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Tag: Building collapses

  • Snow hinders rescues and aid deliveries to isolated communities after Japan quakes kill 128 people

    Snow hinders rescues and aid deliveries to isolated communities after Japan quakes kill 128 people

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    WAJIMA, Japan — Rescue teams worked through snow to deliver supplies to isolated hamlets, six days after a powerful earthquake hit western Japan, killing at least 128 people. Heavy snowfall expected in Ishikawa Prefecture later Sunday and through the night added to the urgency.

    After Monday’s 7.6 magnitude temblor, 195 people were still unaccounted for, a slight decrease from the more than 200 reported earlier, and 560 people were injured. Hundreds of aftershocks have followed, rattling Noto Peninsula, where the quakes are centered.

    Taiyo Matsushita walked three hours through mud to reach a supermarket in Wajima city to buy food and other supplies for his family. The home where he lives with his wife and four children, and about 20 nearby homes, are among the more than a dozen communities cut off by landslides.

    Power was out, and in a matter of hours, they couldn’t even use their cell phones, he told Jiji Press.

    “We want everyone to know help isn’t coming to some places,” Matsushita was quoted as saying by Jiji Press. “We feel such an attachment to this community. But when I think about my children, it’s hard to imagine we can keep living here.”

    Late Saturday, a woman in her 90s was rescued from a crumbled home in Suzu, Ishikawa Prefecture, after 124 hours trapped in the rubble. She was welcomed by shouts of encouragement, although the darkness and a long blue sheet of plastic blocked her from view.

    Chances for survival greatly diminish after the first 72 hours.

    Of the deaths, 69 were in Wajima, 38 in Suzu, 11 in Anamizu, and the rest in smaller numbers spread among four towns. Firefighters and other disaster officials were trying to get to nine people believed to be buried under collapsed houses in Anamizu, Japanese media reports said.

    Ishikawa officials say 1,370 homes were completely or partially destroyed. Many of the houses in that western coastal region of the main island are aging and wooden. Cars lay tossed on cracked, bumpy roads. Snow blanketed the debris and highways. Wires dangled from lopsided poles.

    The more than 30,000 people who evacuated to schools, auditoriums and community facilities slept on cold floors. They trembled in fear through the aftershocks. They prayed their missing loved ones were safe. Others cried softly for those who had died.

    Mikihito Kokon, one of those who had evacuated, was worried about what the snowfall might do to his home, which was still standing but a wreck.

    “You don’t even know where to start or where the entrance is,” he sighed.

    Some people were living out of their cars, and long lines formed at gas stations. Food and water supplies were short. Worries grew about snow and rainfall, which raise the risk of mudslides and further damage, as snow collecting on roofs can flatten barely standing homes.

    A fire that raged for hours gutted a major part of Wajima, and a tsunami swept through homes, sucking cars down into muddy waters.

    “We’re all doing our best to cope, helping each other, bringing things from home and sharing them with everyone,” Kokon said. “That is how we are living right now.”

    ___

    Kageyama reported from Tokyo. She is on X: https://twitter.com/yurikageyama

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  • Scenes of loss play out across Japan's western coastline after quake kills 92, dozens still missing

    Scenes of loss play out across Japan's western coastline after quake kills 92, dozens still missing

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    SUZU, Japan — His face hidden under a humble straw hat, the man silently watched as several helmeted rescue workers carefully lifted from the rubble his wife’s body, wrapped in blue plastic on a stretcher.

    He wiped his weary face with a rag. His eyes were red.

    This scene in the city of Suzu was tragically repeated across Ishikawa Prefecture and nearby regions on the western coastline of Japan after Monday’s 7.6 magnitude temblor that decimated houses, twisted and scarred roads and scattered boats like toys in the waters, and prompted tsunami warnings.

    The death toll stood at 92 as of early Friday.

    Ishikawa officials said 55 of those who died were in the city of Wajima and 23 were in Suzu. The 13 others were reported in five neighboring towns. More than 460 people have been injured, at least 26 seriously.

    Officials said 242 people still missing, releasing a list of names that has grown by the day. Many of them are elderly and from the hard-hit cities of Wajima and Suzu.

    What exacerbated matters was people visiting to ring in the new year with their loved ones when the quake hit.

    Prime Minister Fumio Kishida reinforced rescue operations with about 3,600 soldiers in addition to the initial 1,000. Their mission is to provide those affected with fresh water and hot meals, as well as set up bathing facilities for the 34,000 who lost their homes and are now staying at evacuation facilities.

    Although Japan is reputed for relatively reliable disaster relief, essential supplies such as water, food and blankets have been running short.

    “All we got was a couple of rice balls,” said elderly Yasuo Kobatake cupping his hand in a tiny ball to show how small the meal was. He has been staying with his wife at an elementary school, an impromptu evacuation center. He was only given a tiny paper cup, half-filled with water that “vanished in a sip.”

    When the earth trembled, Kobatake was about to wear his shoes to head out. He ran out of the house wearing just one sock. That first tremblor was followed by the main more destructive quake which flung him to the ground. A concrete wall came crashing down, barely missing him.

    Kobatake can no longer access his destroyed house.

    “So here I am with my wife sleeping beside all the others (taking shelter at the school). We talk to each other and we try to encourage each other,” he said.

    Kobatake hoped help was on the way.

    However, many roads have been blocked by landslides or suffered cracks because of the strong quake, making it difficult for trucks delivering water and food supplies to reach those in need. The hardest hit spots were on the Noto Peninsula, the center of the quake, connected by a narrow land strip to the rest of the main island of Honshu, making alternative routes scarce.

    Snow is expected over the weekend, so finding those trapped under the rubble has become even more critical.

    Three days after Monday’s quake, rescuers are still pulling out people alive from under debris. But time is running out. Experts categorize the first 72 hours as crucial to finding survivors.

    Authorities warned more quakes and tsunamis could follow, stressing extra caution over the coming few days. Plans are also underway to fly some evacuated people out to safer areas.

    Aftershocks continued to rock the coastal areas, near the epicenter in Noto, about 300 kilometers (185 miles) from Tokyo on the opposite coast, hit Monday.

    The quake set off tsunami warnings, followed by waves measuring more than 1 meter (3 feet) in some places. The warnings have since been lifted.

    The usual pastoral landscape of Ishikawa was replaced by gray stretches of ash and charred walls, where a fire broke out in Wajima city.

    Cars were perched crooked on roads scarred with deep giant cracks. Lopsided houses missing rooftop tiles sat sadly beside a home the quake flattened to the ground, reducing it to a pile of wood. Boats floated belly-up in the bay.

    The first day of trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, usually a celebratory affair with the ringing of a big bell and throngs of kimono-clad women, was marked with a moment of silence, as people bowed their heads, to mourn the dead.

    “I would like to express my heartfelt prayers for the souls of those who lost their lives, and my deepest sympathies to all those suffering from the disaster,” said Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki.

    Japan is prone to earthquakes, with many fault lines and volcanoes. A massive quake, tsunami and nuclear disaster in 2011 caused widespread damage in northeastern Japan.

    So far, no major issues have been reported at nuclear plants following this week’s earthquake and aftershocks.

    ___

    Kageyama reported from Tokyo. Haruka Nuga in Bangkok contributed.

    ___

    Yuri Kageyama is on X: https://twitter.com/yurikageyama

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  • Scenes of loss play out across Japan's western coastline after quake kills 78, dozens still missing

    Scenes of loss play out across Japan's western coastline after quake kills 78, dozens still missing

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    SUZU, Japan — His face hidden under a humble straw hat, the man stood silent, watching several helmeted rescue workers carefully lift his wife’s body from the rubble, wrapped in blue plastic on a stretcher.

    He wiped his weary face with a rag. His eyes were red.

    This scene in the city of Suzu was tragically repeated across Ishikawa Prefecture and nearby regions on the western coastline of Japan after Monday’s 7.6 magnitude temblor that decimated houses, twisted and scarred roads and scattered boats like toys in the waters, and prompted tsunami warnings.

    The death toll stood at 78 people as of Thursday.

    Ishikawa officials said 44 of those who died were in the city of Wajima and 23 were in Suzu. The 11 others were reported in five neighboring towns. More than 330 people have been injured, at least 25 seriously.

    Those reported missing ballooned from 15 to 80 overnight, including a 13-year-old boy.

    What exacerbated matters was people visiting to ring in the new year with their loved ones when the quake hit.

    Prime Minister Fumio Kishida reinforced rescue operations with about 3,600 soldiers in addition to the initial 1,000. Their mission is to provide those affected with fresh water and hot meals, as well as set up bathing facilities for the 34,000 who lost their homes and are now staying at evacuation facilities.

    Although Japan is reputed for relatively reliable disaster relief, essential supplies such as water, food and blankets have been running short.

    “All we got was a couple of rice balls,” said elderly Yasuo Kobatake cupping his hand in a tiny ball to show how small the meal was. He has been staying with his wife at an elementary school, an impromptu evacuation center. He was only given a tiny paper cup, half-filled with water that “vanished in a sip.”

    When the earth trembled, Kobatake was about to wear his shoes to head out. He ran out of the house barefoot with just one sock on. That first tremblor was followed by the main more destructive quake which flung him to the ground. A concrete wall came crashing down, barely missing him.

    Kobatake can no longer access his destroyed house.

    “So here I am with my wife sleeping beside all the others (taking shelter at the school). We talk to each other and we try to encourage each other,” he said.

    Kobatake hoped help was on the way.

    However, many roads have been blocked by landslides or suffered cracks because of the strong quake, making it difficult for trucks delivering water and food supplies to reach those in need. The hardest hit spots were on the Noto Peninsula, the center of the quake, connected by a narrow land strip to the rest of the main island of Honshu, making alternative routes scarce.

    Snow is expected over the weekend, so finding those trapped under the rubble has become even more critical.

    Three days after Monday’s quake, rescuers are still pulling out people alive from under debris. But time is running out. Experts categorize the first 72 hours as crucial to finding survivors.

    Authorities warned more quakes and tsunamis could follow, stressing extra caution over the coming few days. Plans are also underway to fly some evacuated people out to safer areas.

    Aftershocks continued to rock the coastal areas, near the epicenter in Noto, about 300 kilometers (185 miles) from Tokyo on the opposite coast, hit Monday.

    The quake set off tsunami warnings, followed by waves measuring more than 1 meter (3 feet) in some places. The warnings have since been lifted.

    The usual pastoral landscape of Ishikawa was replaced by gray stretches of ash and charred walls, where a fire broke out in Wajima city.

    Cars were perched crooked on roads scarred with deep giant cracks. Lopsided houses missing rooftop tiles sat sadly beside a home the quake flattened to the ground, reducing it to a pile of wood. Boats floated belly-up in the bay.

    The first day of trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, usually a celebratory affair with the ringing of a big bell and throngs of kimono-clad women, was marked with a moment of silence, as people bowed their heads, to mourn the dead.

    “I would like to express my heartfelt prayers for the souls of those who lost their lives, and my deepest sympathies to all those suffering from the disaster,” said Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki.

    Japan is prone to earthquakes, with many fault lines and volcanoes. A massive quake, tsunami and nuclear disaster in 2011 caused widespread damage in northeastern Japan.

    So far, no major problems have been reported at nuclear plants following this week’s earthquake and aftershocks.

    ___

    Kageyama reported from Tokyo. Haruka Nuga in Bangkok contributed.

    ___

    Yuri Kageyama is on X: https://twitter.com/yurikageyama

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  • AP Photos: Search presses on for earthquake survivors as Japan grieves the lives lost

    AP Photos: Search presses on for earthquake survivors as Japan grieves the lives lost

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    SUZU, Japan — Rescuers searched the rubble of collapsed homes in western Japan on Wednesday in the hopes of finding survivors of this week’s earthquake, which killed dozens of people.

    The magnitude 7.6 temblor Monday, which has had many aftershocks, rocked the Ishikawa prefecture and the surrounding area, toppling thousands of buildings, sparking fires and setting off tsunami warnings. The quake killed at least 73 people, and 15 were listed Wednesday as officially missing.

    In Suzu, a coastal city of about 15,000 that was also hit by landslides, a man wept Wednesday as a family member’s body was pulled from a collapsed home. Residents gathered at an evacuation center in the city to rest, warm up and get fed.

    Firefighters and members of the Japanese Self Defense Force sifted through toppled homes and other buildings in the hopes of finding anyone still trapped, with the window for survival getting smaller.

    In Anamizu, a town about 40 kilometers (25 miles) southwest of Suzu, drivers slowly navigated through streets that were damaged by the earthquake.

    And in Waijima, a city of nearly 30,000 people, firefighters on Wednesday walked through the marketplace, which was reduced to gray ash and rubble by a fire sparked by the quake.

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  • Rescuers race against time in search for survivors in Japan after powerful quakes leave 62 dead

    Rescuers race against time in search for survivors in Japan after powerful quakes leave 62 dead

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    SUZU, Japan — Rescue workers and canine units urgently sifted through rubble Wednesday ahead of predicted freezing cold and heavy rain in what the prime minister called a race against time after powerful earthquakes in western Japan killed 62 people. Dozens are believed trapped under collapsed buildings.

    Ishikawa prefecture and nearby areas were rattled by a 4.9 magnitude aftershock early Wednesday — one of dozens of aftershocks that have followed Monday’s shallow magnitude 7.6 temblor with an epicenter at Noto, Ishikawa prefecture, about 300 kilometers (185 miles) from Tokyo on the opposite coast. The shaking set off tsunami warnings, followed by waves measuring more than 1 meter (3 feet) in some places.

    The first 72 hours are especially critical, experts say, because the prospects for survival greatly diminish after three days.

    “More than 40 hours have passed. This is a race against time, and I feel that we are at a critical moment,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters. “We have received reports many people are still waiting for rescue under collapsed buildings.”

    Noto’s narrow peninsula landscape has added to the challenges in reaching some communities. Water, power and cell phone service were still down in some areas.

    “Hardly any of the homes are standing. They are either partially or totally destroyed,” said Masuhiro Izumiya, the mayor of neighboring Suzu city, which suffered heavy damage.

    Relief officials handed out water, blankets, food and other supplies. Search dogs joined military personnel and firefighters trying to find and rescue dozens of people who are thought to be trapped, although the exact number is unclear.

    Weather forecasts warned of heavy rainfall in Ishikawa, leading to worries about landslides and further damage to half-crumbled homes. Temperatures were expected to drop to around 4 degrees Celsius (39 degrees Fahrenheit) overnight.

    Of the deaths, 29 were counted in Wajima city, while 22 people died in Suzu, according to Ishikawa Prefectural authorities. Eleven deaths were reported scattered among other nearby towns, and two additional deaths were still awaiting official confirmation in Wajima, meaning the overall toll would likely grow to 64 people. Dozens of people have been seriously injured, including in nearby prefectures.

    Ishikawa Gov. Hiroshi Hase encouraged everyone to use masks, antiseptic and soap to guard against the spread of infectious diseases as evacuees sheltered together. Ensuring adequate water supplies and bathroom services for those who were displaced is a priority, he said.

    People on the coastline were already picking up the pieces, like Noto resident Kazuyuki Iwaike, who was deep in thought as he cleaned up his home. It was by sheer chance he had avoided death. He was not home when the tsunami that followed the earthquakes struck.

    “I always thought it was someone else’s problem, thinking there is no way a tsunami would come,” he said.

    Officials warned that things were unpredictable and it was possible that even bigger quakes could hit.

    In the aftermath of the quakes and tsunami, boats lay overturned in water, roads were blocked by mounds of dirt, and shovels scooped scattered pillars and walls from flattened homes. A large fire turned an entire section of Wajima city into ashes.

    As a quake-prone nation with crisscrossing fault lines and many volcanoes, Japan has had its share of disasters, including a quake, tsunami and nuclear disaster in northeastern Japan in 2011.

    Several nuclear plants in the region raised concern, although no major problems or rise in radiation levels have been reported. Shika nuclear plant in Ishikawa suffered partial electricity failure, but backup power kicked in, ensuring the critical cooling process continued.

    Japan is an organized, conformist and relatively crime-free society, where warnings are systematically relayed as a public service. Disaster experts say that’s helping save lives.

    The Japan Meteorological Agency lifted tsunami warnings Tuesday.

    Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese joined United States President Joe Biden and other world leaders in expressing sympathy for the Japanese.

    “Our hearts go out to our friends in Japan,” Albanese said. “We will provide, and have offered, whatever support is requested by our friends in Japan.”

    ___

    Kageyama reported from Tokyo. Richard Columbo in Suzu, Haruka Nuga in Bangkok and Rod McGuirk in Sydney contributed.

    ___

    Yuri Kageyama is on X: https://twitter.com/yurikageyama

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  • Japan quake toll hits 30 as rescuers race to find survivors

    Japan quake toll hits 30 as rescuers race to find survivors

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    Firefighters extinguish a fire in Nanao, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan, early on Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024.

    Soichiro Koriyama | Bloomberg | Getty Images

    At least 30 people were killed after a powerful earthquake hit Japan on New Year’s Day, with rescue teams on Tuesday struggling to reach isolated areas where buildings had been toppled, roads wrecked and power cut to tens of thousands of homes.

    The quake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.6 struck in the middle of the afternoon on Monday, prompting residents in some coastal areas to flee to higher ground as tsunami waves hit Japan’s west coast, sweeping some cars and houses into the sea.

    Thousands of army personnel, firefighters and police officers from across the country have been dispatched to the worst-hit area in the Noto peninsula in Ishikawa prefecture.

    However, rescue efforts have been hindered by badly damaged and blocked roads and authorities say they are finding it difficult to assess the full extent of the fallout.

    Many rail services, ferries and flights into the area have been suspended. Noto airport has closed due to damage to its runway, terminal and access roads, with 500 people stranded inside cars in its parking lot, according to public broadcaster NHK.

    “The search and rescue of those impacted by the quake is a battle against time,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said during an emergency disaster meeting on Tuesday.

    Kishida said rescuers were finding it very difficult to reach the northern tip of the Noto peninsula due to wrecked roads, and that helicopter surveys had discovered many fires and widespread damage to buildings and infrastructure.

    Authorities in Ishikawa said they had confirmed 30 deaths from the earthquake so far, with half of those fatalities in hard-hit Wajima city near the quake’s epicentre.

    Firefighters have been battling blazes in several cities and trying to free more people trapped in collapsed buildings, Japan’s fire and disaster management agency said.

    More than 140 tremors have been detected since the quake first hit on Monday, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. The agency has warned more strong shocks could hit in the coming days.

    Wrecked homes

    Nobuko Sugimori, a 74-year-old resident of Nanao city in Ishikawa, told Reuters she had never experienced such a quake before.

    “I tried to hold the TV set to keep it from toppling over, but I could not even keep myself from swaying violently from side to side,” Sugimori said from her home which had a large crack down its front wall and furniture scattered around the inside.

    Across the street, a car was crushed under a collapsed building where residents had another close call.

    Fujiko Ueno, 73, said nearly 20 people were in her house for a New Year celebration when the quake struck but miraculously all emerged uninjured.

    “It all happened in the blink of an eye” she said, standing in the street among debris from the wreckage and mud that oozed out of the road’s cracked surface.

    Several world leaders sent condolence messages with President Joe Biden saying in statement the United States was ready to provide any necessary help to Japan.

    “Our thoughts are with the Japanese people during this difficult time,” he said.

    The Japanese government ordered around 100,000 people to evacuate their homes on Monday night, sending them to sports halls and school gymnasiums, commonly used as evacuation centres in emergencies.

    Many returned to their homes on Tuesday as authorities lifted tsunami warnings.

    But around 33,000 households remained without power in Ishikawa prefecture early on Tuesday morning after a night where temperatures dropped below freezing, according to Hokuriku Electric Power’s 9505.T website. Most areas in the northern Noto peninsula also have no water supply, NHK reported.

    The Imperial Household Agency said it would cancel Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako’s slated New Year appearance on Tuesday following the disaster. Kishida postponed his New Year visit to Ise Shrine scheduled for Thursday.

    Japan’s defence minister told reporters on Tuesday that 1,000 army personnel are currently involved in rescue efforts and that 10,000 could eventually be deployed.

    Nuclear plants

    The quake comes at a sensitive time for Japan’s nuclear industry, which has faced fierce opposition from some locals since the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that triggered nuclear meltdowns in Fukushima. Whole towns were devastated in that disaster.

    Japan last week lifted an operational ban imposed on the world’s biggest nuclear plant, Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, which has been offline since the 2011 tsunami.

    The Nuclear Regulation Authority said no irregularities were found at nuclear plants along the Sea of Japan, including five active reactors at Kansai Electric Power’s Ohi and Takahama plants in Fukui Prefecture.

    Hokuriku Electric’s Shika plant, the closest to the epicentre, has also been idled since 2011. The company said there had been some power outages and oil leaks following Monday’s jolt but no radiation leakage.

    The company had previously said it hoped to restart the reactor in 2026.

    Chip equipment maker Kokusai Electric said it is investigating further after finding some damage at its factory in Toyama ahead of the planned resumption of operations on Thursday.

    Companies including Sharp, Komatsu and Toshiba have been checking whether their factories in the area have been damaged. damage at its factory in Toyama ahead of the planned resumption of operations on Thursday.

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  • Filmmakers call on Iranian authorities to drop charges against 2 movie directors

    Filmmakers call on Iranian authorities to drop charges against 2 movie directors

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    DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Filmmakers and movie festival organizers from around the world have called on Iranian authorities to drop all charges against two Iranian film directors and lift their travel ban.

    Maryam Moghadam and Behtash Sanaeeha had planned to travel to Paris in September for post-production on their new film, “My Favorite Cake,” but authorities confiscated their passports and informed them that they were banned from leaving Iran, said an open letter by PEN America on Tuesday that was signed by 30 filmmakers and artists.

    The two were among some 70 Iranian filmmakers and movie industry workers who had joined the hashtag #put_your_gun_down, which was a reference to a violent crackdown during an unrest following the Metropol building collapse in the southwestern city of Abadan that killed at least 41 people in May 2022.

    Moghadam and Sanaeeha gained international recognition for their 2020 film “Ballad of a White Cow,” which won several prizes, including an Audience Award at the Berlinale, Best Film at the 2022 Der Neue Heimatfilm Festival, and a Special Mention at the Zurich Film Festival.

    Iran ranked second on the PEN America 2022 Freedom to Write Index list of the top 10 jailers of writers globally.

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  • Rescuers are 16 feet away from Indian workers trapped in tunnel, official says

    Rescuers are 16 feet away from Indian workers trapped in tunnel, official says

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    NEW DELHI — Officials in India said Tuesday rescuers are 5 meters (about 16 feet) away from the 41 construction workers who have been trapped in a collapsed mountain tunnel in the country’s north for over two weeks, raising hopes they may be freed soon.

    Kirti Panwar, a state government spokesperson, said about a dozen men had worked overnight to manually dig through rocks and debris, taking turns to drill using hand-held drilling tools and clearing out the muck as they approach what is hoped to be the final stretch of the rescue operation.

    Rescuers resorted to manual digging after the drilling machine broke down irreparably on Friday while drilling horizontally from the front because of the mountainous terrain of Uttarakhand state where the tunnel collapsed. The machine bored through about 47 meters (nearly 154 feet) out of approximately the 57-60 meters (nearly 187-196 feet) needed, before rescuers started to work by hand to create a passageway to evacuate the trapped workers. Authorities on Tuesday said rescuers had managed to drill through over 50 meters in total so far.

    Rescue teams have inserted pipes into dug-out areas and welded them together so the workers could be brought out on wheeled stretchers.

    The laborers have been trapped since Nov. 12 when a landslide caused a portion of the 4.5-kilometer (2.8-mile) tunnel they were building to collapse about 200 meters (650 feet) from the entrance.

    Rescuers on Sunday also began to create a vertical channel with a newly replaced drilling machine as a contingency plan.

    What began as a rescue mission expected to take a few days has turned into weeks, and officials have been hesitant to give a timeline for when it might be completed.

    “I just feel good. The drilling on top of the mountain is coming along perfectly, in the tunnel, it’s coming along very well. I have never said ‘I feel good’ before,” Arnold Dix, an international tunneling expert who is helping with the rescue, told reporters at the site on Tuesday.

    Most of the trapped workers are migrant laborers from across the country. Many of their families have traveled to the location, where they have camped out for days to get updates on the rescue effort and in hopes of seeing their relatives soon.

    Authorities have supplied the trapped workers with hot meals through a 6-inch (15-centimeter) pipe after days of surviving only on dry food sent through a narrower pipe. They are getting oxygen through a separate pipe, and more than a dozen doctors, including psychiatrists, have been at the site monitoring their health.

    The tunnel the workers were building was designed as part of the Chardham all-weather road, which will connect various Hindu pilgrimage sites. Some experts say the project, a flagship initiative of the federal government, will exacerbate fragile conditions in the upper Himalayas, where several towns are built atop landslide debris.

    Large numbers of pilgrims and tourists visit Uttarakhand’s many Hindu temples, with the number increasing over the years because of the continued construction of buildings and roadways.

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  • Digging to rescue 41 trapped workers in tunnel in India halted after machine breaks

    Digging to rescue 41 trapped workers in tunnel in India halted after machine breaks

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    NEW DELHI — Attempts to reach 41 construction workers stuck in a collapsed tunnel in northern India for two weeks were again stymied Saturday.

    Rescuers had been working by hand to remove debris after the drilling machine they were using broke down a day earlier while making its way through the debris of rock, stones and metal, but the operation was halted on Saturday.

    Arnold Dix, an international expert assisting the rescue team at the accident site in Uttarakhand state, said it is unclear when the drilling will be able to start again.

    “The machine is busted. It is irreparable,” he told reporters. “The mountain has once again resisted the auger (machine).”

    The workers have been trapped since Nov. 12 when a landslide caused a portion of the 4.5-kilometer (2.8-mile) tunnel they were building to collapse about 200 meters (650 feet) from the entrance. The mountainous terrain in the area has proven to be a challenge for the drilling machine, which had earlier broken twice as rescue teams attempted to dig horizontally toward the trapped workers.

    The machine stopped working after it had drilled about 2 meters (6.5 feet) of the last stretch of 12 meters (40 feet) of rock debris that would open a passage for the workers to come out from the tunnel.

    Rescuers have inserted pipes into the dug-out channel and welded them together to serve as a passageway from where the men would be pulled out on wheeled stretchers. About 46 meters (151 feet) of pipe has been put in so far, according to Devendra Patwal, a disaster management officer.

    Meanwhile, a new drilling machine used to dig vertically was brought to the accident site Saturday.

    The vertical dig is seen as an alternative plan to reach the trapped men, and the rescuers have already created an access road to the top of the hill. However, rescue teams will need to dig 103 meters (338 feet) downward to reach the trapped workers — nearly double the distance of the horizontal shaft.

    Authorities have supplied the trapped workers with hot meals made of rice and lentils through a 6-inch (15-centimeter) pipe after days when they survived on dry food sent through a narrower pipe. Oxygen is being supplied through a separate pipe, and more than a dozen doctors, including psychiatrists, have been at the accident site monitoring their health.

    Most of the trapped workers are migrant laborers from across the country. Many of their families have traveled to the accident site, where they have camped out for days to get updates on the rescue effort and in hopes of seeing their relatives soon.

    The tunnel the workers were building was designed as part of the Chardham all-weather road, which will connect various Hindu pilgrimage sites. Some experts say the project, a flagship initiative of the federal government, will exacerbate fragile conditions in the upper Himalayas, where several towns are built atop landslide debris.

    Large numbers of pilgrims and tourists visit Uttarakhand’s many Hindu temples, with the number increasing over the years due to the continued construction of buildings and roadways.

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  • Rescuers in India hope to resume drilling to evacuate 41 trapped workers

    Rescuers in India hope to resume drilling to evacuate 41 trapped workers

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    UTTARKASHI, India — Rescue teams resumed drilling Friday to reach 41 construction workers who have been trapped in a collapsed tunnel in northern India for nearly two weeks after a mechanical problem the day before delayed the evacuation effort, officials said.

    The platform of the drilling machine became unstable while boring through rock debris on Thursday, temporarily halting the final phase of digging at the accident site in Uttarakhand state for about 20 hours, state government spokesperson, Kirti Panwar said.

    Panwar could not say how long it would take to complete the drilling and to bring the construction workers out. They have been trapped since Nov. 12, when a landslide caused a portion of the 4.5-kilometer (2.8-mile) tunnel they were building to collapse about 200 meters (650 feet) from the entrance.

    As the rescue operation stretched into a 13th day, teams had drilled through 46 meters (151 feet) and needed to excavate up to 12 meters (40 feet) more to create a passageway, Panwar said.

    Before the work resumed, rescuers manually dug through debris to remove pieces of metal and prevent further damage, he said.

    The rescue teams also are inserting pipes into the dug-out channel and welding them together to serve as a passageway. About 46 meters (151 feet) of pipes have been put in so far, according to Panwar. Members of the National Disaster Response Force plan to bring the workers out one by one on stretchers that have been fitted with wheels.

    Mountainous terrain in the area has proved a challenge for the drilling machine, which broke down last weekend as rescue teams attempted to dig horizontally toward the trapped workers. The machine’s high-intensity vibrations also caused more debris to fall.

    The drilling had to stop again on Wednesday after the boring machine hit a metal girder, causing some damage to its blades.

    Authorities have supplied the trapped workers with hot meals made of rice and lentils through a 6-inch (15-centimeter) pipe after days in which they survived on dry food sent through a narrower pipe. Oxygen is being supplied through a separate pipe.

    Most of the trapped workers are migrant laborers from across the country. Many of their families have traveled to the accident site, where they have camped out for days to get updates on the rescue and in hopes of seeing their relatives soon.

    “We are all waiting here, hoping they come out,” Haridwar Sharma, whose brother, Sushil, is among the workers, said. “It is not in our hands … the administration is at it, the machinery is there. With God’s blessing, we are hopeful.”

    Officials earlier released a video from a camera pushed through the pipe that showed the workers in their construction hats moving around the blocked tunnel while communicating with rescuers on walkie-talkies.

    The tunnel the workers were building was designed as part of the Chardham all-weather road, which will connect various Hindu pilgrimage sites. Some experts say the project, a flagship initiative of the federal government, will exacerbate fragile conditions in the upper Himalayas, where several towns are built atop landslide debris.

    Large numbers of pilgrims and tourists visit Uttarakhand’s many Hindu temples, with the number increasing over the years due to the continued construction of buildings and roadways.

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  • Rescue of 41 workers trapped in collapsed tunnel in India reaches final stretch of digging

    Rescue of 41 workers trapped in collapsed tunnel in India reaches final stretch of digging

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    NEW DELHI — The rescue of 41 construction workers trapped nearly two weeks in a collapsed tunnel in northern India has reached the final stretch of digging.

    The drill that’s digging into the dirt and debris had made it through 44 meters (144 feet) out of approximately the 57 needed, Harpal Singh, a manager of another tunnel project who is helping with the rescue, told the Press Trust of India news agency late on Wednesday night.

    Once they finish excavating the additional 13 meters (43 feet), the rescuers can insert and weld together pipes through which the workers can crawl to their freedom.

    Singh said he hoped that the trapped workers would be rescued Thursday morning.

    Rescuers resumed drilling horizontally through the entrance of the tunnel Wednesday after problems with the machine forced them to stop digging last week and consider alternate rescue plans.

    The mountainous terrain in Uttarakhand state has proved a challenge to the drilling machine, which broke down as rescuers attempted to dig horizontally toward the trapped workers. The machine’s high-intensity vibrations also caused more debris to fall.

    The workers have been trapped since Nov. 12, when a landslide caused a portion of the 4.5-kilometer (2.8-mile) tunnel they were building to collapse about 200 meters (650 feet) from the entrance.

    On Wednesday evening, ambulances and a team of 15 doctors were deployed to the accident site, PTI reported.

    Relatives who had gathered there told the news agency they were finally feeling optimistic, after days of anxiety and concern over the rescue and well-being of the workers.

    Devashish, whose brother-in-law is among those stuck, said he spoke to him on Monday. “Sonu repeatedly told me not to worry now and that we would meet soon,” he said.

    Authorities began supplying the trapped workers with hot meals, made of rice and lentils, through a 6-inch (15.24 cm) pipe earlier this week after days of them surviving off of dry food sent through a narrower pipe. Oxygen is being supplied to them through a separate pipe.

    Officials on Tuesday released a video, after a camera was pushed through the pipe, showing the workers in their construction hats moving around the blocked tunnel while communicating with rescuers on the ground through walkie-talkies.

    Uttarakhand is dotted with Hindu temples, and highway and building construction has been constant to accommodate the influx of pilgrims and tourists. The tunnel is part of the Chardham all-weather road, a flagship federal project connecting various Hindu pilgrimage sites.

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  • 41 workers in India are stuck in a tunnel for an 8th day. Officials consider alternate rescue plans

    41 workers in India are stuck in a tunnel for an 8th day. Officials consider alternate rescue plans

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    LUCKNOW, India — Officials trying to reach 41 workers who have been trapped in a collapsed tunnel in northern India for eight days were contemplating alternative rescue plans Sunday after snags with a drilling machine caused them to halt digging.

    A new drilling machine arrived at the accident site in Uttarakhand state on Saturday to replace one that was damaged while breaking through the rocks and debris. They had been using the drill to create a space to insert wide pipes through which the trapped workers could crawl to their freedom.

    Authorities have so far drilled 24 meters (79 feet) through rubble and debris, but it would require up to 60 meters (197 feet) to allow the workers to escape, said Devendra Patwal, a disaster management official.

    Officials on Sunday were considering new angles for extracting the workers. Deepa Gaur, a government spokesperson, said this included possibly using the new machine to drill from the top of the hill, under which the workers have been trapped inside the collapsed tunnel.

    This method would be more time-consuming, taking an additional four or five days, she added.

    Earlier, rescue efforts hit a snag when a loud cracking sound was heard within the tunnel, startling those overseeing the operation, who paused the drilling and found parts of the machine damaged, said Tarun Kumar Baidya, director at the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited.

    The construction workers have been trapped since Nov. 12, when a landslide caused a portion of the 4.5-kilometer (2.8-mile) tunnel they were building to collapse about 200 meters (650 feet) from the entrance. The hilly area is prone to landslides.

    The site is in Uttarakhand, a mountainous state dotted with Hindu temples that attract many pilgrims and tourists. Highway and building construction has been constant to accommodate the influx. The tunnel is part of the busy Chardham all-weather road, a flagship federal project connecting various Hindu pilgrimage sites.

    About 200 disaster relief personnel have been at the site using drilling equipment and excavators in the rescue operation, with the plan being to push 80-centimeter-wide (2.6-foot-wide) steel pipes through an opening of excavated debris.

    Anshu Manish Khalkho, director at NHIDCL, said that after they paused the drilling on Saturday experts became concerned the drilling machine’s high-intensity vibrations could cause more debris to fall and hinder efforts. The machine has a drilling capacity of up to 5 meters (16 feet) per hour and is equipped with a 99-centimeter (3.2-foot) diameter pipe to clear debris.

    Khalko said drilling vertically from the top of the hill could also cause additional debris, but that they would opt for a specific technique designed for drilling through overburdened soil conditions where unstable ground make traditional methods more difficult. This method, experts hope, would lead to less debris falling.

    One challenge, however, is that drilling from the top means they would need to dig 103 meters (338 feet) to reach the trapped workers — nearly double than if they carried on digging from the front.

    Authorities were also contemplating drilling from the sides and the ends of the tunnel, Khulbe said.

    Vijay Singh, an official at the control room, said they had also extended the pipe installed inside the tunnel through which the trapped workers were receiving food like nuts, roasted chickpeas, popcorn, and other essential items. Oxygen supply is being administered through a separate pipe.

    Doctors, officials and relatives were in constant touch with the workers, said Patwal, the disaster management official. He said two doctors at the disaster site were ensuring the workers’ physical and mental well-being and that they have supplied them with vitamins and tablets to treat anxiety.

    But as the rescue operation stretches into its eighth day, families of those stuck underground are growing more worried, frustrated and angry.

    “I am losing my patience,” said Maharaj Singh Negi, whose brother Gabbar Singh is among the trapped workers. “The officials have not even briefed us about the future plans.”

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  • Aid trickles in to Nepal villages struck by earthquake

    Aid trickles in to Nepal villages struck by earthquake

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    KATHMANDU, Nepal — Aid trickled in to villages Monday in Nepal’s northwest mountains flattened by a strong earthquake over the weekend as villagers searched through the rubble of their collapsed homes to salvage what was left of their belongings.

    The magnitude 5.6 temblor struck just minutes before midnight Friday, killing 157 people, injuring scores and leaving thousands homeless. The U.S. Geological Survey said that the quake occurred at a depth of 11 miles (18 kilometers). Nepal’s National Earthquake Monitoring and Research Center confirmed that the epicenter was in Jajarkot, about 400 kilometers (250 miles) northeast of the capital, Kathmandu.

    Authorities on Monday pressed on with efforts to bring food and other supplies, tents and medicines to the remote villages, many only reachable by foot. Roads were also blocked by landslides triggered by the earthquake. Soldiers could be seen trying to clear blocked roads.

    Later in the afternoon, the ground shook again with a magnitude 5.3 aftershock that sent people scrambling for safety.

    Rescue and search teams said the first part of their mission — to rescue survivors, get the injured to treatment and search for bodies — was over.

    “Now we are working on the second phase of our work to distribute relief material, get aid to the villagers, and at the same time we are collecting details about the damages,” government official Harish Chandra Sharma said Monday.

    The National Emergency Operation Center in Kathmandu said that along with the 157 killed, at least 256 people were injured and 3,891 houses were damaged.

    In Chepare, villagers were going through piles of rocks and logs that used to be their homes on Monday, looking for anything they could salvage.

    “Most of what belonged to us is under the rubble, all our beds, clothes, whatever jewelry and money we had, it’s all under there,” said Nirmala Sharma, pointing to her wrecked home.

    She said they got a tent and some food on Sunday night. Authorities distributed rice, oil, instant noodles and salt in the village, to last them for a few days.

    Tarpaulin and plastic sheets made for temporary shelters for a lucky few while thousands of others spent a third night in the cold.

    Mina Bika said her family was sleeping on Friday night when the ceiling fell and buried them. A relative rescued them. Her husband was badly injured and taken to hospital in the town of Surkhet while she and the couple’s two sons were only lightly hurt.

    “It felt like the world had collapsed and I was not sure if anyone had even survived and would be able to help,” she said.

    Most of the homes in the villages in the districts of Jajarkot and Rukum — where houses are traditionally built by stacking rocks and logs — either collapsed or were severely damaged but even the few buildings made out of concrete were also damaged.

    Monday’s aftershock caused panic but there were no casualties, only a few structures that were already damaged were reported to have completely collapsed, said police official Binod Majhi. He added that the tremor would likely force many to spend a fourth night in the open.

    After a Cabinet meeting on Sunday, Communications Minister Rekha Sharma told reporters that supplying food and setting up temporary shelters were the main focus of government efforts for the moment while also working on plans to reconstruct damaged houses.

    Friday night’s quake was also felt in India’s capital, New Delhi, more than 800 kilometers (500 miles) away.

    Earthquakes are common in mountainous Nepal. A 7.8 magnitude earthquake in 2015 killed around 9,000 people and damaged about 1 million structures.

    ___

    Associated Press writer Upendra Man Singh in Jajarkot, Nepal, contributed to this report.

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  • Israeli airstrikes surge in Gaza, destroying homes and killing dozens at a time

    Israeli airstrikes surge in Gaza, destroying homes and killing dozens at a time

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    RAFAH, Gaza Strip — Israel escalated airstrikes across the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, crushing families in the rubble of residential buildings, as health officials said hundreds of Palestinians were killed in the past day and medical facilities were shut down because of bomb damage and lack of power.

    The soaring death toll from the bombardment is unprecedented in the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It augurs an even greater loss of life in Gaza once Israeli forces backed by tanks and artillery launch an expected ground offensive aimed at crushing Hamas militants.

    Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been running out of food, water and medicine since Israel sealed off the territory following the devastating Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on towns in southern Israel.

    The Gaza Health Ministry, which is run by Hamas, said Israeli airstrikes killed at least 704 people over the past day, mostly women and children. The Associated Press could not independently verify the death tolls cited by Hamas, which says it tallies figures from hospital directors.

    In Washington, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters that the U.S. also could not verify that one-day death toll.

    “The Ministry of Health is run by Hamas, and I think that all needs to be factored into anything that they put out publicly.”

    Israel said Tuesday it had launched 400 airstrikes over the past day, killing Hamas commanders, hitting militants as they prepared to fire rockets into Israel and striking command centers and a Hamas tunnel shaft. Israel reported 320 strikes the day before.

    Hamas is sworn to Israel’s destruction.

    Israel, for its part, has vowed repeatedly since the massacre to crush Hamas.

    On Tuesday, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen told the U.N. Security Council that the proportionate response to the Oct. 7 attack is “a total destruction to the last one” of the militants. “It is not only Israel’s right to destroy Hamas. It’s our duty,” he said.

    The Israeli military said it thwarted an assault by a group of Hamas underwater divers who tried to infiltrate Israel on a beach just north of Gaza. They were attacked by air, naval and ground forces.

    Across central and south Gaza, where Israel told civilians to take shelter, there were multiple scenes of rescuers pulling the dead and wounded out of large piles of rubble from collapsed buildings. Graphic photos and video shot by the AP showed rescuers unearthing bodies of children from multiple ruins.

    A father knelt on the floor of the Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir Al-Balah next to the bodies of three dead children cocooned in bloodied sheets. Later at the nearby morgue, workers prayed over 24 dead wrapped in body bags, several of them the size of small children.

    Buildings that collapsed on residents killed dozens at a time in several cases, witnesses said. Two families lost a total 47 members in a leveled home in Rafah, the Health Ministry said.

    A strike on a four-story building in Khan Younis killed at least 32 people, including 13 members of the Saqallah family, said Ammar al-Butta, a relative who survived the airstrike. He said there were about 100 people sheltering in the building, including many who had evacuated from Gaza City.

    “We thought that our area would be safe,” he said.

    Another strike destroyed a bustling marketplace in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, witnesses said. AP photos showed the floor of a vegetable shop covered with blood.

    In Gaza City, at least 19 people were killed when an airstrike hit the house of the Bahloul family, according to survivors, who said dozens more people remained buried. The legs of a dead woman and another person, both still half buried, dangled out of the wreckage where workers dug through the dirt, concrete and rebar.

    The Health Ministry says more than 5,700 Palestinians have been killed in the war, including some 2,300 minors. The figure includes the disputed toll from an explosion at a hospital last week.

    The fighting has killed more than 1,400 people in Israel — mostly civilians slain during the initial Hamas attack, according to the Israeli government.

    As the death toll in Gaza spirals, and fuel supplies dwindle, the number of facilities able to deal with casualties is shrinking. More than half of primary health care facilities, and roughly 1 of every 3 hospitals, have stopped functioning, the World Health Organization said.

    Overwhelmed hospital staff struggled to triage cases as constant waves of wounded were brought in. The Health Ministry said many wounded are laid on the ground without even simple medical intervention and others wait for days for surgeries because there are so many critical cases.

    While Israel has allowed a small number of trucks filled with aid to enter, it has barred deliveries of fuel to Gaza to keep it out of Hamas’ hands. The U.N. said its operation distributing aid will halt Wednesday evening if it does not receive fuel.

    To make room for the dead, cemeteries have been forced to excavate and reuse old plots. Families have dug trenches to bury multiple bodies at a time.

    “Bodies pour in by the hundreds every day. We use every empty inch in the cemeteries,” said Abdel Rahman Mohamed, a volunteer who helps transfer bodies to Khan Younis’ main cemetery.

    Israel says it does not target civilians and that Hamas militants are using them as cover for their attacks. Palestinian militants have fired over 7,000 rockets at Israel since the start of the war, according to Israel, and Hamas said it fired a fresh barrage on Tuesday.

    On Monday, Hamas released two elderly Israeli women who were among the roughly 220 people Israel says were taken hostage during the Oct. 7 attack and forced into Gaza.

    Appearing weak in a wheelchair and speaking softly, 85-year-old Yocheved Lifshitz told reporters Tuesday that the militants beat her with sticks, bruising her ribs and making it hard to breathe as they kidnapped her. They drove her into Gaza, then forced her to walk several kilometers (miles) on wet ground to reach a network of tunnels that looked like a spider web, she said.

    Once there, she said, she was treated well, fed and given medical care.

    Lifshitz and 79-year-old Nurit Cooper were freed days after an American woman and her teenage daughter were released.

    The Israeli military dropped leaflets in Gaza asking Palestinians to reveal information on the hostages’ whereabouts. In exchange, the military promised a reward and protection for the informant’s home.

    Iranian-backed fighters around the region are warning of possible escalation, including the targeting of U.S. forces deployed in the Mideast, if a ground offensive is launched. Israel and Hezbollah have traded fire almost daily across the Israel-Lebanon border.

    ___

    Magdy reported from Cairo and Nessman from Jerusalem. Associated Press writers Wafaa Shurafa in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Aamer Madhani in Washington, Amy Teibel in Jerusalem and Brian Melley in London, contributed to this report.

    ___

    Find more of AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

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  • Baltimore firefighter dies and 4 others are injured battling rowhouse fire

    Baltimore firefighter dies and 4 others are injured battling rowhouse fire

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    BALTIMORE — A rapidly intensifying blaze that engulfed multiple rowhouses in northwest Baltimore late Thursday afternoon left one firefighter dead and four others injured, city officials said.

    The injured firefighters sustained varying degrees of burns and are receiving medical treatment, officials said at a news conference Thursday night outside Baltimore’s Shock Trauma Center at the University of Maryland Medical System.

    The Baltimore Fire Department has faced growing controversy in recent months over its policies and training after three firefighters died while battling a vacant rowhouse fire early last year. Local officials called for additional oversight of the agency and the department’s previous leader resigned amid the turmoil.

    James Wallace, who was sworn in earlier this month as Baltimore’s new fire chief, said the blaze “appeared to rapidly grow in intensity” not long after firefighters arrived on scene.

    “Tonight, it is with a heavy heart that I must announce one member has tragically perished as a result of his injuries,” he said, declining to release the firefighter’s name pending next of kin notification.

    The two-alarm fire broke out just before 4 p.m., officials said. Footage from local television stations showed several rowhouses engulfed in flames, with parts of the structures collapsing and black smoke billowing from their windows and roofs.

    No civilian injuries have been reported and the cause of the fire remains under investigation.

    Wallace said at least one of the buildings involved appeared to be occupied. He said investigators haven’t determined why the fire intensified so quickly.

    “What I can tell you is, we attacked this fire like we attack many fires,” he said.

    Hours before officials publicly confirmed the firefighter’s death, dozens of first responders gathered outside the Baltimore hospital for a salute. Many later accompanied a Baltimore Fire Department ambulance in a slow procession through downtown.

    “Firefighters are our living superheroes, and we don’t expect to lose them,” Baltimore City Council President Nick Mosby said during the news conference. “It’s a reminder of what firefighters do on a regular basis to protect and serve our city.”

    The January 2022 fire that killed three firefighters prompted increased scrutiny of Baltimore’s fire department, which often is tasked with responding to treacherous conditions when flames break out in the city’s many vacant buildings.

    A report released months later pointed to numerous deficiencies that could have placed firefighters in unnecessary danger when the three-story brick building collapsed. Among other issues, it found there was no program in place to notify firefighters about vacant and unsafe buildings before they made entry.

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  • Wisconsin Assembly approves $545 million in public dollars for Brewers stadium repairs

    Wisconsin Assembly approves $545 million in public dollars for Brewers stadium repairs

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    MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin legislators edged closer Tuesday to passing a compromise plan to spend more than half-a-billion dollars in public money to help cover repairs at the Milwaukee Brewers stadium, pushing the proposal through the state Assembly and on to the Senate.

    The chamber voted 69-27 to approve the package. The Senate is expected to vote on the plan in November, but senators may attach amendments and send the measure back to the Assembly, the proposal’s sponsors said. Both houses must agree on the same version before the plan can go to Democratic Gov. Tony Evers for his signature.

    “We’ve got to get it done,” Evers told reporters before the vote. “I’m ready to support it as is.”

    The Brewers contend that American Family Field’s glass outfield doors, seats and concourses should be replaced and that luxury suites and video scoreboard need upgrades. The stadium’s signature retractable roof, fire suppression systems, parking lots, elevators and escalators need work, as well. Team officials have hinted the Brewers might leave Milwaukee if they don’t get public assistance for repairs.

    The funding plan calls for the state to contribute $411 million and the city of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County to contribute a combined $135 million.

    The state money would come in the form of grants. The local contribution would be generated from an existing fee the state Department of Administration charges the city and county for administering local sales taxes. Any fee revenue not used to administer the taxes would go to the stadium.

    The Brewers have said they will contribute $100 million to repairs and extend their lease at the stadium through 2050 in exchange for the public money. The lease extension would keep Major League Baseball in its smallest market for at least another 27 years.

    Assembly Republicans introduced a bill in September that called for about $610 million in public contributions, with $200 million coming from the city and county. Local leaders balked at the proposal, however, saying the city and county couldn’t afford such a sizeable contribution.

    The plan’s chief sponsor, Rep. Robert Brooks, introduced a compromise last week to reduce the local contribution.

    Rick Schlesinger, the Brewers president of business operations, said the Assembly vote Tuesday shows the package has momentum.

    “Today’s bipartisan vote creates a path to provide … resources needed to help keep Major League Baseball in Milwaukee for the next generation,” he said.

    Still, approval was far from unanimous. Sixteen Assembly Republicans ultimately voted against the package along with five of the 11 Democrats who represent Milwaukee.

    Rep. Ryan Clancy, of Milwaukee, agreed, saying Republicans have created a false sense of urgency. The idea that people wouldn’t find other ways to spend their money and boost the economy if the Brewers left makes no sense, he said. And Rep. Lori Palmeri, of Oshkosh, questioned why lawmakers have left UW-Oshkosh so cash-strapped the school has to lay off 300 workers but can spend hundreds of millions on a sports stadium.

    “This is a case of wants versus needs,” Palmeri said. “It’s still a corporate welfare bill and I cannot support it.”

    Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, who hails from Rochester in Racine County, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) south of American Family Field, warned lawmakers that if the Brewers don’t get public assistance, they’ll leave Milwaukee, putting a huge dent in state income and sales tax revenue.

    “It’s simple math,” he said. “If the Brewers leave, dollars follow. … If another employer was being lured elsewhere, we’d be saying we don’t want to lose that employer.”

    Public funding for professional sports facilities is hotly debated across the country. The Brewer’s principal owner, Mark Attanasio, has an estimated net worth of $700 million, according to Yahoo Finance. The team itself is valued at around $1.6 billion, according to Forbes.

    Still, groups have registered in support of the public assistance plan, including the Brewers, the Mechanical Contractors Association of Wisconsin, the Association of Wisconsin Tourism Attractions and the Tavern League of Wisconsin, a powerful lobbying force in the Legislature.

    Only two groups have registered in opposition: conservative political network Americans for Prosperity, and Citizen Action of Wisconsin, a group that describes itself as working for social and environmental justice.

    American Family Field opened in 2001 as Miller Park, replacing aging County Stadium. Construction cost about $392 million and was funded largely through a 0.1% sales tax imposed in Milwaukee County and four surrounding counties.

    The run-up to opening the stadium was rough. Republican state Sen. George Petak was recalled from office in 1996 after he switched his vote on the plan from no to yes, underscoring the bitter debate over public financing for professional sports teams. A crane also collapsed during construction at the stadium in 1999, killing three workers.

    The stadium was renamed American Family Field in 2021.

    ___

    Associated Press writer Scott Bauer contributed to this report.

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  • Moroccans with shovels and bulldozers dig through rubble but hope for survivors dwindles after quake

    Moroccans with shovels and bulldozers dig through rubble but hope for survivors dwindles after quake

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    TAFEGHAGHTE, Morocco — Survivors with shovels worked alongside bulldozers Monday to dig through remote Moroccan villages flattened by a monstrous earthquake, as hope dwindled of finding people alive under wood-and-dirt homes that pancaked into rubble and rescuers overseas waited for Morocco to let them help.

    More than 2,400 were killed when the quake struck late Friday — the strongest in the North African country in more than a century.

    A French aid group that specializes in locating people trapped under debris said it is withdrawing an offer to send a nine-person search-and-rescue team after waiting without success for a green light from Morocco to deploy. Rescuers Without Borders’ founder, Arnaud Fraisse, told The Associated Press that “our role is not to find bodies.”

    Because homes in quake-hit areas were often made of mud bricks with roofs of wood, stone and clay, he said, the hope of finding survivors at this point is slim.

    “When all of that collapses, you don’t have much chance of surviving, because there are no air pockets,” Fraisse said — a contrast to places where buildings are made of concrete or other strong materials. “People are generally suffocated by the dust.”

    Moroccan officials have so far accepted government-offered aid from just four countries — Spain, Qatar, Britain and the United Arab Emirates. Morocco’s Interior Ministry says officials want to avoid a lack of coordination that “would be counterproductive.”

    The United Nations estimates that 300,000 people were affected by Friday night’s magnitude 6.8 quake, made more dangerous by its relatively shallow depth.

    Most of the destruction and deaths were in Al Haouz province in the High Atlas Mountains, where homes folded in on themselves and steep and winding roads became clogged with rubble. Residents sometimes cleared away rocks themselves.

    In the remote impoverished settlement of Tafeghaghte, villagers estimated that more than half of the 160 inhabitants were killed. People worked quickly to clear dead bodies, but a foul stench filled the air Monday from what residents said were dead cattle. Most buildings had disintegrated.

    Ibrahim Wahdouch lost two young daughters and two other family members and likened the village to a warzone.

    “There’s not shooting but look around,” he said.

    On Monday, a teen carried a shovel through the rocks, bulldozers cleaned up debris and survivors steered away from half-wrecked buildings that threatened to collapse.

    A day earlier, people cheered when trucks full of soldiers arrived in the town of Amizmiz, down the mountain from Tafeghaghte. But they pleaded for more help.

    “It’s a catastrophe,’’ said survivor Salah Ancheu. “We don’t know what the future is. The aid remains insufficient.”

    Army units deployed Monday along a paved road leading from Amizmiz to remoter mountain villages. State news agency MAP reported that bulldozers and other equipment are being used to clear routes.

    Tourists and residents lined up to give blood. In some villages, people wept as boys and helmet-clad police carried the dead through streets. Khadija Fairouje’s face was puffy from crying as she joined relatives and neighbors hauling possessions down rock-strewn streets.

    Offers of help poured in from around the world. But Moroccan authorities frustrated some overseas rescuers who didn’t want to deploy without official approval, which wasn’t quickly forthcoming.

    Fraisse of Rescuers Without Borders said about 100 teams — with roughly 3,000 rescuers in total — that are registered with the U.N. could have deployed quickly to the city of Marrakech that was also hit by the quake.

    He surmised that Moroccan authorities may be trying to avoid the logistical chaos seen when a 2004 quake killed more 600 people and aid flights overwhelmed an airport in the disaster zone.

    “Logistically, it’s extremely complicated to manage, because the rescuers then all need to be transported by truck on broken, unusable roads to the zones,” he told the AP. “So I think they didn’t want to experience again what they encountered during the last big quake.”

    He said his group lodged its offer of assistance on Saturday afternoon with Morocco’s Embassy in France before deciding Monday that it would no longer be of help.

    “It’s their responsibility. They can do what they want,” Fraisse said. “They didn’t call. So today we think it’s no longer necessary for us to go there, because we won’t do effective work.”

    A Spanish search-and-rescue team arrived in Marrakech and headed to the rural Talat N’Yaaqoub, according to Spain’s Emergency Military Unit. Britain sent a 60-person search team with four dogs, medical staff, listening devices and concrete-cutting gear.

    But the Czech Republic was waiting for permission to sent a team of 70 rescuers. And Germany sent home more than 50 rescuers who’d been waiting to fly out, news agency dpa reported.

    France, which has many ties to Morocco and said four of its citizens died in the quake, said Moroccan authorities are evaluating proposals on a case-by-case basis.

    French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said Morocco is “the master of its choices, which must be respected.” She announced 5 million euros ($5.4 million) in emergency funds for Moroccan and international non-governmental groups rushing to help survivors. French towns and cities have offered more than 2 million euros ($2.1 million) in aid, and popular performers are also collecting donations.

    Those left homeless — or fearing more aftershocks — have slept outside in the streets of the ancient city of Marrakech or under makeshift canopies in devastated Atlas Mountain towns like Moulay Brahim.

    ”I was asleep when the earthquake struck. I could not escape because the roof fell on me. I was trapped. I was saved by my neighbors who cleared the rubble with their bare hands,” said Fatna Bechar. “Now, I am living with them in their house because mine was completely destroyed.”

    The quake had a preliminary magnitude of 6.8 and hit at 11:11 p.m. Friday, the USGS said. A total of 2,497 people were confirmed dead and at least 2,476 others were injured, the Interior Ministry reported.

    Aftershocks have since hit the zone, rattling nerves in areas where damage has left buildings unstable.

    Morocco’s deadliest quake was a magnitude 5.8 temblor in 1960 that struck near the city of Agadir, killing at least 12,000. It prompted Morocco to change construction rules, but many buildings, especially rural homes, are not built to withstand such tremors.

    Flags were lowered across Morocco, as King Mohammed VI ordered three days of national mourning starting Sunday. But there was little time for mourning as survivors tried to salvage anything from damaged homes.

    Khadija Fairouje’s face was puffy from crying as she joined relatives and neighbors hauling possessions down rock-strewn streets. She had lost her daughter and three grandsons aged 4 to 11 when their home collapsed while they were sleeping less than 48 hours earlier.

    “Nothing’s left. Everything fell,” said her sister, Hafida Fairouje.

    ___

    Associated Press journalists Mark Carlson in Marrakech, Morocco; Houda Benalla in Rabat, Morocco; John Leicester, Angela Charlton, Elaine Ganley in Paris; Jill Lawless in London; and Karel Janicek in Prague contributed.

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  • Moroccan villagers mourn after earthquake brings destruction to their rural mountain home

    Moroccan villagers mourn after earthquake brings destruction to their rural mountain home

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    MOULAY BRAHIM, Morocco — The ground shook with a force few had ever felt, thundering through the remote Moroccan village in the dark of night.

    When the earthquake was over late Friday, the town carved into the Atlas Mountains lay in devastation — possibly dozens dead, scores of homes crumpled and walls reduced to rubble. Soon crews were listening for desperate sounds of life within the ruins of Moulay Brahim.

    A village of fewer than 3,000 people, Moulay Brahim attracts tourists and outdoor enthusiasts with its stunning vistas and proximity to Marrakech. Streets brimmed with small hotels and cafes overlooking gorges and green valleys.

    But after the 6.8-magnitude earthquake that killed more than 2,000 across Morocco, the scene in the village is bleak.

    People in the poor rural community about 45 kilometers (28 miles) northeast of the quake epicenter live in homes made of clay brick and cinder block, many of which are no longer standing or safe to inhabit. Fallen walls exposed the innards of damaged homes, their rubble sliding down hills.

    “We felt a huge shake like it was doomsday,” resident Ayoub Toudite said. “Ten seconds and everything was gone.”

    Others, like 19-year-old student Abdelfattah El Akari, said the quake felt much longer, as if more than a minute. “The ground moved and homes cracked,” he said.

    Chaos and terror followed, as frightened villagers sought safety in the streets. When they returned to their neighborhoods, some used bare hands to clear debris and start pulling out bodies, one after another. People gathered and cried outside a community health center as news trickled in of more deaths.

    Search crews peered into crevices looking for more casualties or people in need of rescue following the biggest earthquake to hit the North African country in 120 years.

    Authorities tempered expectations with warnings that many areas remained too fragile to enter while there were still risks of aftershocks that could collapse whatever remained standing. A minaret looming above Moulay Brahim was severely damaged and appeared at risk of toppling if nudged by another tremor.

    Hours after the tragedy, with sunlight exposing the extent of the damage, a procession of hundreds accompanied more than a dozen blanket-covered bodies to the town square. Men knelt on rugs and prayed for the dead during a brief funeral before carrying the deceased to a hillside cemetery. According to Islamic custom, burial should happen quickly after death.

    Distraught parents sobbed into phones to tell loved ones about losing their children.

    Villagers erected a large tent in the square, traditionally used more often for joyous occasions like weddings. In the coming days, the space will serve a much more somber role as a shelter for those who no longer have homes.

    Toudite and other villagers appealed for help.

    “People are suffering here very much. We are in dire need of ambulances. Please send us ambulances to Moulay Brahim. The matter is urgent,” Toudite implored Saturday. “Please save us.”

    The town also is in need of food and tents for people who have no place to go but the streets, he said.

    The bulk of the town’s economy depends on agriculture and tourism. Time will tell how soon visitors will return to a place that stood for centuries.

    Moulay Brahim is named after a Moroccan Sufi saint who practiced a form of Islam valuing peace, love and tolerance, emphasizing inward meditation to reach a connection with God. The town’s people speak a combination of Arabic and Tachelhit, the most widely spoken indigenous language.

    Hassan Ait Belhaj, who owns several rental properties in Moulay Brahim, said the buildings weren’t designed for such violent quakes and wondered how long it would take for the area to recover.

    The Moroccan military deployed aircraft, helicopters and drones. Emergency services mobilized aid efforts to the hardest-hit areas, but roads leading to the mountain region around the epicenter were jammed with vehicles and blocked with fallen rocks, slowing rescue efforts.

    Traversing the unpaved roads through the rugged High Atlas was difficult long before Friday’s earthquake.

    Along a steep highway crowded by ambulances, taxis and Red Cross workers, Labira Lahcen nursed a bandaged wound on his hand that was injured by falling debris. He pronounced himself lucky his injuries weren’t more severe.

    Doctors picked shards of debris out of people’s feet and treated patients with surface wounds. The more critically injured were whisked away to a hospital near Marrakech, 60 kilometers (37 miles) to the north.

    “Since the earthquake, we’ve worked almost continuously,” Abdelhakim Ait Idan, a Moulay Brahim doctor, said Saturday afternoon, more than 14 hours after the quake violently rolled through the village.

    When Hamza Lamghani felt the tremble, he and his family darted outside. Then the lights went out. People used cellphones as flashlights. When it seemed safe to move, Lamghani and his family found their home and neighborhood reduced to rubble.

    Five of his closest childhood friends had perished, he said.

    Still in shock, walking from the square now filled with evacuees, he said: “There’s nothing to do but pray.”

    ___

    Hatem reported from Cairo, Egypt. Associated Press journalists Mosa’ab El Shamy in Moulay Brahim, Morocco, and Bobby Caina Calvan in New York contributed to this story.

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  • NFL cornerback Caleb Farley leans on faith after dad’s death in explosion at North Carolina home

    NFL cornerback Caleb Farley leans on faith after dad’s death in explosion at North Carolina home

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    MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Tennessee Titans cornerback Caleb Farley said he took the first flight home Tuesday after learning of an explosion that destroyed the NFL player’s North Carolina home, killing his father and injuring a family friend.

    Farley said in an interview with WCNC-TV that he was in Nashville when a neighbor called and explained the situation.

    “It didn’t sound good from the start,” he said, and then officials found his father’s body.

    “I was really emotional earlier. I’ve kind of leveled off a little bit,” he said. “It’s just been a hectic roller coaster of a ride. Not only today, just for me the past five years, period. So I’ve been leaning on my faith and staying with the principles my mother and my father raised me with and that’s what’s been keeping me going.”

    Robert M. Farley, 61, was found dead in the debris of the Mooresville house, said Kent Greene, director of Iredell County Fire Services and Emergency Management. First responders arrived to find family friend Christian Rogers, 25, exiting the collapsed structure and he was taken to a Charlotte hospital with a concussion, Greene said.

    Robert Farley was on a video call with a friend when the explosion happened and the friend, who thought Farley had dropped the phone at first, could not get back in touch with him, Greene said by telephone on Wednesday.

    The cause of the explosion is under investigation, but Greene has said that gas must have accumulated over a long period and likely found its way to an ignition source. The blast, which local authorities have ruled accidental, originated in a bedroom and did not damage any surrounding homes.

    County property records list the tax value of the home on a large plot near Lake Norman as nearly $2 million. On Tuesday, insulation hung from trees in the front yard and wood debris and window frames were blown at least 50 yards (45 meters).

    Property records list Caleb Farley, who was born and raised in nearby Maiden, as the homeowner.

    Caleb Farley, the No. 22 overall pick in the 2021 draft, was placed on injured reserve in November with a back issue. He has played 12 games in his first two seasons and is currently listed as physically unable to perform as the Titans wrap up training camp this week.

    “I’ve always known my father was loved in this community. Growing up as a little boy, I always knew my father was well-respected in this community. So, I appreciate the support, everybody coming out to just check on my family,” Caleb Farley told WBTV-TV. “All I have in this world is my faith … that’s all I got.”

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  • Father of NFL cornerback Caleb Farley killed in explosion at North Carolina home

    Father of NFL cornerback Caleb Farley killed in explosion at North Carolina home

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    MOORESVILLE, N.C. — The father of Tennessee Titans cornerback Caleb Farley died overnight in an explosion that destroyed the NFL player’s North Carolina home and left another person injured, authorities said Tuesday.

    Robert M. Farley, 61, was found dead in the debris of the Mooresville house Tuesday morning, said Kent Greene, director of Iredell County Fire Services and Emergency Management.

    First responders arrived at the house a few minutes after midnight Tuesday and found Christian Rogers, 25, exiting the collapsed structure, Greene said. Rogers, described by Greene as a friend of the family, was transported to Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte with a concussion. He is awake and alert, Greene said, but has not yet been discharged.

    The cause of the explosion is under investigation, but Greene said gas must have accumulated over a long period and likely found its way to an ignition source. The blast, which local authorities have ruled accidental, originated in a bedroom and did not damage any surrounding homes.

    The house is on a large plot of land near Lake Norman, about 28 miles (45 kilometers) north of Charlotte. County property records list the tax value of the home as nearly $2 million.

    In the front yard Tuesday, insulation hung from the trees, and a king-size mattress and broken coffee mug saying “Virginia Tech dad” lie on the lawn. Wood debris and window frames were blown at least 50 yards (45 meters) from the blast.

    “There could not be anyone in it left alive — that was my first thought,” Greene said. “And when I found out someone did walk out of it, I was amazed. This was a 6,300-square-foot home, and there’s nothing left but maybe a part of the garage.”

    Property records list Caleb Farley, who was born and raised in nearby Maiden, as the homeowner. He was not there at the time of the explosion, but was on the scene Tuesday, Greene said.

    Titans coach Mike Vrabel told the team about Caleb Farley’s loss during a practice in Nashville, and the players took a knee in an apparent prayer. Vrabel said that the team will do everything possible to support him.

    “That’s the most important thing is to focus on him and … everything else is pretty trivial,” Vrabel said after practice.

    Caleb Farley, the No. 22 overall pick in the 2021 draft, was placed on injured reserve last November with a back issue. He has played 12 games in his first two seasons and is currently listed as physically unable to perform as the Titans wrap up training camp this week.

    In college, the 6-foot-2, 197-pound cornerback was the first high-profile player to opt out of the 2020 season because of the coronavirus pandemic. He lost his mother to cancer in 2018 and was unwilling to put another loved one at risk while playing at Virginia Tech.

    Titans safety Kevin Byard lost his own mother in June 2022. He said he told Caleb Farley before he returned to North Carolina to lean hard into his faith.

    “I know he lost his mother at a young age as well, so he’s dealt with a lot of adversity as well,” Byard said. “So just very tragic. And, you know, as a team and as a brother, all we can do and all I can do is to try to be there for him.”

    Laura Wild, who lives two doors down from where the explosion occurred, said she heard a loud boom around midnight but didn’t go outside to check what had happened. She said she was exhausted because she had been up all night the night before watching her son’s newborn baby.

    “When it happened I was like, ‘What was that?’ My husband said, ‘I think it’s just thunder.’” Wild said. “We didn’t come out to investigate because the power didn’t go out in our house. We walked around the house and the house was fine. We went to bed. But when we came out in the morning… it was pretty bad. Just awful.”

    Wild said she didn’t know the Farleys well.

    Greene said it wasn’t yet clear where the explosion originated or who might be liable for it. The gas meter used to measure the volume of fuel gases flowing into nearby homes has been sequestered and does not pose a present danger to others in the community, he said.

    Dominion Energy spokesperson Bonita Billingsley Harris said in an email that the power company was among the first on the scene and was working with investigators.

    ___

    Walker reported from Nashville, Tenn., and Schoenbaum reported from Raleigh.

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