
Mexico navy tall ship hits Brooklyn Bridge, killing 2
NEW YORK: US safety officials launched a probe Sunday after a 150-foot-tall Mexican sailing ship crashed into New York's iconic Brooklyn Bridge, snapping its masts and killing two crewmembers. Numerous sailors were positioned among the navy vessel Cuauhtemoc's rigging at the time, video of the incident showed.
New York Mayor Eric Adams said early Sunday that 277 people had been on board the vessel and that two people had died from their injuries, without specifying where they were located on the vessel. Nineteen others sustained injuries, he said, two of whom were in critical condition. The white-hulled ship was moored Sunday along the banks of the East River, its mangled masts contrasting against colorful decorations for its US departure.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said on social media that it was 'launching a go-team' to conduct an initial probe of the crash. Nearby the ship, Aldo Ordonez told AFP that his sister, 24-year-old cadet Alejandra Ordonez, had been standing among the sails when the ship struck the Brooklyn Bridge. His sister was temporarily left hanging from a sail, he said, but sustained only minor injuries and slept with others on the boat.
Aldo Ordonez arrived Sunday morning from Mexico City after seeing the accident on television. Crewmembers were expected to fly home to Mexico later Sunday, he said. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum wrote on X that she was 'deeply saddened' by the two crewmembers' deaths. The ship lost power at around 8:20 pm (0020 GMT Sunday) while the captain was maneuvering the vessel, forcing it to head for a bridge abutment on the Brooklyn side, New York police chief of special operations Wilson Aramboles told a press conference.
There was 'panic on the ship,' Brooklyn resident Nick Corso, 23, who was standing near the water, told AFP. He had been poised to take a photo, but when he realized what was happening, he switched to video. 'Lots of screaming, some sailors hanging from the masts, looked like panic happening on the ship,' he said. The Mexican Navy said in its statement that no one had fallen into the water, and that no rescue operation had been launched.
The ship had been departing New York at the time and flags fluttered in its rigging, while an enormous Mexican flag waved off its stern. The Cuauhtemoc, built in 1982, was sailing to Iceland when it crashed into the Brooklyn Bridge, the world's longest suspension bridge when it opened in 1883. The incident is the second deadly ship crash into a US bridge in little over a year, after a fully laden cargo vessel smashed into a bridge in Baltimore, Maryland in March 2024, causing it to collapse and killing six road workers. – AFP
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Arab Times
12 hours ago
- Arab Times
Coast Guard suspends search for plane that crashed into the ocean off San Diego and killed 6
WASHINGTON, June 11, (AP): The Coast Guard suspended the search Tuesday for the wreckage of a small plane that crashed into the ocean shortly after taking off from San Diego, killing all six people aboard. The National Transportation Safety Board said it will continue working to determine why the Cessna 414 crashed Sunday, but it doesn't expect to have any updates on the crash until it publishes its preliminary report about a month from now. With the wreckage still resting under a couple hundred feet of water, the NTSB's investigator isn't even immediately travelling to where the plane crashed about 3 miles (about 5 kilometers) off the coast of Point Loma, a San Diego neighborhood that juts into the Pacific. Authorities have not identified the people who died in the crash. The plane was scheduled to return to Arizona on Sunday - one day after it flew out to San Diego. A natural supplements company called Optimal Health Systems based in Pima, Arizona, said it sold the plane in 2023 to a group of individuals who are part of their small community. Air traffic controllers quickly became concerned about the plane after it failed to climb over 1,000 feet or turn back east after taking off. The pilot reported having trouble climbing and maintaining his heading before repeatedly calling out "Mayday' before the plane disappeared from radar. This crash came just weeks after a small Cessna crashed into a San Diego neighborhood in foggy weather and killed six people. Those two are just the latest in a string of deadly crashes, mishaps and near misses in aviation this year ever since an airliner collided with an Army helicopter over Washington, D.C., in January, killing 67 people.

Kuwait Times
a day ago
- Kuwait Times
Nickel rush for stainless steel, EVs guts Indonesia tribe's forest home
LELILIEF SAWAI: Bokum, one of Indonesia's last isolated hunter-gatherers, has a simple message for the nickel miners threatening his lush jungle home: 'This is our land.' He belongs to the Hongana Manyawa Indigenous tribe, which includes around 3,000 'contacted' members like him, and another 500 who reject contact with the modern world. Their home on Halmahera Island was once a breathtaking kaleidoscope of nature that provided sanctuary and sustenance. But it is being eaten away by the world's largest nickel mine, as Indonesia exploits vast reserves of the metal used in everything from electric vehicles to stainless steel. 'I'm worried if they keep destroying the forest,' Bokum told AFP in a clearing in central Halmahera. 'We have no idea how to survive without our home and food.' The plight of the Hongana Manyawa, or 'People of the Forest', started gaining attention in Indonesia last year after a video widely shared on Facebook showed emaciated, un-contacted members emerging from their rapidly changing forest home to beg for food. But the remote region - about 1,500 miles (2,414 kilometers) from capital Jakarta - mostly remains far from the public consciousness. AFP travelled into the Halmahera jungle to see how the sprawling Weda Bay Nickel concession has affected the once-pristine tribal lands that the Hongana Manyawa call home. During a three-day, 36-kilometre trek across parts of the 45,000-hectare concession, the mining operation's impacts were starkly clear. Booms from controlled explosions to expose nickel shook birds from trees, while helicopters buzzing overhead shared the skies with green parrots, Moluccan owls, hornbills and giant bees. Tree stumps provided evidence of logging, and off-duty mine guards were seen hunting tropical birds with air guns. Throughout the night, the sound of excavators scratching the topsoil penetrated the thick vegetation, competing with frog calls and the drone of insects. Mud that locals say is stirred up by mining has stained rivers copper, and the water leaves skin irritated. In 22 river crossings, only a few fish were visible. Tribe members say they have mostly disappeared. AFP did not seek to meet un-contacted Hongana Manyawa. Bokum emerged from isolation earlier in his life, but still has very limited contact with the outside world. He and his wife Nawate agreed to meet AFP around 45 minutes from his home deeper in the jungle. But he could not stay long: en route, he spotted miners and wanted to return to ward them off. 'The company workers have been trying to map our territory,' he told AFP, wearing a black cowboy hat, shirt and rolled-up jeans. 'It's our home and we will not give it to them.' Indonesia's constitution enshrines Indigenous land rights, and a 2013 Constitutional Court ruling promised to give local communities greater control of their customary forests. But environmental groups say the law is not well enforced. With no land titles, the Hongana Manyawa have little chance of asserting their claims to stewardship of forest that overlaps with Weda Bay's concession. According to Weda Bay Nickel (WBN), its mine on Indonesia's Maluku islands accounted for 17 percent of global nickel production in 2023, making it the largest in the world. WBN is a joint venture of Indonesia's Antam and Singapore-based Strand Minerals, with shares divided between French mining giant Eramet and Chinese steel major Tsingshan. — AFP WBN told AFP it is 'committed to responsible mining and protecting the environment', and trains employees to 'respect local customs and traditions'. It said there is 'no evidence that un-contacted or isolated groups are being impacted by WBN's operations'. Eramet told AFP it has requested permission from WBN's majority shareholders for an independent review of 'engagement protocols' with Hongana Manyawa, expected this year. Further review of how the tribe uses the area's forests and rivers is also underway, it added, though it said there was currently 'no evidence' of members living in isolation in its concession. The Indonesian government, which acknowledges most of the concession was previously protected forest, told AFP otherwise. There is 'recognition of evidence of the existence of isolated tribes around Weda Bay', said the directorate general of coal and minerals at Indonesia's energy ministry. It said it was committed to 'protecting the rights of Indigenous peoples and ensuring that mining activities do not damage their lives and environment.' Indigenous rights NGO Survival International said that was Jakarta's first acknowledgement of un-contacted, or 'isolated', Hongana Manyawa in the area. It called the admission a 'hammer blow' to Eramet's claims and said a no-go area to protect the tribe was 'the only way to prevent their annihilation'. Both WBN and Eramet said they work to minimize impact on the environment. Eramet's new CEO was in Indonesia last week seeking permission to expand the mine's capacity. Tsingshan and Antam did not respond to AFP requests for comment. Bokum said mining has driven away the wild pigs, deer and fish he once caught for food. Now, he looks for shrimp and frogs in less-affected smaller streams. 'Since the company destroyed our home, our forest, we've been struggling to hunt, to find clean water,' he said in the Indigenous Tobelo language. 'If they keep destroying our forest we cannot drink clean water again.' 'Go away' Nickel is central to Indonesia's growth strategy. It banned ore exports in 2020 to capture more of the value chain. The country is both the world's largest producer and home to the biggest-known reserves. Mining - dominated by coal and nickel - represented nearly nine percent of its GDP in the first quarter of 2025, government data shows. Nickel mined in the Halmahera concession is processed at the Weda Bay Industrial Park. Since operations began in 2019, the area has transformed rapidly into what some call a 'Wild West'. At a checkpoint near the industrial park, men stopped AFP to demand cash and forced our vehicle to move elsewhere, before a local government official intervened. The towns on the mine edge - Lelilef Sawai, Gemaf and Sagea - form a chaotic frontier. Employees in hard hats crisscross muddy roads that back up with rush-hour traffic. Shops catering to laborers line the roadside, along with prostitutes looking for business in front of bed bug-infested hostels. The mining workforce has more than doubled since 2020 to nearly 30,000 people. Locals say these are mostly outsiders whose arrival has sparked tensions and coincided with rising cases of respiratory illness and HIV/AIDS. Smelter towers belch a manmade cloud visible from kilometers away. 'Mining companies have not implemented good practices, have violated human rights and there is rarely any evaluation,' said Adlun Fiqri, spokesman for the Save Sagea campaign group. Inside the jungle, a similar story is playing out, said Hongana Manyawa member Ngigoro, who emerged from the un-contacted as a child. 'Long before the mining, it was really quiet and good to live in the forest,' said the 62-year-old, as he marked his route by slicing pock-marks into trees with his machete. He remains at ease in the forest, using reeds for shade and bamboo shoots to boil water. 'There was no destruction. They were not afraid of anything,' he said. He climbed nimbly down a steep slope by clinging to tree roots before crossing a riverbed peppered with garnierite - green nickel ore. 'This land belongs to the Hongana Manyawa,' he said. 'They existed living in the rainforest before even the state existed. So go away.' That sentiment echoes elsewhere on Halmahera. At least 11 Indigenous people were recently arrested for protesting mining activity in the island's east, Amnesty International said Monday. 'We will not give our consent' Despite their 'contacted' status, Bokum and Nawate have rarely met outsiders. They approached haltingly, with Nawate refusing to speak at all, instead surveying her visitors with a cautious smile. Bokum described moving at least six times to outrun encroaching miners. NGOs fear the mine operation risks wiping out the tribe. 'They rely entirely on what nature provides for them to survive and as their rainforest is being devastated so too are they,' said Callum Russell, Asia research and advocacy officer at Survival International. 'Any contact with workers in the forest runs the risk of exposing them to deadly diseases to which they have little to no immunity.' The government told AFP it has 'conducted documentation' to understand isolated tribes near Weda Bay, and involved them 'in the decision-making process'. Activists say this is impossible given most of the group do not use modern technology and limit contact with outsiders. Amid growing scrutiny, there have been rumblings of support for the tribe, including from some senior politicians. Tesla, which has signed deals to invest in Indonesian nickel, has mooted no-go zones to protect Indigenous peoples. And Swedish EV company Polestar last year said it would seek to avoid compromising 'uncontacted tribes' in its supply chain. For Bokum however, the problem is already on his doorstep. A 2.5-kilometre-long open pit lies just over the hill from a plot where he grows pineapple and cassava. Bokum and Nawate received mobile phones from mine workers - in an unsuccessful attempt to convince them to approve mining operations. They and other tribe members use numerical codes to identify contacts and make calls. They must approach the concession to pick up signal, but when mine workers near his home, Bokum wields his machete to scare them off. 'This is our land. Our home,' he said. 'We will not give our consent to destroy it.' — AFP


Arab Times
2 days ago
- Arab Times
4 crew members unaccounted for after fire on Singapore-registered vessel off Indian coast
SINGAPORE, June 9, (Xinhua): Four crew members remained unaccounted for on Monday after a fire broke out onboard a Singapore-registered container vessel off the Indian coast, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said in a press release. The fire occurred at around 12:30 p.m. Singapore time (0430 GMT) on Monday, approximately 80 km southwest of Azhikkal, Kerala, India. According to the MPA, the remaining 18 crew members have been accounted for and are being transferred from lifeboats to a passing vessel. Some injuries have been reported among them. Indian authorities have been alerted. The Indian Coast Guard and Indian Navy are assisting the crew and conducting search and rescue operations for the four missing individuals. The MPA said it is in close contact with the vessel's management company to provide support and is closely monitoring the situation. The authority will be investigating the incident.