23/07/2025

WEDNESDAY | JULY 23, 2025

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Bangladesh mourns as toll from jet crash hits 27

Jeju crash families denounce report SEOUL: The families of victims of South Korea’s deadliest plane crash on home soil have denounced a government report which blamed the disaster on pilot error, a representative told AFP yesterday. The Boeing 737-800 was flying from Thailand to South Korea on Dec 29 last year but ended up belly-landing at Muan airport and exploding in a fireball after slamming into a concrete barrier, killing 179 people. South Korea’s Land Ministry said it had planned to release the partial findings of the investigation into the crash at the weekend but called off a briefing and withheld the report after the families objected, claiming it could be misleading. The report said a bird strike damaged the plane’s right engine but the pilot then mistakenly shut down the left engine instead, said a representative for the families. The error resulted in a total power loss and a failure of the landing gear system, they said. The pilot said: “Let’s shut down engine number 2 (the right engine),” but the flight data recorder showed that actually it was the left engine that was shut down, according to the report. “No one has directly seen or heard the cockpit voice recorder or the flight data recorder,” said Kim Youn-mi, a representative of the victims’ families. “We weren’t given any proper explanation about those things. We need to hear that to know. We have the right,” she said. The Jeju Air pilots’ union also criticised the report, saying it was“strongly angered”by the findings and would “firmly reject the malicious attempt to shift blame onto the pilot”. The findings were part of an investigation by South Korean and US investigators, who are still investigating the cause of the disaster. A bird strike – feathers and bloodstains were found in both engines – a faulty landing gear and the runway barrier are among the possible issues. The final report is planned to be released in June next year. – AFP Ex-governor under probe over bribes BEIJING: Chinese authorities have removed a former leader of Tibet from office over alleged crimes including taking bribes and engaging in “superstitious activities”, the country’s top anti-corruption bodies said yesterday. Qizhala – who was governor of the western region from 2017 to 2021 – was dismissed over “serious violations of discipline”, a statement said, a common euphemism for corruption. He had most recently served as a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the country’s main political advisory body. Beijing’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and National Supervisory Commission said Qizhala “betrayed” his original mission by accepting bribes and misusing public funds to host illegal banquets. He also colluded with business owners to secure favourable contracts and engaged in “superstitious activities” over a long period, they said. His family were also accused of using his official position for personal gain. Chinese Communist Party members are banned from participating in “superstitious activities” including some religious practices that “erode” a cadre’s loyalties. Religion is tightly controlled in Tibet, where Chinese troops in 1959 crushed an uprising in the capital forcing its spiritual leader the Dalai Lama to flee. – AFP

o 170 people injured

DHAKA: Families and teachers gathered yesterday at a Bangladeshi school where a training jet crashed, killing 25 children and two others in the country’s deadliest aviation accident in decades. Most of the victims were pupils who had just been let out of class when the Chinese-made F 7 BJI aircraft slammed into the Milestone School and College on Monday. “So far, 27 people have died. Among them, 25 are children and one is a pilot,” said Sayedur Rahman from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, updating an earlier death toll of 20. “Seventy-eight people are being treated in different hospitals,” said Rahman, special assistant to the ministry’s chief adviser. More than 170 people were injured in the crash, said the military which is investigating the cause. The usually bustling school was eerily quiet yesterday, with classes cancelled. “Along with the children, the school has lost its life,” said teacher Shahadat Hossain, whose son narrowly escaped the crash. “There are two swings in front of the affected building. During lunch breaks and after school, children play there. Even yesterday, around the time the plane crashed, students were on those swings,” said the 45-year-old. Around 7,000 pupils are enrolled at the school, including Abul Bashar’s sixth-grade son whose best friend was killed. “He came out just two or three minutes before the accident occurred,” said Bashar. “He couldn’t sleep through the night and forced me to bring him to school this morning,” the father said, his son standing in silence. School authorities have collected bags, shoes, and identity cards of children from the site. Pahn Chakma, a senior police officer, said that armed forces personnel are still sweeping the area.

Fire service and security personnel scouring the site on Monday. – AFPPIC

the United States and China, since the 1930s and disrupted local tourism and fishery industries, causing millions of dollars worth of damage. Ian Mitchell, who manages a fish market in Adelaide, said some people had not caught anything since April. “It’s the worst I’ve ever seen,” he told national broadcaster ABC. “I’m speaking to fishermen on a daily basis, and I’ve got fishermen in tears on the phone.” The federal government announced on Monday A$14 million (RM39 million) in financial assistance to impacted fisheries, clean-up efforts and research into preparedness. The prime minister said a “whole range of issues” had led to the event, including nutrient rich floodwater runoff and above-average ocean temperatures. – AFP incident and declared a day of mourning. “The loss suffered by the Air Force, the students, parents, teachers, and staff of Milestone School and College, as well as others affected by this accident, is irreparable,” he said. “This is a moment of profound pain for the nation.” The military said the pilot, flight lieutenant Towkir Islam, was on a routine training mission when the jet “reportedly encountered a mechanical failure”. He tried to divert the aircraft away from densely populated areas but, “despite his best efforts”, crashed into the two-storey school building, the military said. – AFP

“They will hand over the place to the police later, and we will then collect evidence, including any human remains or belongings of students and others,” Chakma said. Air Force personnel on duty said the remnants of the fighter jet were removed on Monday night, but they are still scouring the site for evidence. “I don’t know how long it will take to return to normalcy, to relieve the children from this trauma,” teacher Hossain said. On Monday night, school authorities held prayers at the campus. Interim leader Muhammad Yunus expressed “deep grief and sorrow” over the

Toxic algae bloom lingers off Australia SYDNEY: A vast toxic algae bloom has sparked growing concern in Australia as it lingers off the south coast, killing hundreds of marine species and disrupting fisheries. A marine heatwave in the area had “largely abated”, it said, but remained in some deeper waters.

Beaches on wildlife-rich tourist draws such as Kangaroo Island, Yorke Peninsula and Fleurieu Peninsula have been littered with the marine carcasses of sharks, rays, crabs and octopuses. “It’s hard to overstate the extreme severity of the algal-bloom environmental crisis in South Australia,” said marine ecologist Adriana Verges from University of New South Wales. “We are talking about extensive mortality of nearly 500 different marine species, including key habitat-forming sponges and other invertebrates, as well as fish. It’s completely devastating.” Karenia mikimotoi has been detected around the world, including in waters off Japan, Norway,

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese unlocked federal funds this week to cope with the Karenia mikimotoi algae as it persists four months after first appearing. South Australia’s government said it was holding an emergency meeting yesterday to be briefed by scientists on the phenomenon. The algae, which damages the gills of fish and suffocates them, stretched across 4,400 sq km when it was first spotted in mid-March, according to the state government. While South Australian authorities hoped the bloom would disperse, it has instead spread across the region, a government update said.

‘No issues found in fuel control switches’ BENGALURU: Air India has completed precautionary inspections on the locking mechanism of the fuel control switch on all its Boeing 787 and Boeing 737 aircraft, with no issues found, the airline said yesterday.

A final report into the incident is expected within a year of the accident. The switches regulate fuel flow into a plane’s engines. They are used by pilots to start or shut down engines on the ground or to manually shut down or restart engines if an engine failure occurs during a flight. – Reuters

cost unit Air India Express operates the Boeing 737 single-aisle jets. The probe into the Air India flight that crashed and killed 241 of the 242 people on board and 19 on the ground, is centred around the fuel control switches on the Boeing 787 jetliner.

Air India operates a fleet of Boeing 787 twin aisle jets on its long-haul operations, while low