Maine (US) (AP): The Federal Aviation Administration says seven people were killed and a crew member survived with serious injuries when a private business jet crashed in a snowstorm at Maine's Bangor International Airport.
The Bombardier Challenger 600 carrying eight people crashed on takeoff Sunday night as New England and much of the country grappled with a massive winter storm.
The airport, about 200 miles north of Boston, shut down after the crash.
Snowfall was heavy at the time, as it was in many other parts of the country.
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Bengaluru: Philanthropist and NRI entrepreneur Dr Ronald Colaco has received rare recognition from the Karnataka Police for his decades-long contribution to public service, police infrastructure development and efforts to promote communal harmony in the state.
The honour was formally conferred on December 22, 2025, when Karnataka Director General of Police M A Saleem presented Dr Colaco with the Karnataka Police Unique Official Memento, engraved with his name, along with a Certificate of Appreciation. The citation acknowledged his sustained support in upgrading police infrastructure and his role in setting high standards for public-private cooperation in policing.
Earlier, Dr Colaco had also been similarly honoured by former DGP Alok Mohan, making him one of the very few civilians to receive such official police recognition from two successive chiefs. Police officials noted that such mementos are typically reserved for constitutional authorities, senior ministers or visiting foreign dignitaries.
Dr Colaco’s association with the Karnataka Police dates back more than two decades. In 2003, responding to a request from the then police leadership, he undertook the renovation of the Frazer Town police station, now Pulikeshinagar. He went on to design and construct a fully furnished, modern police station spanning about 5,000 square feet, an initiative widely regarded as a first-of-its-kind civilian-supported model police station in the country.
The following year, he reconstructed an earlier police facility at Frazer Town into a dedicated traffic police station, strengthening traffic management infrastructure in the area. His efforts later inspired several large corporates and multinational companies to partner with the state in building police stations, resulting in nearly 50 additional stations across Karnataka through similar public-private initiatives.
In 2021, Dr Colaco added another dimension to his support by building a police museum at Frazer Town to preserve and showcase historical policing artefacts. The museum is expected to be inaugurated later this year. His contributions have also extended beyond Bengaluru, including the provision of furniture and essential facilities to the Chikkajala police station and support for upgrading the Police Officers’ Mess during different tenures of city police leadership.
In Mangaluru, Dr Colaco assisted in renovating the office of the Inspector General of Police during Dr Alok Mohan’s tenure as IGP of the Western Range. He later initiated scholarship programmes for children of police personnel, aimed at encouraging academic excellence. Between 2010 and 2011, scholarships and educational materials worth several million rupees were distributed to more than 550 students, a legacy that has since been continued by his family.
Apart from policing, Dr Colaco has contributed to the development and renovation of a wide range of public institutions across Karnataka over the past three-and-a-half decades. His philanthropic work spans more than 25 sectors, including education, healthcare, judiciary, revenue administration, rural drinking water, roads, sports, disaster relief, places of worship and housing for the underprivileged.
His long-standing public service has also received international recognition. In 2022, the World Book of Records, London, awarded him a Certificate of Excellence for his sustained contributions, an honour announced at the UK Parliament during the Indo-UK Leadership Summit.
