A report into a building fire that killed 76 people in South Africa last year has concluded that city authorities should be held responsible because they were aware of serious safety issues at the apartment block at least four years before the blaze. The nighttime fire at the five-story building in downtown Johannesburg on Aug. 31 was one of South Africa’s worst disasters. Retired Judge Sisi Khampepe was put in charge of the inquiry and she delivered the first part of her report on Sunday. She concluded that the City of Johannesburg, which owns the building, had shown “total disregard” for its well-known problems.
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FILE - Medics stand by the covered bodies of victims of a deadly blaze in Johannesburg, Thursday, Aug. 31, 2023. A report into a building fire that killed 76 people in South Africa last year has concluded that city authorities should be held responsible because they were aware of serious safety issues at the rundown apartment block at least four years before the blaze. The nighttime fire at the five-story building in downtown Johannesburg on Aug. 31 was one of South Africa's worst disasters. At least 12 children were among the dead and another 86 people were injured. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay/File)
FILE - Medics and emergency works at the scene of a deadly blaze in Johannesburg Thursday, Aug. 31, 2023. A report into a building fire that killed 76 people in South Africa last year has concluded that city authorities should be held responsible because they were aware of serious safety issues at the rundown apartment block at least four years before the blaze. The nighttime fire at the five-story building in downtown Johannesburg on Aug. 31 was one of South Africa's worst disasters. At least 12 children were among the dead and another 86 people were injured. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay, File)
Workers have demolished a bridge over a Connecticut highway that was damaged in a fiery crash involving a gasoline tanker truck. The demolition that began Friday is expected to keep both sides of Interstate 95 in Norwalk closed through the weekend and extend a traffic nightmare on the major artery linking New England and New York. Gov. Ned Lamont says the plan is still to reopen the highway on Monday morning. Crews are expected to finish removing the bridge by Sunday morning, and road repairs will be made. The tanker truck burst into flames under the overpass after colliding with two other vehicles Thursday. The cause remains under investigation.
Workers have begun removing a bridge over a Connecticut highway that was damaged in a fiery crash involving a gasoline tanker truck. The demolition that began Friday morning is expected to keep both sides of Interstate 95 in Norwalk closed through the weekend and extend a traffic nightmare on the major artery linking New England and New York. Gov. Ned Lamont says the hope is to reopen the highway by Monday morning. Crews removed metal fencing on the span before a large excavator began demolishing the concrete sides of the structure. The tanker truck burst into flames under the overpass after colliding with two other vehicles. The cause remains under investigation.
A federal judge has sentenced a California scuba dive boat captain to four years in custody and three years supervised release for criminal negligence after 34 people died in a fire aboard the vessel in 2019. The tragedy was the deadliest maritime disaster in recent U.S. history. Captain Jerry Boylan was sentenced on Thursday. He was found guilty of one count of misconduct or neglect of ship officer last year. The charge is a pre-Civil War statute colloquially known as seaman’s manslaughter. It was designed to hold steamboat captains and crew responsible for maritime disasters. Boylan’s appeal is ongoing.
This image provided by the Norwalk Police Department shows the scene of a tanker fire on I-95 in Norwalk, Conn., Thursday, May 2, 2024. Both sides of I-95, the East Coast's main north-south highway, were shut down following the early morning crash involving a passenger car, a tractor-trailer and a tanker truck carrying 8,500 gallons (about 32,000 liters) of gasoline. (Norwalk Police Department via AP)
Both sides of I-95, the East Coast’s main north-south highway, have been shut down in southwestern Connecticut. It follows an early morning crash Thursday involving a passenger car, tractor trailer truck and a tanker truck carrying 8,500 gallons of gasoline, which caught fire under a bridge overpass. Connecticut Ned Lamont says there were no serious injuries. However, he's warning drivers of massive traffic jams near the Norwalk crash site and urged people to avoid the area or stay home. State officials say the bridge was damaged but they're unsure the level of damage given the high temperature of the fire.Text alerts were sent to residents of Connecticut and New York, and trucking companies were notified to find alternative routes and means of travel.
FILE - In this photo provided by the Ventura County Fire Department, VCFD firefighters respond to a fire aboard the Conception dive boat fire in the Santa Barbara Channel off the coast of Southern California on Sept. 2, 2019. A scuba dive boat captain is scheduled to be sentenced by a federal judge Thursday, May 2, 2024, on a conviction of criminal negligence after 34 people died in the fire aboard the vessel nearly five years ago. (Ventura County Fire Department via AP, File)
FILE - Defendant Jerry Boylan, captain of the Conception, right, arrives at federal court in Los Angeles, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. The scuba dive boat captain is scheduled to be sentenced by a federal judge Thursday, May 2, 2024, on a conviction of criminal negligence after 34 people died in a fire aboard the vessel nearly five years ago. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)
