HYDERABAD: A trainer aircraft with the Indian Navy's aerobatics team, Sagar Pawan, crashed into a two-storied building during an air show here on Wednesday.
Two naval pilots, Maurya and his co-pilot Nair were killed, police commissioner A K Khan said. The pilots had come from Goa where they were based. He was last seen in the morning by hotel staffers in the coffee shop having breakfast. Even while sipping his tea, he was seen gesticulating his hands to show how a plane could go up or down. The naval team comprising nine members had checked into a Hyderabad hotel on February 27.
The aircraft, an HJT-16 Kiran Mk2 trainer built by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, crashed a couple of minutes before noon in the Bowenpally locality near the old Begumpet Airport in the heart of the city. The police and the fire brigade had difficulty reaching the congested crash site.
Four people in the building, a part of which was badly damaged, were injured, as the plane fell on the side of the complex. Two of the injured are believed to be in serious condition and have been shifted to hospital. The debris from the crash fell on a car, crushing it. The building has developed cracks and residents are being evacuated.
The planes were showing acrobatic maneuvers when the incident took place. One of the aircraft, part of the navy's aerobatics team that uses four trainers, was unable to pull up from a dive and went into a spiral as the planes were breaking away from the formation and going in different directions. The acrobatics by the planes had begun even as Praful Patel, minister for civil aviation, was talking on the rostrum.
Thousands of people were enjoying the spectacle when disaster struck, sending thick clouds of smoke into the air. According to witnesses, the plane crashed into the mobile phone towers on top of the building. They heard a loud boom, after which the plane went down.
There are conflicting eye witness accounts. An old lady - a vegetable vendor - who was laying chilies on the ground close to the spot said that suddenly a boy of a pilot fell besides her, even as the plane went forward and crashed into the building. Hundreds of eye witnesses saw the plane fall and go up in flame.
On the way it snapped at electricity wires. There was leakage from the fuselage and whole area was covered with aviation fuel, putting the entire area to the risk of fire. But later fire brigade official spread foam to prevent a fire. One of the pilots tried to open his parachute while ejecting. Probably the height was too little and therefore the parachute did not open. The unopened parachute was seen at the site by eye witnesses.
Said Ashok, who was in his house at the time: "I was inside the house when I heard a loud noise and I came out to see flames."
An hour after the crash, Praful Patel addressing a pre-scheduled press conference had no details about the crash. "I hope for the best,” he said. "I can’t give you any information. I have none,” he added.
Present at the airshow were the whos who of Indian aviation industry including minister Praful Patel, Jet Airways boss Naresh Goyal, Kingfishers Vijay Mallaya, Air India MD Arvind Jadhav, civil aviation secretary Madvana Nambiar, GMR boss G M Rao, GVK boss G V Krishna Reddy and dozens of representatives of Boeing, Raytheon and other companies. Commander Maurya who was commanding the flight belonged to the naval establishment INS Hansa in Goa.
Hyderabad’s Begumpet airport is used for VIP and private flights. The area where the crash occurred falls under the jurisdiction of the Secunderabad Cantonment Board. The crash, however, took place in a civil area under the board.
Eyewitness US envoy says Hyderabad crash 'heartbreaking'
NEW DELHI: Describing the crash of an Indian Navy aircraft in Hyderabad as tragic, US ambassador Timothy J. Roemer, who was present at the air show, said "these heartbreaking losses have even more piercing impact when you are part of the event".
Roemer is leading an American delegation to India Aviation 2010 in Hyderabad.
"What began as such a promising day has sadly ended so tragically," he said in a statement. "As the full extent of this tragedy is still becoming known, all of our thoughts and prayers are with those who lost their lives or were injured, and with their families," the US envoy said.
"These heartbreaking losses have even more piercing impact when you are part of the event," he added.
An Indian Navy trainer aircraft crashed into a two-storied building in a densely populated locality during an air show here Wednesday, killing the pilot and his co-pilot and injuring four civilians on the ground.
Pravin Mahajan dies of brain haemmorage
MUMBAI: Pravin Mahajan, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for killing brother & BJP leader Pramod Mahajan, died in a Thane hospital on Wednesday evening, family sources said.
Pravin, 50, who was serving his life imprisonment, is survived by his wife and two children Kapil and Vaishali both of whom are college students.
Pravin Mahajan had been admitted to the Jupiter hospital in December 2009 following a brain haemorrhage and had been in coma since then.
He had been put on life support system and was struggling for life but failed to recover at the Hospital where he was admitted, a close aide of the family said. However, hospital authorities did not issue any official word on the developments and most family members also declined to comment.
In a dramatic murder that shocked the country, Pravin Mahajan had killed his elder brother Pramod Mahajan on April 22, 2006 in his Mumbai home. The high-profile BJP leader succumbed to his wounds 12 days later on May 3.
Pravin Mahajan was sentenced to life by a sessions court for fratricide on Dec 18, 2007. He was released on 14-day parole on November 27, 2009 after three-and-a-half years in prison and was supposed to return to prison when he suffered the stroke and was hospitalized.
Following is the chronology of the Pramod Mahajan murder trial
April 22, 2006: Pravin Mahajan shoots Pramod Mahajan at his Worli residence.
April 22, 2006: Pravin surrenders before the Worli Police.
April 23, 2006: Pravin sent to police custody by Bhoiwada court.
April 27, 2006: Cops record statement of Mahajan's family.
May 03, 2006: Pramod Mahajan succumbs to his injuries and dies at a city hospital.
July 14, 2006: 650-page chargesheet filed before Bhoiwada court for charges under IPC Section 302 (murder) and Section 449 (house trespass).
July 24, 2006: Pravin files for bail application before Sewri sessions court.
July 30, 2006: Pramod Mahajan's murder case committed to the sessions court.
August 01, 2006: Sessions judge Abhay Thipsay rejects Pravin's bail plea.
Sept 01, 2006: Harshad Ponda appointed as defence lawyer by Pravin.
Sept 08, 2006: Special prosecutor Srikant Bhatt withdraws from the case.
Sept 25, 2006: Special prosecutors Ujjwal Nikam and Niteen Pradhan appointed by the state.
Jan 23, 2007: Pravin pleads not guilty.
March 21, 2007: Trial commences at the sessions court.
March 23, 2007: Rekha tells the court that she saw Pravin firing bullets at her husband.
April 10, 2007: Rekha tells the court that Pravin had threatened Pramod and demanded Rs one crore.
April 11, 2007: Brother-in-law Gopinath Munde tells court that Pravin had sent threatening SMS to Pramod.
April 18, 2007: Supplementary chargesheet filed in Mahajan trial.
May 11, 2007: Key eyewitness and Pramod's domestic help, Mahesh Wankhede, deposes before the court.
Oct 15, 2007: Pramod's daughter Poonam Mahajan identifies Pravin before the court and breaks down after cross-examination.
Oct 29, 2007: Pravin shocks the court by stating that he had not killed his elder brother.
Oct 30, 2007: Pravin makes allegations about Pramod's character in the court.
Nov 1, 2007: Defence witness B Harikrishnan tells the court that SMS can be manipulated.
Nov 16, 2007: Harikrishnan manipulates an SMS in a demonstration before the court.
Nov 22, 2007: Sarangi admits to having sent an SMS to Pramod, says SMS was tampered.
Nov 30, 2007: Advocates start final arguments.
Dec 03, 2007: Prosecution says money is the motive for murder.
Dec 06, 2007: Judge S P Davare begins dictating the judgement as both defence and prosecution conclude arguments.
Dec 17, 2007: Court holds Pravin guilty in the case.
Nov 27, 2009: Released on 14-day parole
Dec 11, 2009: Pravin Mahajan lapsed into coma following a suspected brain hemorrhage.
March 3, 2010: Pravin Mahajan dies
Govt may consider Naxal truce offer, if ceasefire for 72 hrs
NEW DELHI: A day after home minister P Chidamabaram termed Maoist leader Kishenji's truce offer as "bizarre", the government extended an olive branch to the Left Wing extremists asking them to ensure ceasefire for 72 hours to facilitate talks.
Top government officials have said Kishenji's offer for talks may be considered if he could ensure complete ceasefire for 72 hours.
Home minister P Chidamabaram had termed the truce offer by the Maoist leader as "bizarre" while underlining double standards adopted by the Left Wing extremists.
In six days after Kishenji came with the offer for talks, Maoists have carried out 18 serious attacks on security forces and civilians killing 11 including an incident of neck- slitting of a police official in West Bengal.
Chidamabaram said he had offered to facilitate talks with the CPI-Maoist provided they abjured violence.
"There was no meaningful response to that offer. Nevertheless, on February 23 I responded that if the CPI-Maoist made a short, simple and unconditional statement that they would abjure violence, government would be prepared to hold talks with them. I have received no response to my statement," he had said.
PM-Advani verbal duel in Lok Sabha
New Delhi: The Lok Sabha on Wednesday witnessed an interesting passage of arms when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh intervened repeatedly and rejected BJP leader L K Advani’s charge that US pressure was behind India's decision to talk to Pakistan.
“You are using this debate to sow seeds. What you are attributing to President Obama is certainly not true. In my discussions with President Obama, he has unambiguously said that there is no change in the US policy towards India and Pakistan (relations)”, the Prime Minister asserted.
He was replying to Advani who suggested that the US was behind the recent Indo-Pak Foreign Secretary-level as Obama had publicly said during his Presidential campaign that he would try to resolve Kashmir issue.
This, the BJP leader, contended marked a change in the US position as the previous US Administrations had maintained that they would not mediate in Indo-Pak relations unless both the countries want it.
Business News
Sensex closes above 17k, at 6-week high
Mumbai: Equities rose for a third straight session on Wednesday to its highest close in six weeks helped by a rally in Reliance Industries as LyondellBasell was said to have rejected the energy major's revised $14.5 billion offer.
"Reliance could have been dragged into a bidding war and eventually the valuation for LyondellBasell could have been stretched," said Prayesh Jain, a research analyst with India Infoline.
"The stock is just reacting on relief that it is not overpaying," added Jain.
LyondellBasell has rejected an offer from Reliance that values the bankrupt petrochemicals group at $14.5 billion, a person familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.
The 30-share BSE index closed 1.36 per cent or 227.45 points higher at 17,001.01.
Twenty-four of its components closed in the green. The benchmark has gained 4.6 per cent since Feb. 25, supported by last Friday's federal budget which pushed for higher consumption and fiscal consolidation.
"People were sitting on cash before the budget and that seems to be coming in the market now," said Vaibhav Sanghavi, director of Ambit Capital.
But, if global cues turned negative, the markets could correct after the recent momentum, he added.
Financials gained on good prospects in an expanding economy.
Top lender State Bank of India firmed 1.6 per cent, while private lenders ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank rose 1.2 per cent and 1.8 per cent respectively.
Engineering and construction firm Jaiprakash Associates jumped 6.1 per cent as its cement shipments in February jumped 61 per cent, while ACC fell 0.2 per cent as its cement shipments dropped 2.3 per cent.
Tata Consultancy Services rose 0.5 per cent after the leading outsourcer said late on Tuesday it had won a bid to administer Britain's new national pension scheme.
Tata Motors raced 1.3 per cent after the top vehicle maker said it would bring an electric version of the Nano, the world's cheapest car, to Europe within three years, starting with Britain and Scandinavia.
In the broader market, gainers were more than double the number of losers with 361 million shares changing hands on the Bombay Stock Exchange, higher than its last week's daily average of 291 million.
The 50-share NSE index climbed 1.4 per cent to 5,088.10.
Nissan to recall 5,40,000 vehicles globally
Japanese automaker Nissan Motor Co. is recalling about 540,000 pickup trucks, sport utility vehicles and minivans to fix problems with brake pedals and fuel gauges.
The brake pedal recall affects 179,000 vehicles in the US and about 26,000 in the Middle East, Canada, Russia and several other countries.
A pin in the pedal assemblies on certain 2008 to 2010 Nissan Titan pickups, Infiniti QX56 and Nissan Armada Sports Utility Vehicles, and some 2008 and 2009 Nissan Quest minivans can come loose and cause reduced braking force, Nissan said Tuesday in a statement.
No injuries or crashes have been reported, the company said. Customers with loose brake pedals should contact their dealer.
Nissan blamed the problem on a manufacturing defect by a parts supplier. Dealers will inspect the vehicles for loose pins and repair them if necessary.
The company said in a statement that all vehicles now on sale do not have the problem.
Nissan also is recalling 419,000 vehicles in the US and 53,000 elsewhere because gas gauges can show fuel left in the tank when it's actually empty.
The recall affects 2005 through 2008 Nissan Titan, Armada and Infiniti QX56s as well as Nissan Frontier pickups and Pathfinder and Xterra SUVs produced between January and March 2006 and between October 2007 and January 2008.
Due to a problem with a sensor inside the fuel tank, the gauges can show gas tanks a quarter full when they are in fact empty.
Nissan suggests keeping a half-tank of gas in the vehicles until the gauges can be repaired, eliminating the risk of running low on fuel.
Owners of vehicles in both recalls will be notified when to bring their cars and trucks in for repairs. In materials distributed to dealers, Nissan said the brake pedal recall begins on March 22, while the fuel-gauge recall will take place in two groups, one beginning March 22 and the other starting in April.
About 130,000 vehicles are covered by both recalls.
LyondellBasell rejects Reliance offer
LyondellBasell has rejected an offer from Reliance Industries' that values the bankrupt petrochemicals group at $14.5 billion, a person familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.
This is the third advance that Lyondell's board has rejected from Reliance over the past year in a decision that could leave the Indian energy group having to look elsewhere for takeover targets.
In rejecting the offer, Lyondell did not give any details about whether further negotiations would be fruitful, this person said, declining to be named because the negotiations are not public.
Reliance, controlled by India's richest man, Mukesh Ambani, has said his company plans an aggressive exploration campaign, investments in petrochemicals and overseas acquisitions.
It was not clear whether Reliance, which has raised a war chest for deals by selling $2 billion of stock in recent months, would continue its pursuit of the petrochemicals maker. A Reliance spokesman declined to comment.
Lyondell spokesman David Harpole also declined to comment but said a new disclosure statement about the company's current proposed reorganization plan will be filed with a United States court imminently.
A creditor group led by US private equity firm Apollo Management, which is controlling Lyondell's bankruptcy process in the United States, was expected to file a reorganization plan on Monday. That plan is intended to lead Lyondell out of bankruptcy.
Shares of Reliance, India's most valuable listed company with a market value of about $70 billion, closed 0.6 per cent higher on Tuesday, underperforming the 2.1 per cent gain in the benchmark index.
"Reliance, being the size it is, will be looking at other options overseas even if this bid fails, and sooner than later, something else will come up," said Rakesh Rawal, head of private wealth management at Anand Rathi Financial Services.
A deal would greatly enhance Reliance's presence in major markets in the United States and Europe and place it in the ranks of top global chemical makers such as Saudi Arabia's SABIC, Germany's BASF and Dow Chemical.
"In the short term I will be happy if the bid fails because the acquisition risk has been removed and Reliance's profits will remain unaffected," Rawal said.
"But from a longer-term perspective, I am sad because the company could have gained a lot of synergies from this acquisition over the next few years."
'OFFER RAISED TWICE'
Reliance, with interests in petrochemicals, refining, oil and gas exploration and retail, has been trying to buy Luxembourg-headquartered Lyondell since November, when it made a bid valuing the target at about $12 billion.
Reliance has since raised its offer twice, sources familiar with the situation have said, but the chances of success have been clouded by the prospect that senior creditors such as Apollo may take a loss at the price Reliance has proposed and gain more from an independent Lyondell.
LyondellBasell, which was forced into bankruptcy just over a year ago amid a cash crisis, said last month it had reached a settlement with creditors over a lawsuit stemming from its 2007 leveraged buyout, paving the way for the chemical maker to exit bankruptcy.
Sports News
After reality check, Spanish flair awaits India
New Delhi: Bruised and battered by Australia, India will have to regroup their forces when they take on Spain in a crucial Pool B encounter of the hockey World Cup in New Delhi on Thursday.
After drubbing Pakistan 4-1 in their tournament opener, the Indians were given a reality check by Australia.
The hosts were surprised by the pace and verve of the Kookaburras, who completely outplayed them in all departments of the game in their 5-2 win last night.
Jose Brasa's men were taught a good hockey lesson by Australia and showed that only control over the mid-field was not enough to win a game.
If pace and fitness was all about Australia, world number three Spain is known for its flair and one-touch hockey and the Indian defence cannot afford to relax at any moment and repeat the mistakes they committed against Australia.
A defeat tomorrow will severely dent India's semifinal chances.
Against the Australians, the Indian defence wore a sorry look from the onset, conceding two goals within the first 10 minutes. Sandeep Singh-led backline had no answers to the speed and angular passes of the Australians.
Such was the Aussie domination that even India coach Brasa admitted his players were not used to such fast nature of hockey.
"We did not play bad, we played at our level much better than what we had in Salta. But Australia played at a different level of fast-paced hockey. We were not used to that kind of fast hockey," Brasa said.
The Indian forwardline, which missed the banned Shivendra Singh, completely looked off-colour yesterday with Prabhjot Singh and Deepak Thakur doing very little to prove their presence in the game.
But with the two-match suspension ruling Shivendra out of the next match, the trio of Deepak, Prabhjot and captain Rajpal Singh will have to rise to the occasion and come out with more innovative ideas to beat the Spanish defence.
"Playing without Shivendra and with just 15 players is our main concern," Brasa said.
Sandeep had a bad day in office against Australia as he could not convert even a single penalty corner out of three that India earned, and the ace drag-flicker will have to pull up his socks against Spain as short corners are one of the strong points of the home team.
"We were not lucky with penalty corners against Australia. We didn't succeed and that was the reason we couldn't get closer," Brasa said.
The Indians will also have to do away with their perennial habit of holding on to the ball for longer, a mistake which proved costly against Australia.
But notwithstanding all the flaws, Brasa will draw heart from the fact that the Indian mid-field sparkled yet again. Arjun Halappa and Sardar Singh were as cool as cucumber even under tremendous pressure.
Germany blank Canada 6-0 in hockey World Cup
New Delhi: Defending champions Germany toyed with Canada before subjecting them to a 6-0 plastering in their second Pool A match of the hockey World Cup here on Wednesday.
Canada, ranked 10 places below Germany at the FIH chart, gave a stiff fight after the breather but still conceded two goals in the second session.
For Germany, who had drawn 2-2 with South Korea in their opening match, 18-year-old Florian Fuchs scored twice in the 58th and 64th minutes while Benjamin Wess (3rd), Jan-Marco Motag (21st), captain Maximillian Muller (23rd), Martin Haner (28th) found the target once each.
Gunning for a hat-trick of World Cup titles after their triumphs in 2002 and 2006, Germany forced as many as seven penalty corners -- from which they scored three – while Canada got just one in the entire match.
Play was confined mostly in the Canadian 25-yard for most part of the match and it was a completely lop-sided contest in the first session.
Just as the handful of the spectators at the Major Dhyan Chand Stadium took their seats, Germany opened their account with Benjamin Wess scoring after playing a one-to-one pass with Oscar Decke.
Germany, England, Greece move up FIFA rankings
Zurich: Germany and England have moved up one place in the latest FIFA rankings ahead of Wednesday’s round of friendlies while former European champion Greece is back in the top 10 for the first time since June 2008.
Current European champion Spain still leads the rankings ahead of Brazil, the Netherlands and Italy. But Germany has moved up one spot to fifth, England has risen one place to eighth and Euro 2004 champion Greece goes up two to 10th, replacing Egypt, which raced up the rankings after winning the African Cup of Nations in January, but has slipped to 17th.
Portugal has slipped to sixth and Argentina to ninth.
The United States, which visits the Netherlands in a friendly on Wednesday, has gone down four spots to 18th.
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