Australian team probes plane crash
Australian team probes plane crash
EAST TIMOR: An Australian air safety team joined on Sunday the
investigation into the crash of a cargo plane in East Timor, as
police removed the bodies of six Russians from the wreckage,
officials said.
The seven Australians will be joined this week by experts from
Malaysia, Portugal, Russia and Indonesia, said Minister of
Transportation and Telecommunications Ovido de Jesus Amaral.
The Russian-made Ilyushin-76 was carrying 50 tons of
telecommunications equipment when it crashed on Friday in thick
fog and heavy rain close to an airfield outside the hilltop city
of Baucau.
The equipment was for a new mobile telephone system in Los
Palos and Baucau, about 100 kilometers east of the capital Dili.
Officials say all the victims are Russian citizens, but have
not released their names. --AP
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ATW-Canada-Avalanche
Avalanche in western Canada kills seven skiers
JP/11/ATW
Avalanche in Canada kills seven skiers
CANADA: Seven skiers, all high school students, were killed after
being caught in an avalanche -- the second deadly snow slide in
two weeks in this area of east-central British Columbia,
provincial authorities said.
The dead were identified as six boys and one girl, all in the
10th grade at the Strathcona-Tweedsmuir School, about 19
kilometers south of Calgary, Alberta.
There were 17 people in the school group, three adults and 14
students in an outdoor education class, on their annual cross-
country ski trip.
The leaders of the group were two male teachers and a male
volunteer. All three leaders had certification and backcountry
experience, authorities said. --AP
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ATW-China-plane-hijacking
China plane crew foil hijack bid by jobless man
JP/11/ATW
Plane crew foil hijack by jobless man
CHINA: An unemployed man from northeast China attempted to hijack
an Air China passenger plane on Sunday morning, demanding to be
taken to Taiwan, but his attempt was foiled by security staff
aboard the flight, state media said.
The incident occurred on Flight CA1505 from Beijing to Fuzhou,
the capital of southern China's Fujian province, the official
Xinhua news agency said, citing a source with the General
Administration of Civil Aviation of China.
The man, identified as Dong Yue, a 39-year-old unemployed man
from Jinzhou, Liaoning province, spilled fuel hidden in a
beverage can onto the cabin aisle and then said he wanted the
plane to fly to Taiwan, Xinhua said.
Dong was quickly subdued by security staff and detained,
Xinhua said. The plane with all its passengers and crew aboard
landed safely at Fuzhou airport. --AFP
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ATW-US-Sick Cruise
Illness afflicts hundreds on cruise ship
JP/11/ATW
Illness affects hundreds on cruise ship
UNITED STATES: Nearly 250 passengers and crew of the Sun Princess
came down with a gastrointestinal illness during the cruise
ship's voyage from Los Angeles to Hawaii, Princess Cruises said.
It wasn't known if the ill were suffering from Norwalk or
Norwalk-like viruses, which has afflicted more than 1,500 cruise
ship passengers in recent months. The viruses -- which cause
diarrhea, stomach pain and vomiting for up to 48 hours -- are
spread by close contact with infected people or the things they
have touched.
Those with symptoms aboard the Sun Princess were not allowed
to take shore excursions as the cruise line set to work
sanitizing the ship after it arrived in Honolulu Harbor on
Saturday morning.
The first illness was reported shortly after the vessel left
Los Angeles on Jan. 25, the cruise line said. The 247 people
afflicted complained of common symptoms, including diarrhea,
nausea and vomiting. --AP