation and inequality in education.
The Consulate General of India in New York expressed condolences on Khan's death and said it is extending all possible assistance to repatriate his mortal remains to his family in India.
"Saddened to learn about the death of 27-year old Indian national Fazil Khan in an unfortunate fire incident in Harlem, NY," the Consulate said in a post on X Saturday.
The Consulate said it is in touch with Khan's family and friends.
"We continue to extend all possible assistance in repatriation of his mortal remains to India," the Consulate said.
Khan was a data reporter at The Hechinger Report and according to his profile on X, he was an alumnus of Columbia Journalism School.
The Hechinger Report said in a post on X that it learned Saturday that Khan died in a fire in the New York City building where he lived.
"We are devastated by the loss of such a great colleague and wonderful person, and our hearts go out to his family. He will be dearly missed," it said.
Firefighters said the fire originated in the building's 3rd floor. At 2:14 pm Friday, the FDNY responded to the 2-alarm fire at 2 St. Nicholas Place in Harlem. Firefighters arrived within minutes to find people on the fire escape. People were also seen hanging out the windows on the fifth floor, the fire department said. Victims were trapped on the 5th floor of the building.
The fire department had said that there were a total of 18 patients, out of which four were in critical condition.
Joseph Pfeifer, the Fire Department's first deputy commissioner, had said Friday that one person was in critical condition at the scene but died at the hospital. At the time, the victim's identity had not been released.
The fire department said that fires caused by lithium-ion batteries have increased dramatically in New York City with deadly consequences.
These rechargeable batteries are found in electric bikes and scooters, cars, laptops, tablets, phones and common household devices. Lithium-ion battery fires have caused deaths, serious injuries and devastating damage to property around the city, the department said on its website.
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Indian-origin Catholic priest shot dead in Kansas
Seneca (US), Apr 4 (AP): An Indian-origin Catholic priest was shot and killed by a man who approached him at his parish rectory in the town of Seneca, Kansas, church officials said.
An Oklahoma man is being held on suspicion of the killing.
Officers called to the Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Seneca on Thursday afternoon found Arul Carasala with gunshot wounds outside the rectory, the Nemaha County Sheriff's Office said in a Facebook post. The 57-year-old priest was taken by ambulance to a hospital, where he died.
“I am heartbroken to share the tragic news of the death of Fr. Arul Carasala, who was fatally shot earlier today," Archbishop Joseph Naumann of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas said in a Facebook post on Thursday.
"This senseless act of violence has left us grieving the loss of a beloved priest, leader, and friend.”
Carasala had been the pastor at Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Seneca since 2011, according to his profile on the parish website.
Sheriff's deputies and officers with the Seneca Police Department later arrested Gary Hermesch of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Authorities say Hermesch, 66, is being held in the Nemaha County Jail on suspicion of first-degree murder.
The Associated Press left a phone message with county prosecutor Brad Lippert seeking additional information.
Authorities have not released a possible motive for the shooting or said whether the suspect and the priest knew each other.
Kris Anderson, the parish's director of religious education, told the AP on Thursday through tears that she knew few details.
“From what we know, an older man walked up to him (Carasala) and shot him three times,” she said.
The priest's death left people in shock in Seneca, a city of about 2,100 where Carasala had been the pastor at Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church since 2011, according to his profile on the parish website. He was ordained as a priest in 1994 in his native India and had served in Kansas since 2004. He became a US citizen in 2011.
Archbishop Joseph Naumann of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas said in a Facebook post that there was no ongoing threat to the community, but that he recognised the “pain and shock” the priest's death had brought to the community.
“Fr. Carasala was a devoted and zealous pastor who faithfully served our Archdiocese for over twenty years, including as dean of the Nemaha-Marshall region,” he wrote.
“His love for Christ and His Church was evident in how he ministered to his people with great generosity and care. His parishioners, friends, and brother priests will deeply miss him.”
Seneca is about 60 miles (97 kilometres) north of Topeka, about 90 miles (145 kilometres) northwest of Kansas City and about 300 miles (480 kilometres) north of Tulsa.
