Thursday, December 21, 2017

Alert – Australia – Deliberate Car Ramming Injures 19 in Melbourne

A vehicle plowed into more than a dozen terrified pedestrians in Melbourne, Australia on Thursday, in what police called a “deliberate” and “cowardly” act. Security will be stepped up in the area, police said. It currently is not being identified as an act of terrorism.

The ABC News reports:

Two people were arrested at the chaotic scene, which was packed with holiday shoppers in Melbourne’s central business district.

Police said 19 people were injured in the ramming, and four remain in critical condition. The perpetrator and an off-duty police officer, who made the arrest, were included in the injured. 9News in Australia reported a 4-year-old girl was taken to the hospital with a serious head injury.

“This is horrific. It’s evil,” Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews said. “We are not defined by these sorts of incidents.”

The driver of the white Suzuki SUV was arrested on the scene. Victoria Police identified him as a 32-year-old Australian of Afghan descent. Police said the man has a history of drug abuse and mental health issues.

A second person was also arrested after being seen filming the incident, according to Victoria Police. He was found to have three knives in his backpack, but officials do not believe there is a connection between him and the driver.

Authorities said the incident, which occurred just after 4:30 p.m. local time, was a “deliberate act,” but repeatedly said they do not yet know the motivation, including whether it was terror-related.

Paul Calahane, a native of Ireland who said he’d been in Melbourne for seven weeks, was coming home from work when the incident unfolded behind him.

“I heard a bit of a bang behind me, even though I had my headphones in with a bit of audio,” Calahane told ABC News. “I leaned forward, thinking it was a blast, then I saw people running. I saw people just scattered on the road. … There were people running, screaming, thinking it was a bomb.”

Calahane said he then turned to see the white SUV across the street, which had plowed into a light pole. He said a man was pulled out the vehicle and arrested. “Within a minute there was about 40, 50 people on the scene,” he said. “They were really pushing people back from the scene.”

The owner of a bakery across the street, named Jim, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation he saw many people hit.

“He came to rest just next to the tram stop — maybe the side of the tram stop stopped him — but the only thing that seemed to be slowing him down was the amount of pedestrians he had hit,” the man said.

“All you could hear was just ‘bang bang bang bang bang.'”

Police said at a Thursday evening press conference security would be stepped up in the area, and that the investigation scene would be in place for a considerable amount of time.

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Tuesday, December 19, 2017

Alert – Mexico: 12 reported dead as foreign tourist bus crashes in Mexico

At least 12 people are dead and others injured after a tour bus carrying several American tourists flipped over on a highway in Mexico.

According to CBS News:

Passengers from two Miami-based Royal Caribbean cruise ships, the Celebrity Equinox and Serenade of the Seas, were on board the bus when it overturned on a two-lane highway. Seven Americans and two citizens of Sweden are among the injured. The crash occurred as the bus was on its way to the ruins at Chacchoben, about 110 miles south of Tulum.

According to ABC:

Twenty-seven passengers from both cruise ships were on the bus during the crash, Royal Caribbean said in a statement, adding it was working with local authorities to get more information about the accident.

“Our hearts go out to all those involved. We are doing all we can to care for our guests, including assisting with medical care and transportation,” the company said.

The cause of the accident is under investigation.

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December 19, 2017

Royal Caribbean had a norovirus outbreak last week aboard the Independence of the Seas cruise out of Florida. Travel Leaders Group has been checking to see if we had any passengers onboard that may have booked through our agents. So far we know of approximately 25 clients that booked with us. We will keep you informed if we discover that the number changes substantially.

The USA Today reports:

More than 300 passengers became ill on a Royal Caribbean cruise out of Florida last week, the second time in less than a month that sickness swept through passengers and crew on one of the cruise line’s ships.

Royal Caribbean said 332 cases of gastrointestinal illness were reported on the Independence of the Seas before it returned Saturday to Port Everglades, Fla., after a five-night cruise.

Victoria Nolan of Genesee, N.Y., told WPLG-TV that she and six of 15 of her relatives on the ship fell ill. She described a horrific scene of people throwing up in elevators while going to the ship’s medical facility. Nolan said she also went, but returned to her room after realizing the wait for medical assistance was more than four hours.

“It’s not their fault that it happened, but the way they handled it after people started getting sick made it 10 times worse,” Nolan said.

Marsha Homuska told the TV station the crew worked hard to keep the ship clean during the outbreak, but the situation was overwhelming.

The Miami Herald reports:

A Royal Caribbean ship that returned to Port Everglades Saturday morning had many passengers relieved they were on dry land after a five-night cruise to the Caribbean.

Cruise line officials reported that there were 220 cases of a stomach virus on board the Independence of the Seas after it departed from Port Everglades on Monday. 

A passenger on board the ship told WSVN 7News that people began to show symptoms of the gastrointestinal illness on Wednesday.

As passengers disembarked from the ship Saturday, cruise line employees were seen wearing gloves as they handled passengers’ routine needs on dock, WPLG’s Erika Rakow posted on Twitter.

On Thursday, Royal Caribbean distributed a letter to passengers alerting them to a possible norovirus outbreak on board as more than 200 sought attention, overwhelming the ship’s three nurses, WPLG reported.

The letter read, in part, “In an abundance of caution, we have implemented enhanced sanitizing procedures onboard, as recommended by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Public Health Agencies worldwide.”

According to the CDC, norovirus or acute gastroenteritis, causes inflammation of the stomach or intestines or both. The most common symptoms are diarrhea, vomiting, nausea and stomach pain. One can also have fever, headache and body aches. Dehydration is the greater concern, especially among young children, the elderly or those with other illnesses.

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December 18, 2017

There are multiple fatalities after a high-speed Amtrak train derailed and dangled from an overpass onto Interstate 5 in Dupont, Washington outside of Tacoma. A section of the highway has been closed down. Amtrak service south of Seattle is temporarily suspended.

NBC News reports:

Several people were killed Monday after an Amtrak train derailed while traveling on the first day of a new route outside Tacoma, Washington.

“There have been multiple casualties as a result of the Amtrak derailment near Tacoma, Washington,” Pierce County spokesman Ed Troyer said of the 7:40 a.m. incident. “The casualties include multiple injuries and fatalities.”

The cause is under investigation, Troyer said.

Washington State Department of Transportation tweeted a picture of the derailment at 7:45 a.m. PST, showing what appeared to be a car on its side over a highway lane.

“All SB lanes of I-5 blocked near Mounts Road in Pierce County due to derailed train car. Avoid area!” the tweet said.

Following the incident, Amtrak tweeted that it had been made aware of the incident.

“Amtrak is aware of an incident with Train 501, Cascades service from Seattle to Portland. Emergency services are on the scene and Amtrak management is responding,” the company said in a statement.

“Amtrak service south of Seattle is temporarily suspended. Service from Seattle to points north and east is continuing to operate.”

The derailment happened between Olympia and Tacoma on a newly established Amtrak route aimed at adding more frequent and faster service Seattle and Portland, part of an $800 million project called the Cascades High-Speed Rail Capital Program.

Reuters reports:

An Amtrak passenger train derailed on a bridge over a major highway in DuPont, Washington, on Monday morning, blocking all southbound lanes on Interstate 5 and prompting a massive emergency response, according to local authorities and news media reports.

Amtrak confirmed its train was involved but did not provide further information.

“We are aware of an incident involving Amtrak train 501,” the rail operator said on Twitter. “We will update with additional details as they become available.”

Part of the train fell onto the interstate around 7:30 a.m. (1530 GMT), causing several injuries, The News Tribune reported. The local newspaper did not have further details on the nature or extent of the injuries. No deaths were immediately reported.

A photograph posted on Twitter by the Washington State Department of Transportation showed a train car that had apparently veered off a bridge onto the highway below. The agency said southbound lanes were closed, and warned drivers to avoid the area.

The National Transportation Safety Board said on Twitter that it was gathering information about the incident.

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December 18, 2017

Power has been restored at Hartsfield-Jackson Airport in Atlanta as of 11:55 p.m. last night.

According to CNBC:

Airlines had canceled 1,173 flights to or from the Atlanta airport as of 10:55 p.m., according to flight-tracking site FlightAware.

Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines said it canceled more than 900 mainline and regional flights due to the outage and diverted 48 flights to other airports. It also canceled 300 flights scheduled for Monday.

Southwest Airlines canceled the remainder of its flights to and from the Atlanta airport on Sunday.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said some international flights were sent to other airports.

Power was restored to terminals and for “all essential” airport activities shortly before midnight said Georgia Power, the airport’s electricity provider. The company had said it “believed” the outage was caused by a fire that damaged an underground facility and affected substations serving the airport.

The Chicago Sun Times writes:

Robert Mann, an aviation consultant and former American Airlines executive, said it likely will be Tuesday before Delta’s operations in Atlanta return to normal, and for passengers “it could be most of the week” because there aren’t many open seats on other flights in the last week before Christmas.

One bit of good news, according to Mann: Delta has more spare planes and available crews in Atlanta than anywhere else, which should help it to recover.

Delta customers flying to or from Atlanta can make a one-time change to travel plans without incurring a $200 change fee. The airline also encouraged travelers not to pick up their bags Monday because of anticipated congestion at the airport.

Still, when flights at Atlanta were grounded for most of one day last spring, it took Delta five days — and about 4,000 canceled flights — before it fully recovered.

Like Sunday’s outage, that April storm hit Delta’s largest hub at a busy travel time when there weren’t many empty seats to accommodate customers from cancelled flights.

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December 11, 2017

Breaking News: New York police are responding to reports of an explosion at the Port Authority at 42nd Street and Eighth Avenue. The trains on the A, C and E subway lines near are being evacuated.

The NY Post reports:

Several people were injured Monday morning when a device exploded at the Port Authority bus terminal on 42nd Street, according to law enforcement sources.

One person is in custody after his device partially detonated inside a tunnel, sources told The Post.

Police and firefighters have responded to the scene, where the bomb squad also has been deployed.

The NYC Office of Emergency Management said commuters should expect delays.

There was no immediate word on what prompted the response between Eighth and Ninth avenues.

WABC News (NY) in LA reports:

What police sources describe as a possible pipe bomb detonated in a passageway below ground at the Port Authority. One person is in custody. Only a few injuries have been reported.

It happened in an MTA passageway at the terminal at 42nd Street and 8th Avenue. Streets are being closed in the vicinity of the terminal. There are also the following subway disruptions: 1, 2, 3, N, Q, R, W and 7 trains are bypassing Times Sq-42 St in both directions.

A, C and E trains are bypassing 42 St/Port Authority-Bus Terminal in both directions.

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November 29, 2017

Bali’s international airport, Ngurah Rai (Denpasar), reopened today after closing Monday because of the eruption of Mount Agung volcano. The volcano is still erupting, but ash, reaching 25,000 feet, has not been detected at the airport yet.

Reuters reports:

The airport on the Indonesian holiday island of Bali reopened on Wednesday as wind blew away ash spewed out by a volcano, giving airlines a window to get tourists out while authorities stepped up efforts to get thousands of villagers to move to safety.

Operations at the airport – the second-busiest in Indonesia – have been disrupted since the weekend when Mount Agung, in east Bali, began belching out huge clouds of smoke and ash, and authorities warned of an “imminent threat” of a major eruption.

“Bali’s international airport started operating normally,” air traffic control provider AirNav said in a statement, adding that operations resumed at 2:28 p.m. (0628 GMT).

The reopening of the airport, which is about 60 km (37 miles) away from Mount Agung, followed a downgrade in an aviation warning to one level below the most serious, with the arrival of more favorable winds

CBS News reports:

Bali’s international airport was reopened on Wednesday, although a volcano on the island is still erupting. Indonesia’s president has urged anyone still within the exclusion zone to get out “for the sake of their safety.”

Airport spokesman Arie Ahsannurohim said ash from the Mount Agung volcano had drifted south and southeast, leaving clean space above the airport for planes to land and take off. The reopening came Wednesday afternoon in Indonesia.

The airport had been closed since Monday morning, disrupting travel for tens of thousands of people.

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo ordered all concerned ministries and agencies, as well as the military and police, to help the Bali government cope.

Authorities on Monday told 100,000 people to leave an area extending up to six miles from the volcano. Some though have stayed.

Airport spokesman Ari Ahsanurrohim said more than 440 flights were canceled Tuesday, affecting nearly 60,000 passengers, about the same as Monday. Without aircraft, getting in or out of Bali requires traveling hours by land and taking a boat to another island, enduring choppy seas in Bali’s rainy season.

Ahsanurrohim said Wednesday morning that volcanic ash had not been detected at the airport yet, but observations from the Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Center showed the ash had reached an altitude of 25,000 feet.

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November 27, 2017

A volcano in Bali has erupted, leading to a closure of Bali’s main airport and the stranding of nearly 60,000 travelers.

Business Insider writes:

An ash cloud forced the main airport on the Indonesian island of Bali to close on Monday. International flights at Denpasar Airport were canceled following a volcanic eruption by Mount Agung on Saturday evening and a further three eruptions on Sunday.

Fifty-nine thousand passengers on 445 canceled flights — including 196 international flights — have been affected, the airport said in a statement.

Indonesia’s National Disaster Mitigation Agency said that Denpasar Airport was closed for 24 hours and that authorities would consider reopening it Tuesday morning after evaluating the situation.

The BBC reported that there is concern this could affect tourism in the country:

Tourism numbers have been down since the volcano began rumbling in September.

“We are very well prepared but we do need to worry about the long-term impact on the lives of the evacuees and the impact on tourism to Bali. That’s the more serious issue,” said Bali’s Governor, Made Pastika.

The Bali Tourism Board has set up a crisis centre to respond to the eruption. It is co-ordinating free accommodation for 2,315 stranded travellers, and it has set up consular and immigration desks at the airport to help tourists to make arrangements to stay longer.

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