Madagascar's police chief swims 12 hours to shore after copter crash
Antananarivo (Madagascar): Madagascar's police minister and an air force mechanic succeeded in swimming for 12 hours to safety after their helicopter crashed in the Indian Ocean.
Gen. Serge Gell , 57, the Secretary of State for the Gendarmerie, was discovered in the water by a fisherman in a canoe who brought him to shore, according to officials.
Another passenger, Chief Warrant Officer Jimmy Laitsara, also swam to the beach at Mahambo.
My turn to die has not yet come, thank God. I'm well. I'm just cold, said Gelle in a video posted to Twitter by Madagascar's defense ministry. "But I'm sad because I don't know if my friends are alive.
Gelle appeared on a lounge chair, still in his military camouflage, his hands pale and wrinkled by the water and the cold.
There were four of us in the aircraft. I was seated behind the pilot," he said of the crash on Monday evening.
"Not having a life jacket, I unfastened the seat and used it as a buoy. I stayed calm and took off anything heavy I was carrying like my boots and belt. I did everything to stay alive, he said. Gelle said he expected to be back at work in 24 hours and said that he lost his cell phone in the crash.
Many in Madagascar applauded Gelle's feat, calling him a hero an extraordinary athlete, and an example to follow on social media.
The cause of the helicopter crash remains undetermined, authorities said. Gelle said that gusts of wind had destabilized the aircraft. The helicopter pilot and another passenger are still missing.
The helicopter was one of two flying a government delegation to view the site where a boat, the Francia, sank, drowning at least 64 people on board.
On Wednesday 25 bodies were recovered off the island of Sainte-Marie, in the northeast of the country, according to officials.
The small cargo ship sank Monday while it was illegally transporting 138 people, according a statement Wednesday by the Maritime and River Port Agency.
Efforts continue to recover the more than 20 people still missing, said the agency.
The Francia sank Monday morning about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the town of Soanierana Ivongo.
A flood in the engine room caused the massacre. Obviously, the boat had exceeded its loading capacity, said Maurice Tianjara, deputy director-general of the maritime agency.
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NGT pulls up officials over illegal quarrying near Navi Mumbai cancer hospital
Thane (PTI): The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has taken a stern view of the "illegal" quarrying operations behind Tata Cancer Hospital in Navi Mumbai, warning top officials of coercive action for failing to respond to environmental concerns.
The western zone bench, comprising Justice Dinesh Kumar Singh and expert member Dr Sujit Kumar Bajpayee, was hearing petitions filed by an activist and another taken up suo motu following a news report.
The tribunal, in its order dated December 5, noted that it had directed the Raigad district collector and the Directorate of Geology and Mines to submit their reply affidavits, but the same had not been filed.
"We have no option but to direct the registrar of this tribunal to address a letter to the learned Chief Secretary of the State of Maharashtra, requesting him that a direction from his side be issued to the District Collector, Raigad and Director of Geology and Mining to appear before us positively on the next date," the bench said.
The RTI findings suggest that illegal quarrying activity was being carried out behind the premier cancer hospital, posing a health and environmental risk.
The NGT warned that it would be "compelled to order personal appearance of the officers concerned" if they continue to ignore judicial directives.
The Chief Secretary has now been tasked with ensuring the collector and mining officials file their replies by the next hearing on February 12, 2026.
