Latest news with #FIDS
Time of India
13 hours ago
- Automotive
- Time of India
Separate parking area for VIP, police cars at airport
1 2 Kolkata: Bidhannagar police has introduced a designated free parking area for VIP and police vehicles near the old domestic terminal to prevent unauthorised parking in front of the main airport terminal. For several years, vehicles with beacons or govt identification plates were parked outside the terminal for extended periods while waiting for passengers, despite rules allowing only seven minutes of free parking in the area. The penalty for overstaying is Rs 500, but these vehicles are rarely fined. The problem increased after lane dividers with reflective strips were installed along the terminal frontage, from exit gates 1A/B to 2A/B, to direct vehicles into lanes for pick-up, drop-off, and through movement since the start of the week. TOI highlighted over the past two days how these VIP vehicles occupy the first lane, leading to traffic congestion. You Can Also Check: Kolkata AQI | Weather in Kolkata | Bank Holidays in Kolkata | Public Holidays in Kolkata | Gold Rates Today in Kolkata | Silver Rates Today in Kolkata "We have formed a designated free parking zone for VIP cars opposite the old domestic terminal. We are in talks with the airport authorities to install a Flight Information Display System (FIDS), which shows arrivals, departures, gates, delays, and other real-time flight details, next to the VIP parking lot so that the drivers know the exact time of the flight arrivals," said a senior officer of Bidhannagar City Police. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Interested in Investing? Cyprus Offers Many Options Cyprus Invest | Search ads Undo Cops said they were urging the drivers of these VIP cars to move towards the terminal building only after the flight arrived and the passengers collected the luggage so as not to crowd outside the terminal. "Our officers will guide these vehicles to the terminal and ensure they no longer clog the channels," said the officer. Parking space for special cases has also been arranged at the third tier of the underground parking lot. The airport authorities and cops had tried a similar measure two years back but even then it hadn't paid off. Before the metro construction, a separate VIP parking lane existed under the elevated road to the departure terminal. This was removed to accommodate the project. On Wednesday, TOI found VIP vehicles were still parked near the terminal gates. These included state govt cars with beacons, police vehicles, and those belonging to politicians and magistrates. Some police and airport staff also parked motorcycles in the departure area. Under airport rules, vehicles can stay on the premises free for a maximum of seven minutes, with only three minutes allowed directly in front of the terminal gates. Longer stays require the use of the official parking zones. A senior airport official said the matter was discussed in coordination meetings, but the practice continues. Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays , public holidays , and current gold rates and silver prices in your area.
Fox News
2 days ago
- Science
- Fox News
Body of Antarctic explorer found after 66 years after his disappearance
The British Antarctic Survey announced that the remains of 25-year-old meteorologist Dennis "Tink" Bell were found 66 years after his disappearance. Although Bell's remains were recovered in January, they were only recently formally identified. "I had long given up on finding my brother. It is just remarkable, astonishing. I can't get over it," David Bell, Dennis' brother, told BBC News. The outlet reported that David was the one to answer the door when the family received a telegraph informing them of the bad news, which he described as a "horrendous moment." David also told the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) that he and his sister, Valerie Kelly, were "shocked and amazed" to hear their brother's remains were found decades after his fatal accident. Samples of David and Valerie's DNA helped Professor Denise Syndercombe Court, a forensic geneticist at King's College London, confirm that the remains were their brother's. The two were "more than one million times" more likely than not to be related, according to BAS. After school, Bell joined the Royal Air Force for National Service and trained as a radio operator before joining the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS) as a meteorologist in 1958. On July 26, 1959, Bell, along with three other men and two dog sleds, set out to climb a glacier leading to an ice plateau, where they planned to conduct survey and geological work. The men separated into pairs with Bell being accompanied by surveyor Jeff Stokes, while meteorologist Ken Gibson was with geologist Colin Barton, according to the BAS. The BAS noted that Bell and Stokes went off approximately 30 minutes before Gibson and Barton. As the dogs grew tired in the deep, soft snow, Bell tried to motivate them by running ahead to urge them on. However, according to the BAS, he did so without his skis. That's when he fell into a crevasse, an accident that led to his death and a decades-long search for his remains. Stokes apparently called down to Bell, who answered. He then lowered a rope and told Bell to tie it to himself. Tragically, Bell tied the rope to his belt and not his body, according to the BAS, citing Anthony Nelson's book, "Of Ice and Men." While the team tried to pull him up to safety, his belt broke, and Bell went back down into the crevasse. This time, however, Bell did not answer. The weather worsened quickly after Bell's fall, and while his colleagues risked their lives to save him, they were unable to do so. Gibson said that after about 12 hours they found the site and realized "there was no way he could have survived," according to the BAS. "Dennis was one of the many brave FIDS personnel who contributed to the early science and exploration of Antarctica under extraordinarily harsh conditions. Even though he was lost in 1959, his memory lived on among colleagues and in the legacy of polar research. This discovery brings closure to a decades-long mystery and reminds us of the human stories embedded in the history of Antarctic science," BAS Director Professor Dame Jane Francis said in a statement. Bell's remains were transported to the Falkland Islands aboard the BAS Royal Research Ship Sir David Attenborough. They were then handed over to His Majesty's Coroner for the British Antarctic Territory, Malcolm Simmons, who accompanied them from Stanley in the Falkland Islands to London.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
'Shocked and amazed': remains of British researcher found in a glacier, 60 years after he died
The remains of a British researcher have been recovered from a glacier in Antarctica, more than 60 years after a scientific expedition went badly wrong. In 1959, Dennis "Tink" Bell was working for the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS), now known as the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), when he died in a deep crack in a glacier on King George Island, off the Antarctic Peninsula. His body was never recovered. But in January this year, a Polish team spotted scattered human remains among rocks that had been exposed by a moving glacier. The parts were later confirmed via DNA testing to be those of the 25-year-old meteorologist. His brother, David Bell, said: "When my sister Valerie and I were notified that our brother Dennis had been found after 66 years, we were shocked and amazed." The remains were transported on the BAS Royal Research Ship Sir David Attenborough to the Falkland Islands, and then taken to London. David Bell said bringing his sibling home had "helped us come to terms with the tragic loss of our brilliant brother". Rod Rhys Jones, chair of the British Antarctic Monument Trust (BAMT), called it "amazing that the Polish team recognised the remains", which had been shifted around steep terrain by the movement of the glacier. How the accident unfolded On 26 July 1959 - deep winter in the Southern Hemisphere - Dennis Bell set out with surveyor Jeff Stokes and dog sleds to carry out survey and geological work. Bell helped to survey King George Island, which had been largely unexplored, to produce some of the first maps of the territory. He and Stokes planned to climb a glacier leading to an ice plateau, along with two more researchers, Ken Gibson and Colin Barton, who followed them about half an hour later. Ascending the glacier, Bell and Stokes crossed an area riddled with crevasses - deep fissures in icy glaciers - and then believed they were in a safer area. But the dogs started to tire from ploughing through the deep, soft snow. Bell went ahead to gee them up, "tragically, without his skis", BAS and BAMT said. Suddenly, he disappeared down a deep crevasse that had been hidden by snowfall resting over the top, leaving behind a gaping hole in the white landscape. Sir Vivian Fuchs, a previous director of BAS, describes what happened next in his book, Of Ice and Men. "Peering into the depths, Stokes called repeatedly and was greatly relieved to be answered. Lowering a rope almost a hundred feet, he told Bell to tie himself on. "As he could not haul up the weight, he hitched his end of the rope to the team. The dogs took the strain and began to pull. Now it was easy and everything was going well. "But Bell had tied the rope through his belt instead of round his body, perhaps because of the angle at which he lay in the crevasse. As he reached the top his body jammed against the lip, the belt broke, and down he went again. "This time there was no reply to Stoke's calls. It was a particularly tragic fatality which one really felt should never have happened, and thus doubly grievous." Eventually, Stokes met up with Gibson and Barton further down the glacier. But the weather deteriorated, and it took them hours to find the markers Stokes had set up in the snow, by which point they were sure Bell had died. The Polish discovery More than 60 years later, Polish researchers from the Henryk Arctowski Polish Antarctic Station discovered by chance some bones and artefacts in the rocky moraine edge of the Ecology Glacier on 19 January this year. A team returned to the site as soon as they could in February - lest it be covered by snow or rock again - to survey it in more detail. They recovered more bone fragments and personal items, including broken radio equipment, a torch, ski poles, an inscribed Erguel wristwatch, a Swedish Mora knife, ski poles and an ebonite pipe stem. "Every effort was made to ensure that Dennis could return home," three of the Polish scientists said in a statement. BAS's director of operations Oliver Darke said the discovery brings "important closure for the Bell family, who never knew what had happened to their brother after his fall into the crevasse". "Antarctica is an inhospitable and dangerous place to operate in," he told Sky News, adding BAS prioritises safety above all else, via extensive training and procedures and experienced polar field guides.
CTV News
3 days ago
- Science
- CTV News
U.K. scientist's remains found on Antarctic glacier 66 years on
FILE - In this Jan. 20, 2015 file photo, wooden arrows show the distances to various cities on King George Island, Antarctica. LONDON, U.K. — The remains of a British meteorologist who died in an Antarctic expedition in 1959 have been recovered six decades later from a glacier, the British Antarctic Survey said Monday. They were identified by DNA-testing as those of Dennis 'Tink' Bell, who died aged 25 when he was working for the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey, which became the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), the U.K.'s polar research institute. Bell died on Admiralty Bay on King George Island, located 120 kilometres (75 miles) off the coast of Antarctica on July 26, 1959. He was stationed on the island for a two-year assignment at a small U.K. research base. Bell and three other men had set out to climb and survey a glacier, when he fell through a crevasse -- a deep chasm in the ice. His body was never recovered. The remains, which were exposed by a receding glacier, were found on January 19 by a team from the Henryk Arctowski Polish Antarctic Station. 'This discovery brings closure to a decades-long mystery and reminds us of the human stories embedded in the history of Antarctic science,' said BAS director Jane Francis. The bone fragments were carried to the Falkland Islands by the BAS Royal Research Ship Sir David Attenborough, and then brought to London for DNA testing. Alongside his remains, the Polish team also found over 200 personal items including radio equipment, a flashlight, ski poles, an inscribed wristwatch and a Swedish-brand knife. Bell's brother David Bell, who lives in Australia, said the discovery after 66 years left him and his sister 'shocked and amazed'. 'Dennis was the oldest of three siblings and was my hero as he seemed to be able to turn his hand to anything,' said his brother. Francis said the confirmation of the remains 'is both a poignant and profound moment for all of us at British Antarctic Survey'. Bell 'was one of the many brave ... personnel who contributed to the early science and exploration of Antarctica under extraordinarily harsh conditions,' she added.
Global News
3 days ago
- Science
- Global News
Remains of Antarctic explorer found 66 years after he went missing
The bones of a British explorer who went missing more than six decades ago after an accident in Antarctica have been found, along with hundreds of personal effects. The remains were discovered by a Polish Arctic expedition among rocks exposed by a melting glacier in January, the British Antarctic Survey announced Monday. The bones were identified as belonging to Dennis Bell, a meteorologist who died at the age of 25 while working for the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS), the predecessor to the British Antarctic Survey (BAS). Bell was killed after falling into a crevasse on a glacier at Admiralty Bay on King George Island off the Antarctic Peninsula on July 26, 1959, but his body was never recovered. His bones were discovered with more than 200 items, including the remains of radio equipment, a flashlight, ski poles, an inscribed Erguel wristwatch, a Swedish Mora knife, ski poles and an ebonite pipe stem, the British organization said. Story continues below advertisement The skeleton was sent for testing at King's College London, where it was matched with DNA samples from his brother David Bell and his sister Valerie Kelly. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy They are 'more than one billion times' more likely to be related than not, Denise Syndercombe Court, professor in forensic genetics, told the British Antarctic Survey. View image in full screen Dennis Bell (left) with his colleagues and the dogs that helped them work in Antarctica. Midwinter 1959 at Admiralty Bay Base. British Antarctic Survey David, 86, who now lives in Australia, told the BBC he could not believe that his brother had been found after 66 years. Story continues below advertisement 'I had long given up on finding my brother. It is just remarkable, astonishing. I can't get over it,' he said. In a separate statement, he thanked those who helped discover and return his brother's body. 'The British Antarctic Survey and British Antarctic Monument Trust have been a tremendous support and together with the sensitivity of the Polish team in bringing him home have helped us come to terms with the tragic loss of our brilliant brother,' he told BAS. The young scientist contributed to early scientific exploration in the Antarctic and is revered in his field to this day. Prof. Jane Francis, director of BAS, said the discovery of Bell's body marked a significant moment and pointed to the dangers of his profession. 'Dennis was one of the many brave FIDS personnel who contributed to the early science and exploration of Antarctica under extraordinarily harsh conditions. Even though he was lost in 1959, his memory lived on among colleagues and in the legacy of polar research. This discovery brings closure to a decades-long mystery and reminds us of the human stories embedded in the history of Antarctic science,' she said. David described Dennis, the eldest sibling, as his 'hero (who) seemed to be able to turn his hand to anything.' Story continues below advertisement He could service gas engines, was a skilled photographer, built a radio from scratch and would spend hours transcribing Morse code. Bell worked a stint in the Royal Air Force before joining the FIDS as a meteorologist in 1958. He was stationed for a two-year assignment at Admiralty Bay, a small U.K. base with half a dozen men on King George Island, when he was killed.
