January 16, 2017

ALERT: Shooting in Playa del Carmen, Mexico

A shooting took place in the Mexican resort area of Playa del Carmen, last night, that killed several people. One news report states that “Several Americans were reportedly among the victims.”

According to the Associated Press:

A Mexican police officer said Monday a gunman has killed at least five people and wounded nine others at a nightclub in the Caribbean coast resort of Playa del Carmen.

The shooting occurred outside the Blue Parrot nightclub, which was hosting an event that was part of the BPM electronic music festival.

The BPM Festival posted a statement saying four people had been killed and 12 injured.

The statement said the attack involved “a lone shooter.”

BPM wrote that “the violence began on 12th street in front of the club and three members of the BPM security team were among those whose lives were lost while trying to protect patrons inside the venue.”

The Blue Parrot is one of the venues at the 10-day festival in Playa del Carmen, a tourist destination that has largely been spared the violence that has hit other parts of Mexico.

Fox News is reporting:

At least five people were killed early Monday in a shooting at a nightclub in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, a popular beach resort near Cancun, where a music festival was being held.

Twelve people were injured, according to local media reports.

The shooting unfolded at around 3 a.m. as club-goers waited in line to get into the BPM Festival’s closing party at the Blue Parrot.

Several Americans were reportedly among the victims. The festival, an annual 10-day and night electronic music festival, is popular with foreign tourists, especially from the United States and the United Kingdom.

Alert – Strikes Impacting London’s Underground and British Airways (January 8, 2017)

Striking workers will cause travel issues for individuals taking the London Tube on Monday, particularly in the city center. In addition, cabin crew members from British Airways will strike for two days, starting on Tuesday.

According to the UK’s Guardian:

Rail, air and London Underground services will be hit by strikes this week, leaving many commuters, particularly those in London and the south-east, facing a difficult start to the first full working week of 2017.

A 24-hour walkout by London Underground staff is expected to cause havoc on Monday by closing tube stations in the centre of the capital. British Airways flights from Heathrow are expected to be disrupted by a strike among cabin crew on Tuesday, and London’s commuters face another round of chaos as drivers on the troubled Southern franchise begin three days of strikes.

The London Underground strike started at 6pm on Sunday, as station staff in the RMT and TSSA unions shut tube stations in the centre of the capital, bringing many evening services to an early end. A limited number of routes in outer boroughs will run on Monday.

All zone one stations are closed, along with all those on the Victoria, and Waterloo and City lines. Transport for London has put on extra buses, but said roads and National Rail services would be much busier than usual, slowing journeys for all commuters.

Thousands of British Airways cabin crew will start a two-day strike on Tuesday over what their union, Unite, describes as poverty pay.

Despite the action, the airline said it would ensure all customers reached their destinations. Some flights from Heathrow had been cancelled or “merged”, with passengers put on alternative departures on the same day as their booked flights. The airline said flights from Gatwick and City airports would not be affected.

The Transport for London website states:

Tube services are severely reduced and some stations are closed from Sunday evening until the end of service on Monday 9 January. This means that the majority of stations in Zone 1 are closed.

 The strike is by station staff, which means many Tube stations may not open at all, particularly in Zone 1

 Those that do open are likely to open after 0700 and close by 1900 on Monday 9 January

 It is only possible for us to run severely restricted underground services

 Other transport services, including buses, DLR and London Overground, are expected to be much busier than usual

 We are running the best service possible with the number of employees available

 Where services are running, we advise customers to complete Tube journeys by 1800 on both Sunday and Monday

 We expect normal services to resume by the morning of Tuesday 10 January

According to the British Airways website:

All British Airways customers will be able to fly to their destinations on Tuesday 10 January and Wednesday 11 January despite proposed industrial action by Unite.

We can confirm that:

 all flights to and from London Gatwick will operate as normal

 all flights to and from London City will operate as normal

 the vast majority of flights to and from London Heathrow will operate as normal

As part of our contingency plan, we will be merging a very small number of flights to and from Heathrow. This will mean some customers will travel slightly earlier or later in the day than their original booking. Customers affected are being contacted with the options available for them.

ALERT: Italy: 4.8 Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Central Italy Thursday Morning

Another earthquake struck Thursday morning in central Italy – this time near Marche with a 4.8

magnitude quake. There were no reports of casualties or further serious damage.

According to The Guardian:

A strong earthquake hit the same area of central Italy on Thursday that has

already been battered by a spate of recent tremors, but there were no reports of

casualties or further serious damage.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) initially measured the quake at 5.0 but later

revised it to 4.8. Its epicenter was in the Marche region, one of three areas hit

repeatedly since August.

Nearly 10 hours after the latest quake, there were no reports of casualties,

injuries or serious damage to buildings already weakened by previous tremors.

Earthquakes measuring 5.5 and 6.1 hit the area on 26 October, followed by a 6.6

magnitude quake on Sunday, the biggest tremor to strike Italy for 36 years.

The recent quakes have reshaped more than 230 square miles of land, lowering

areas around the epicentre by up to 70 cm, according to data released by Italy’s

National Institute for Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV).

Central Italy was hit by an initial earthquake on 24 August that killed 300 people,

most of them in the town of Amatrice.

Since then, some 21,600 aftershocks have battered the region, the INGV said,

driving most residents from their homes.

ALERT: New Orleans: Airport Attack From Early Last Year in the News

A 2015 machete attack at New Orleans’ Louis Armstrong International Airport is back in the news

because of a video that has just been released. It would be easy for casual observers to think that the

attack at a TSA checkpoint just occurred when it actually transpired in March of 2015.

According to CNN:

An interminable TSA airport line descended into a horror as a man unleashed

streams of wasp spray onto scrambling travelers and swung a machete at people

before bolting through a security line.

Newly released video — obtained by the New Orleans Advocate — shows the first

moments of the March 2015 attack at the city’s airport which ended with the

shooting of the machete-wielding man. The attacker later died from three bullet

wounds inflicted by a sheriff’s lieutenant. In the video, the man — identified as

Richard White, 63 — is seen at the top of the frame as he calmly walks up to a line

of travelers at a TSA checkpoint at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International

Airport.

He pulls a can of wasp spray from a bag and unleashes streams onto travelers as

people begin to disperse. The man is then seen pulling a machete from his

waistband and swinging its blade at people standing in line. Moments later, the

video shows the man spraying the chemical in the face of a TSA officer before

chasing him through a wobbling metal detector and out of camera range.

White died one day after the attack, following treatment for three bullet wounds

he suffered when a sheriff’s lieutenant fired at him, officials said. Investigators

said he suffered from some type of mental illness.

When White approached the checkpoint, he was carrying a bag that he dropped

as soon as he sprayed travelers as well as a security officer, authorities said at the

time.

In the bag, investigators found Molotov cocktails.

A grill lighter and plastic letter opener were also found in the bag, and next to his

body investigators discovered powdery material and wicks, which they

determined were from crushed smoke bombs. The bomb squad later found more

smoke bombs in his car, and in the trunk were three gas tanks — one for Freon,

one for oxygen and one for acetylene, a compressed gas used in welding and

metal-cutting.

Investigators said the motive for the attack was unclear.

ALERT: Italy: 6.6 Magnitude Earthquake “Tremor” Hits Central Italy Near Norcia

Italy has been rocked by additional earthquakes including a 6.6 magnitude tremor in the nation’s center

near Norcia. At least 20 have been injured, but there are no immediate reports of deaths.

According to CNN:

A powerful 6.6-magnitude earthquake rocked central Italy on Sunday morning,

injuring at least 20 people, in the strongest tremor to hit the country in more

than three decades.

The earthquake follows tremors last week and comes on off the heels of

a devastating quake in August, which killed nearly 300 people and flattened

entire villages.

The town center of Amatrice was badly damaged in August’s quake and was

battered again in Sunday’s temblor.

Sunday’s earthquake struck at a shallow depth of just 10 kilometers, according to

the US Geological Survey, making it more likely to cause damage.

Residents ran onto the streets in a panic as the quake struck at 7:40 a.m. local

time (2:40 a.m. ET) Sunday, and rescuers were seen soon after, helping evacuate

a group of nuns from a church. They worked through aftershocks that hit every

20 minutes or so.

Authorities are hopeful there may be no deaths since many residents in the

region had already been evacuated to emergency camps and hotel rooms paid for

by the government after the August quake and last week’s temblors, and schools

had shut down in anticipation of powerful aftershocks.

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi in Rome thanked rescuers and vowed to

rebuild damaged villages.

“Italy has many faults, but these situations bring out the best of us,” he said,

adding the country would rebuild houses, churches and shops.

“We will rebuild everything. We have the resources to do it.”

Italian civil protection staff pass a collapsed wall Sunday in Norcia after the

quake jolted central Italy. The main road into the worst-affected area has been

blocked at various points, said Curcio, the civil protection chief, and helicopters

were airlifting the injured to the hospital in Foligno, around 30 kilometers to the

northwest. Six aircraft were monitoring the affected regions, he added.

Initial images from Sunday’s quake show devastation to some historical

buildings. Many of these buildings had not been reinforced since two powerful

quakes struck Wednesday. The town center of Amatrice took another battering

Sunday after most of its buildings were seriously damaged in the August quake —

a lone bell tower was seen poking up among the rubble. The much-visited Basilica

of San Benedetto in Norcia was leveled at its core, only its facade still somewhat

intact. Central Italy is a deeply Catholic region.

ALERT: Turkey Travel Warning

The U.S. State Department updated its Travel Warning for Turkey.

The warning includes information on the government’s decision to order family members of “employees

posted to the U.S. Consulate in Istanbul” to leave the country, due to security concerns.

According to the updated State Department Travel Warning:

The U.S. Department of State is updating this Travel Warning to reflect the October 29,

2016, decision to order the departure of family members of employees posted to the U.S.

Consulate General in Istanbul, Turkey. The Department of State made this decision

based on security information indicating extremist groups are continuing aggressive

efforts to attack U.S. citizens in areas of Istanbul where they reside or frequent. The

Consulate General remains open and fully staffed.

This order applies only to the U.S. Consulate General in Istanbul, not to other U.S.

diplomatic posts in Turkey. The Department continues to monitor the effect of these

developments on the overall security situation in the country.

Foreign and U.S. tourists have been explicitly targeted by international and indigenous

terrorist organizations in Turkey. In the past year, extremists have carried out attacks in

France, Belgium, Germany, Mali, Bangladesh, Tunisia, and Turkey. Additional attacks in

Turkey at major events, tourist sites, restaurants, commercial centers, places of worship,

and transportation hubs, including aviation services, metros, buses, bridges, bus

terminals and sea transport, could occur. Extremists have also threatened to kidnap and

assassinate Westerners and U.S. citizens. U.S. citizens are reminded to review personal

security plans, monitor local news for breaking events, and remain vigilant at all times.

ALERT: Plane Catches Fire at O’Hare Airport

A Miami-bound American Airlines flight caught fire, after an aborted takeoff at Chicago’s O’Hare

International Airport this afternoon.

The Boeing 767 had 161 passengers and nine (9) crew members aboard. All were evacuated safely,

though local news reports indicate several passengers were injured, none critically.

The Chicago Tribune is reporting:

An American Airlines flight bound for Miami caught fire on a runway at O’Hare

International Airport Friday afternoon when a tire apparently blew as the jetliner

was taking off, officials said.

The pilot of Flight 383, a Boeing B767, aborted the take off around 2:35 p.m.,

according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Passengers were taken off

through emergency chutes, it said.

Video footage from the scene showed all the planes chutes deployed and the right

wing blackened and sagging to the tarmac.

While the FAA said the problem started with a blown tire, American Airlines said

in a statement that the take-off was aborted “due to an engine-related mechanical

issue.”

“The 161 passengers and nine crew deplaned on the runway, and buses are

enroute to pick up the passengers and bring them back to the terminal,” the

airline said.

According to the FAA:

Due to RWY-TAXI / DISABLED AIRCRAFT, there is a Traffic Management

Program in effect for traffic arriving Chicago OHare International Airport,

Chicago, IL (ORD). This is causing some arriving flights to be delayed an average

of 1 hour and 15 minutes.

ALERT: Shooting Outside U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya

A man was killed outside the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya.

While no Security Message for U.S. citizens has been issued, the embassy confirmed the shooting via

Twitter: “Confirmed: Shooting incident near the Embassy. No Embassy personnel were involved. We

refer you 2 Kenyan authorities 4 further details.”

According to the International Business Times:

A man wielding a knife in an alleged attack on the United States embassy in Nairobi,

Kenya Thursday was reportedly shot and killed after he tried to stab a guard near one of

the entrances, NTV Kenya reports.

The man’s identity is presently unknown, but bystanders posted pictures of his body

after he killed to social media.

His motive for the alleged attack is also unknown, and the embassy has yet to make an

announcement regarding the attack.

The man reportedly tried to stab a General Service Unit officer, which is part of Kenya’s

National Police Service.

According to Capital News:

A man was on Thursday afternoon shot dead by GSU officers guarding the US Embassy

in Nairobi, police said.

The shooting occurred at the entrance of the VISA section on UN Avenue in Gigiri.

“There has been a shooting outside the embassy and a man is dead,” a senior police

officer said.

When contacted, Gigiri Divisional Police chief Vitallis Otieno said “The man was shot

after stabbing a GSU officer in the hand and left him with injuries.”

He added that “The officer sustained injuries in the head and hand after the

confrontation in which the attacker had tried to grab a gun from him.”

Heavily armed police officers were immediately deployed to the scene and sealed off part

of the road as investigations got underway.

ALERT: Italy Earthquake

As an update to our earlier alert, there have now been two earthquakes in Italy this evening.

At 7:10 p.m. local time, a 5.4-magnitude quake struck near Visso in Macerata province, according to the

U.S. Geological Survey. That was followed, two hours later, by a 6.1 magnitude aftershock.

Reuters is reporting:

A series of strong earthquakes hit central Italy on Wednesday, striking fear among

residents still rattled by a deadly tremor in August, but there were no reports of

casualties.

A quake measured at 6.0 magnitude by the U.S. Geological Survey struck about two

hours after a first quake measuring 5.4 struck.

Both were strong enough to be felt more than 150 km south in Rome, where lamps

swayed on the upper floors of building.

The epicentres of both quakes were near the town of Castelsantangelo sul Nera in the

Marche region.

First reports indicated that some old buildings collapsed but that the damage would not

approach that caused by the major quake that struck the Marche, Lazio and Umbria

regions on Aug 24, which devastated several towns and killed nearly 300 people.

Officials in the town of Visso, not far from the epicentre, reported several injuries.

Several old rural churches collapsed or were damaged. Schools were ordered closed on

Thursday.

The U.S. Geological Survey initially attributed a magnitude of 5.6 to the first quake and

6.4 to the second, before revising them lower. USGS said the epicentre was at a depth of

about 10 km (6 miles).

Electrical power was lost in some of the areas and some roads were closed.

According to Fox News:

In Rome, some 145 miles southwest from the epicenter, centuries-old palazzi shook and

officials at the Foreign Ministry evacuated the building.

The quakes were actually aftershocks of the magnitude 6.2 earthquake from two months

ago. Because they were so close to the surface, it has the potential to cause more shaking

and more damage, “coupled with infrastructure that’s vulnerable to shaking,” said U.S.

Geological Survey seismologist Paul Earle.

“They have a lot of old buildings that weren’t constructed at a time with modern seismic

codes,” he said.

Given the size, depth and location of the quakes, the USGS estimates that about 12

million people likely felt at least weak shaking.

This original quake was about 12 miles northwest of the original shock, which puts it on

the northern edge of the aftershock sequence and two months is normal for aftershocks,

Earle said. The August 6.2 quake was five times bigger than Wednesday’s and was 11

times stronger based on energy released.

ALERT: Palm Springs: 13 Fatalities and 31 Injuries in USA Holiday Motor Coach Crash

On Interstate 10 near Palm Springs, California, a USA Holiday tour bus crashed into a freight truck,

resulting in at least 13 fatalities and another 31 injured. The driver was among those who lost their lives.

According to CNN:

A tour bus that crashed into a freight truck on Sunday in Palm Springs,

California, resulted in 13 fatalities and 31 injuries, California Highway Patrol

Chief Jim Abele said a press conference. The driver of the bus was among those

killed. The accident’s cause has not yet been determined.

The accident happened at 5:17 a.m. local time on westbound Interstate 10,

according to the California Highway Patrol.

The Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs reported receiving 14

patients early Sunday. Five were in critical condition while 3 were in serious

condition, the hospital said.

Early videos from the scene shows dozens of firefighters with ladders inside the

mangled remains of the tour bus, struggling to reach the victims. KESQ reported

that rescuers also used a crane to search the wreckage.

The California Highway Patrol told KESQ the bus was owned by a Los Angeles

company, USA Holiday. The California Highway Patrol told KESQ that the

company’s owner, who was driving the bus at the time, was not injured.

The National Transportation Safety Board said in a tweet Sunday that

investigators were heading to the crash scene.