One dead, five missing in Chilean copper mine collapse
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Arab News
6 days ago
- Arab News
US teen pilot claims innocence after charges dropped in Antarctica flight case
SANTIAGO, Chile: Ethan Guo, an American pilot and influencer who has been trapped in Antarctica for several weeks, maintained Wednesday that he is 'innocent' of the accusations against him, after being charged by Chilean authorities with submitting a false flight plan to reach the White Continent. Guo was charged on June 29 with handing false information to ground control and landing without authorization, but on Monday a judge dropped the charges as part of an agreement with his lawyers and Chile's prosecutors. It requires the teen to give a $30,000 donation to a children's cancer foundation within 30 days to avoid a trial. He must also leave the country as soon as conditions allow and is prohibited from reentering Chilean territory for three years. According to Guo's defense, the teen pilot was granted authorizations to deviate his initial route — from Punta Arenas, southern Chile, to Ushuaia, Argentina — and land at Teniente Marsh base in Chilean Antarctica due to 'weather and technical circumstances.' 'My client's actions are protected by a presumption of legality arising from the authorizations expressly granted by various DGAC ( Directorate General of Civil Aviation) officials,' his lawyer Jaime Barrientos said in documents handed to the court and shared with The Associated Press. According to Barrientos, evidence was presented that 'Mr. Guo informed the DGAC as soon as possible of the change to the filed flight plan, receiving express authorization to land at said aerodrome.' Guo, who turned 20 during his stay in Antarctica in July and has maintained his innocence, said in a statement sent to AP that during his original journey he 'encountered instrument failures and heavy, unreported icing conditions' which created 'an imminent risk of a crash.' 'Due to these cascading failures, Mr. Guo requested and received explicit, direct permission to land at the Marsh base from a high ranking DGAC official via WhatsApp, an authorization that was subsequently confirmed by the base's air traffic controller,' it said. The influencer added that the court's ruling last Monday was 'a direct result of the prosecutor's refusal to acknowledge this clear evidence.' The prosecutor's office has maintained in several interviews with local media that Guo has handed ' false information' to the respective authority and, by doing so, put at risk 'the safety of global air traffic.' 'What the background indicates is that he always had the will and the knowledge that he wanted to reach Antarctica at all costs, putting at risk not only his life, but also the safety of global air traffic,' prosecutor Cristián Crisosto told local Radio Bio Bio in an interview Wednesday. Guo made headlines last year when he began a trip in an attempt to become the youngest person to fly solo to all seven continents and at the same time collect donations for research into childhood cancer. But for the past six weeks, he has stayed at the Chilean Air Force base where he landed in June. He was not forced to stay there, only to remain in Chilean territory, but because of the severe winter in that part of the southern hemisphere, no flights were available. He has also been unable to fly his small plane, whose future remains uncertain. Crisosto said that the plane would probably have difficulty leaving Antarctica because it does not meet the necessary regulations. 'That plane could leave Antarctica in pieces. But I don't see it flying,' he warned.
Arab News
11-08-2025
- Arab News
Turkiye detains contractor after building collapses in earthquake
ANKARA: Authorities on Monday detained the owner and the constructor of a residential building that collapsed during a magnitude 6.1 earthquake in northwestern Turkiye, as part of an investigation into possible negligence, an official said. The quake struck the town of Sindirgi in Balikesir province on Sunday. It claimed the life of one elderly resident who died in the three-story apartment block that crumbled, and injured 29 other people throughout the region. The tremor was felt as far away as Istanbul, nearly 200 km to the north, raising fears in the city of over 16 million people, which experts say is at high risk for a major earthquake. Sunday's quake caused 16 structures to collapse, most of them abandoned village homes, according to Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya. The apartment building in Sindirgi was among the few inhabited structures to fall, prompting authorities to detain the owner and the constructor for questioning on suspicion of 'causing death and injury by negligence,' Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said. Of the 29 people who were hospitalized, 19 were discharged as of Monday, Health Minister Kemal Memisoglu said. Those still hospitalized were not in serious condition, he added. Meanwhile, more than 200 aftershocks have struck the region, the strongest measuring 4.6. They forced many residents to spend the night outdoors and sleep in cars out of fear that their homes might collapse, the national TV broadcaster HaberTurk reported. Turkiye sits on top of major fault lines, and earthquakes are frequent. In 2023, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake killed more than 53,000 people in Turkiye and destroyed or damaged hundreds of thousands of buildings in 11 southern and southeastern provinces. Another 6,000 people were killed in the northern parts of neighboring Syria. The high death toll was blamed on widespread use of substandard construction methods, weak oversight and institutional failures.
Al Arabiya
07-08-2025
- Al Arabiya
Thai prosecutors indict 23 over quake skyscraper collapse
Thai prosecutors indicted 23 people and firms on Thursday, in a case linked to the deadly collapse of a Bangkok high-rise in an earthquake. The 30-storey tower crumbled seconds after a 7.7-magnitude earthquake hit Myanmar on March 28, killing thousands in Thailand's war-torn neighbor. The tower, meant to house the state audit office, was the only building in Bangkok to collapse, killing 89 people on the site, mostly construction workers. The speed and suddenness with which it fell prompted a legal probe. Thailand's Office of the Attorney General said a case has been submitted to a criminal court, with a decision expected in a matter of months. 'Investigators agreed to indict 23 individuals and legal entities over professional misconduct and forged documents,' it said in a statement. The indictment included 16 individuals and seven firms, and also listed the names of people representing some of the accused companies, which include an architectural firm and a Chinese construction business. Further details of the allegations were not released. However, separately, justice department investigators have previously said they were probing the quality of construction materials used at the site. Among the individuals indicted is Premchai Karnasuta, one of Thailand's top tycoons. He serves as executive director of the Italian-Thai Development (ITD) company – one of the kingdom's biggest construction businesses, which has also been indicted. If convicted, 71-year-old Premchai faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of 200,000 baht ($6,000). This is not the tycoon's first legal tangle. In 2021, a Thai court sentenced him to three years and two months in prison for poaching protected wildlife, including a black panther. He was released early in 2023 as part of a group of inmates granted clemency for good behavior. According to public filings with the Stock Exchange of Thailand, Premchai owns nearly 12 percent of ITD's shares. He was taken into pre-trial detention in May.
