At least 27 killed in Bangladesh fighter jet crash
The pilot was among those killed in the incident, the military said, adding a committee had been formed to investigate what happened.
The jet, a F-7 BGI, is the final and most advanced variant in China's Chengdu J-7/F-7 aircraft family, according to Jane's Information Group. Bangladesh signed a contract for 16 aircraft in 2011 and deliveries were completed by 2013.
Shahbul, father of a missing girl student, cries after a Bangladesh Air Force training aircraft crashed into a school campus shortly after takeoff in Dhaka. Source: AAP / Mahmud Hossain Opu / AP Videos of the aftermath of the crash showed a big fire near a lawn emitting a thick plume of smoke into the sky as crowds watched from a distance. Firefighters sprayed water on the mangled remains of the plane, which appeared to have rammed into the side of a building, damaging iron grills and creating a gaping hole in the structure, footage filmed by Reuters showed. Bidhan Sarker, head of the burn unit at the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital, said: "A third-grade student was brought in dead, and three others, aged 12, 14 and 40, were admitted to the hospital." Images from the scene also showed people screaming and crying as others tried to comfort them. "When I was picking [up] my kids and went to the gate, I realised something came from behind ... I heard an explosion. When I looked back, I only saw fire and smoke," said Masud Tarik, a teacher at the school.
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News.com.au
20 hours ago
- News.com.au
'Absolute madness': Thailand's pet lion problem
Behind a car repair business on a nondescript Thai street are the cherished pets of a rising TikTok animal influencer: two lions and a 200-kilogram lion-tiger hybrid called "Big George." Lion ownership is legal in Thailand, and Tharnuwarht Plengkemratch is an enthusiastic advocate, posting updates on his feline companions to nearly three million followers. "They're playful and affectionate, just like dogs or cats," he told AFP from inside their cage complex at his home in the northern city of Chiang Mai. Thailand's captive lion population has exploded in recent years, with nearly 500 registered in zoos, breeding farms, petting cafes and homes. Experts warn the trend endangers animals and humans, stretches authorities and likely fuels illicit trade domestically and abroad. "It's absolute madness," said Tom Taylor, chief operating officer of conservation group Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand. "It's terrifying to imagine, if the laws aren't changed, what the situation is going to be in 10 years." The boom is fueled by social media, where owners like Tharnuwarht post light-hearted content and glamour shots with lions. "I wanted to show people... that lions can actually bond well with humans," he said, insisting he plays regularly with his pets. He entered Big George's enclosure tentatively though, spending just a few minutes being batted by the tawny striped liger's hefty paws before retreating behind a fence. Since 2022, Thai law has required owners to register and microchip lions, and inform authorities before moving them. But there are no breeding caps, few enclosure or welfare requirements, and no controls on liger or tigon hybrids. Births of protected native species like tigers must be reported within 24 hours. Lion owners have 60 days. "That is a huge window," said Taylor. "What could be done with a litter of cubs in those 60 days? Anything." - Illicit trade - Taylor and his colleagues have tracked the rise in lion ownership with on-site visits and by trawling social media. They recorded around 130 in 2018, and nearly 450 by 2024. But nearly 350 more lions they encountered were "lost to follow-up" after their whereabouts could not be confirmed for a year. That could indicate unreported deaths, an animal removed from display or "worst-case scenarios", said Taylor. "We have interviewed traders (in the region) who have given us prices for live and dead lions and have told us they can take them over the border." As a vulnerable species, lions and their parts can only be sold internationally with so-called CITES permits. But there is circumstantial evidence of illicit trade, several experts told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity to avoid angering authorities. Media reports and social media have documented lions, including cubs, in Cambodia multiple times in recent years, though CITES shows no registered imports since 2003. There is also growing evidence that captive lion numbers in Laos exceed CITES import licences. In Thailand, meanwhile, imports of lion parts like bones, skins and teeth have dropped in recent years, though demand remains, raising questions about how parts are now being sourced. Thai trader Pathamawadee Janpithak started in the crocodile business, but pivoted to lions as prices for the reptiles declined. "It gradually became a full-fledged business that I couldn't step away from," the gregarious 32-year-old told AFP in front of a row of caged cubs. She sells one-month-olds for around 500,000 baht ($15,500), down from a peak of 800,000 baht as breeding operations like hers increase supply. Captive lions are generally fed around two kilograms (4.4 pounds) of chicken carcasses a day, and can produce litters of two to six cubs, once or twice a year. Pathamawadee's three facilities house around 80 lions, from a stately full-maned nine-year-old to a sickly pair of eight-day-olds being bottle-fed around the clock. They are white because of a genetic mutation, and the smaller pool of white lions means inbreeding and sickness are common. Sometimes wrongly considered a "threatened" subspecies, they are popular in Thailand, but a month-old white cub being reared alongside the newborns has been sick almost since birth. It has attracted no buyers so far and will be unbreedable, Pathamawadee said. She lamented the increasing difficulty of finding buyers willing to comply with ownership rules. "In the past, people could just put down money and walk away with a lion... Everything has become more complicated." - Legal review - Pathamawadee sells around half of the 90 cubs she breeds each year, often to other breeders, who are increasingly opening "lion cafes" where customers pose with and pet young lions. Outside Chiang Mai, a handler roused a cub from a nap to play with a group of squealing Chinese tourists. Staff let AFP film the interaction, but like all lion cafes contacted, declined interviews. Pathamawadee no longer sells to cafes, which tend to offload cubs within weeks as they grow. She said several were returned to her traumatised and no longer suitable for breeding. The growing lion population is a problem for Thailand's Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP), admitted wildlife protection director Sadudee Punpugdee. "But private ownership has existed for a long time... so we're taking a gradual approach," he told AFP. That includes limiting lion imports so breeders are forced to rely on the domestic population. "With inbreeding on the rise, the quality of the lions is also declining and we believe that demand will decrease as a result," Sadudee said. Already stretched authorities face difficult choices on enforcing regulations, as confiscated animals become their responsibility, said Penthai Siriwat, illegal wildlife trade specialist at WWF Thailand. "There is a great deal of deliberation before intervening... considering the substantial costs," she told AFP. Owners like Tharnuwarht often evoke conservation to justify their pets, but Thailand's captive lions will never live in the wild. Two-year-olds Khanom and Khanun live in a DNP sanctuary after being confiscated from a cafe and private owner over improper paperwork. They could survive another decade or more, and require specialised keepers, food and care. Sanctuary chief vet Natanon Panpeth treads carefully while discussing the lion trade, warning only that the "well-being of the animals should always come first". Big cat ownership has been banned in the United States and United Arab Emirates in recent years, and Thailand's wildlife rules are soon up for review. Sadudee is hopeful some provisions may be tightened, though a ban is unlikely for now. He has his own advice for would-be owners: "Wild animals belong in the wild. There are plenty of other animals we can keep as pets."
ABC News
4 days ago
- ABC News
Babinda Boulders locals want more safety measures to prevent deaths
A tranquil, turquoise stream surrounded by rainforest, birdsong and boulders — it's the kind of place people travel across the world to visit. Floating in the water or watching the stream rush between the rocks, modern life seems a thousand miles away. To get to these spots, though, you must first pass several striking signs, warning that 21 people have died here since 1916, with the latest death occurring last year. The vast majority — 84 per cent — of those who have died at Babinda Boulders (Bunna Binda), were male, and 53 per cent were aged between 18 and 24. Locals say that despite renewed safety measures, more action is needed to prevent further tragedies. Most of the deaths have occurred downstream from the designated "safe swimming" zones, in areas including those known as Devil's Pool and The Chute. Visitors and locals alike have sometimes slipped or sunk to their deaths after mistaking flat water, bubbling pools or narrow streams as low-risk areas. It's a danger the traditional owners, the Madjandji People, know is intrinsic to this place, and dates back to the story of how this place was created. Madjandji Aboriginal Corporation chairJamie Satani said the landscape was formed by a tragedy, when a young woman named Oolana was promised to an older man, but fell in love with a man named Dyga from a visiting tribe. Mr Satani said the pair ran away together, up the river, but the tribes found them at the site that is now the Boulders. "If she could not have Dyga … no-one could have her, so then she threw herself into the waters and, today, that spirit is still there, searching for a lover." Mr Satani said this moment caused the boulders to form, and it became a sacred story place for the Madjandji People. He said the impact of every death was felt across the region. "The moment that happens, it sends an uneasy feeling through the community … it's an awful feeling" he said. Local woman Leanne Thompson knows the rocks well. She grew up a stone's throw from the famous waterhole and spent many afternoons and weekends exploring the area with friends. "It's a pretty special, magical place, and each and every time you swam here, you definitely got like an afterglow," she said. But the darker side was never far from mind. "There were times when I was a child where I had nightmares about when you would hear the ambulance coming to do a body retrieval, and you found they had jumped across The Chute, or they got caught in a siphon or a sieve," she said. Years later, in 2008, after the death of a naval officer at the site, Ms Thompson decided something needed to change. Ms Thompson spent years trawling through archives, old newspaper records and coroners' reports. Using the information she uncovered, she successfully campaigned in 2022 to have the Cairns Regional Council launch a safety review of the site. Her tenacity also led to newer, more graphic signage being installed. The review found high risks from large siphons, or sieves, in areas upstream from Devil's Pool, which, to the untrained eye, appear to be merely small areas of bubbling water. "They suck [swimmers] down underground into subterranean caverns," Ms Thompson said. Ms Thompson says the best way to picture The Chute is to imagine the wide area of water upstream, forced to pass through a crack in the rocks. The narrow opening visible at the surface may be only a metre or two wide, however, beneath the surface, the rock has been more heavily eroded, creating a cavern where fast, aerated water rushes through, plunging many metres. Sergeant Doug Godden has worked in Babinda for many years and has coordinated several body retrievals at the Boulders. He says there are specific dangers in the water course that differ from most swimming holes. "The amount of oxygen that's in the [water], caused by the turbulence, makes it very, very difficult to swim because there's no pressure to push up to get yourself out of the water," Sergeant Godden said. He added that obstacles under the water, such as rocks and logs, "could either cause you to strike them and fall unconscious or [you could] be trapped underneath them". He said police had started regular patrols of the no-go areas over the past few years, with the aim of educating visitors and swimmers rather than punishing them. "The water course is stunning, and you can see the attraction," he said. Sergeant Godden said the signs, patrols and other information campaigns were making a difference, but one preventable death was one too many. Musician Will Clift was visiting Babinda Boulders with his girlfriend in 2021, when they heard someone screaming. A young woman had fallen into The Chute, and her friend was yelling for help but there was nothing anyone could do. The body of 19-year-old Chloe Narelle Bailey was found the next day. Mr Clift said the trauma of the accident stayed with him for years. "I found that I was having flashbacks and couldn't sleep," he said. Local councillor Brett Moller, who has been visiting the Babinda Boulders since he was a child, said there had been three deaths in the nine years since he was elected. He said as well as working with tourism bodies to get the message out, council was also hoping to work with National Parks to develop access to other natural swimming areas. Councillor Moller said the increase in crocodile sightings in the lower creeks and freshwater rivers meant areas where people used to swim were no longer safe. "So they're now congregating at the Boulders, at Josephine [Falls], at freshwater creeks, [and] that's putting a lot of pressure on that natural environment," he said. Both Ms Thompson and Mr Satani believe that promoting the Indigenous story may also make people think twice about swimming in the no-go areas. "Come out for a great day, enjoy it, and we want you to come and leave here safe, [and] return home."
Daily Telegraph
5 days ago
- Daily Telegraph
Plane carrying 49 passengers crashes in Russia's far east
Don't miss out on the headlines from World. Followed categories will be added to My News. A passenger plane carrying nearly 50 people crashed in a remote spot in Russia's far eastern region of Amur on Thursday, with no immediate signs of survivors, authorities said. The aircraft, a twin-propeller Antonov-24 operated by Angara Airlines, was headed to the town of Tynda from the city of Blagoveshchensk when it disappeared from radar at around 1:00 pm local time (0400 GMT). A rescue helicopter later spotted the burning fuselage of the plane on a forested mountain slope about 16 kilometres (10 miles) from Tynda. Videos published by Russian investigators showed what appeared to be columns of smoke billowing from the wreckage of the plane in a dense, forested area. Rescuers in the helicopter saw no evidence of survivors, local rescuers said, as the Amur region's civil defence agency said it was dispatching a ground team to the scene. 'At the moment, 25 people and five units of equipment have been dispatched, and four aircraft with crews are on standby,' it said. The forest terrain has made getting to the site difficult, a rescuer told the state TASS news agency. 'The main search operations are being conducted from the air,' they said. Angara Airlines, a small regional carrier based in the Russian city of Irkutsk, made no immediate public comment. This video grab from a handout footage released by the Eastern Interregional Directorate for Transport of the Russian Investigative Committee on July 24, 2025, (Photo by Handout / Investigative Committee of Russia / AFP) Plane attempted 'second landing' The plane was carrying 43 passengers and six crew members on board, according to the region's governor Vassily Orlov. Among the passengers were five children, he said. Russia's state TASS news agency, citing emergency services, said the plane was carrying 40 passengers and six crew. The plane crashed while attempting a second approach to Tynda airport, Russia's Far Eastern Transport Prosecutor's Office said. 'While approaching Tynda Airport, the aircraft went around for a second landing, after which contact was lost,' it said. 'The circumstances are being investigated,' it said. It did not make any immediate comment on what caused the crash. The state TASS news agency reported that the plane was manufactured almost 50 years ago. 'In 2021, the aircraft's airworthiness certificate was extended until 2036,' it reported, citing a source in aviation services. AFP was not able to immediately verify this information. The Antonov-24 is a popular, Soviet-designed twin-propeller plane that first entered into service in 1959. Russia has taken steps to switch from Soviet aircraft to modern jets in recent years, but ageing light aircraft are still widely used in far-flung regions, with accidents being frequent. Originally published as Plane carrying 49 passengers crashes in Russia's far east
