Latest news with #RanaTaha
DW
18-05-2025
- General
- DW
5 dead after helicopters collide in Finland: police – DW – 05/17/2025
All five people aboard the two civilian helicopters died when they crashed in western Finland. Five people have died after two helicopters collided mid-air in western Finland, police said Saturday. Police said the midair collision occurred shortly after noon near the town of Kauttua. The wreckage fell about 700 meters from the Ohikulkutie road. "Five people died in a helicopter accident near Eura Airport on Saturday," Detective Chief Inspector Johannes Siirila said in a statement. What do we know about the crash? Finnish police confirmed that three people were traveling in one of the aircraft and two in the other. The civilian helicopters had taken off from the Estonian capital Tallinn, and were heading towards Piikajarvi Airport in Kokemaki, about 15 kilometers (9 miles) from Eura airport. Media reports said they were carrying Estonian businessmen. Finnish and Estonian authorities were cooperating closely, a police statement said . Police have sealed off the area near the accident as preliminary investigations were underway. Roads leading to Eura airport have been closed. "Several rescue units and police patrols" were at the scene, said police, who were alerted to the crash at 12:35 p.m. local time (10:35 a.m. GMT) The two helicopters involved in the collision were found approximately 100 meters apart in a wooded area near Eura airport. It was not immediately clear what caused the collision. Finnish newspaper Iltalehti quoted a witness who said they had seen the helicopters collide during a manoeuvre. Edited by: Rana Taha
Yahoo
04-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
China, Japan trade accusations over airspace violations
Japan has accused China of violating its airspace around the Japanese-controlled East China Sea islands, that Beijing also claims, on Saturday. The islands, known as the Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan -- are claimed by Beijing but administered by Tokyo and often come up as a controversial subject in bilateral relations. A Chinese helicopter flew within the Japanese airspace near the islands for about 15 minutes, according to Japan's Foreign Ministry. Japanese forces responded by scrambling fighter jets, the Defense Ministry said. In a statement on Saturday, Japan's Foreign Ministry said that its vice minister lodged "a strong protest" with the Chinese ambassador to Japan, "over the intrusion of four China Coast Guard vessels into Japan's territorial waters around the Senkaku Islands," on the same day. The vice minister also protested "the violation of Japan's territorial airspace by a helicopter launched from one of the China Coast Guard vessels, strongly urging [China] to ensure that similar acts do not recur." Japanese media including public broadcaster NHK reported that the incident was the first time a Chinese government helicopter violated the Japanese airspace off the disputed islands. On the same day, China's coast guard also alleged that a Japanese civilian aircraft violated its airspace around the contentious islands. Beijing said it had to use a helicopter to "expel" the Japanese airplane. A Japanese civilian aircraft "illegally entered" the airspace of the islands at 11:19 am (0219 GMT/UTC) and left five minutes later, Liu Dejun, spokesman for China's coast guard, said. China registered its protest as well, saying it was "strongly dissatisfied" with what it called the Japanese violation of its sovereignty. Beijing quite often says that it has expelled Japanese vessels and aircraft away from the islands. However, Japanese officials told the French AFP news agency that China announces expulsions when none have taken place. Tokyo and Beijing's bilateral relations are often strained by tensions in the East and South China Seas. Edited by: Rana Taha
