collapse

SEOUL, Nov. 6 (UPI) — South Korean rescue crews are searching for workers believed to be trapped after a large structure collapsed at a power plant in the southeastern city of Ulsan on Thursday, according to reports from authorities and local media.

At least seven people were trapped when a 200-foot-tall boiler tower gave way at the Ulsan branch of the state-run utility Korea East-West Power, news agency Yonhap reported, citing the National Fire Agency. The collapse occurred shortly after 2 p.m. local time.

Two people were pulled from the debris earlier, while emergency responders continue to search for others feared buried beneath twisted metal and concrete.

Prime Minister Kim Min-seok ordered the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, National Fire Agency, Korean National Police Agency and local authorities to “mobilize all available equipment and personnel to prioritize saving lives.”

“In particular, we will make every effort to ensure the safety of firefighters working on-site and thoroughly implement safety measures such as on-site control and evacuation guidance for residents,” Kim said in a statement.

Interior Minister Yun Ho-jung also issued an emergency directive calling for mass mobilization of personnel and equipment to the accident site, adding that a situation-management officer had been dispatched to coordinate on-site operations.

Photos shared by local media showed a massive steel structure toppled on its side with a heap of crumpled beams and scaffolding at its base.

The disaster has renewed scrutiny of South Korea’s industrial safety regime, which has faced criticism following a series of fatal workplace accidents.

President Lee Jae Myung has repeatedly called for tougher safety enforcement to curb such tragedies.

“When fatal accidents occur in the same way, it ultimately amounts to condoning these deaths,” Lee said at a July cabinet meeting.

In August, he ordered that every workplace fatality be reported directly to his office and proposed sanctions such as revoking business licenses and restricting bids from companies with repeated deaths.

Lee, who suffered a factory accident as a teenager, has pledged to reduce South Korea’s industrial accident mortality rate — the highest among the 38 Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development member countries — to the OECD average within five years.

A worker who was trapped after part of a medieval tower collapsed in the heart of Rome, has died, according to hospital officials.

Octay Stroici was pulled free at 23:00 local time (22:00 GMT), nearly twelve hours after a section of the Torre dei Conti, on the edge of the famous Roman Forum and close to the Colosseum, gave way and trapped him beneath.

His heart stopped in the ambulance, and doctors at the hospital he was rushed to were unable to save him.

The Romanian foreign ministry said Stroici was a Romanian national, as was another worker among three others pulled from the rubble. One is said to be in a critical condition.

Stroici’s rescue was initially described as an exceptional feat by firefighters who had worked late into the night. Rescue teams used drones and rubble clearers to try to reach him, despite the risk that the fragile tower could collapse further.

He had been conscious and talking to the emergency workers throughout the rescue. His wife was also at the scene.

Stroici had been carrying out conservation work on the medieval tower which is part of the Roman Forum, one of this city’s busiest tourist sites. But this particular building had been empty and abandoned for many years.

The Rome Prosecutor’s Office has opened an investigation into the incident.

Efforts to rescue Stroici – reported to be in his 60s – were interrupted when a second section of the 29m (90ft) high tower began crumbling again, with bricks raining down, creating a huge cloud of dust.

Earlier, Rome prefect Lamberto Giannini had described it as a “very complex situation”. Giannini said that after the initial collapse firefighters had “put up some protection” around the trapped man, so when the second collapse happened, “they obviously shielded him”.

He added that the rescue was a long operation due to having to “mitigate…the enormous risks faced by the people trying to carry out the rescue”.

One firefighter was taken to hospital with an eye problem, according to local media, but the rest were unharmed, eventually resuming their search for the man.

A police chief said there was no imminent danger that the tower will disintegrate.

“My thoughts and deepest sympathies go out to the person currently fighting for his life beneath the rubble, and to his family, for whom I sincerely hope that this tragedy finds a positive outcome,” wrote Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on X before the rescue was complete.

Another worker, 67-year-old Ottaviano, who was inside at the time of the collapse but escaped from a balcony uninjured, told the AFP news agency: “It was not safe. I just want to go home.”

Rome’s mayor and Italy’s culture minister visited the scene.

The 13th Century tower is part of the Roman Forum, a major tourist attraction in the centre of Rome, but it is separated from the main visitors’ area by a road. The streets all around have been taped off by police as a precaution.

The medieval tower was built by Pope Innocent III as a residence for his brother.

Tens of thousands of people marked the first anniversary of a train station roof collapse in the Serbian city of Novi Sad, observing 16 minutes of silence for the 16 victims of the tragedy. Many blame the tragedy on government negligence and corruption.

Tens of thousands of people are converging on the northern Serbian city of Novi Sad for a commemoration of the victims of a tragedy a year ago that killed 16 people.

Regular student-led protests have gripped Serbia since the collapse of the canopy at the newly renovated railway station in the country’s second largest city on November 1, 2024, which became a symbol of entrenched corruption.

Protesters first demanded a transparent investigation, but their calls soon escalated into demands for early elections.

Students, who called for the “largest commemorative gathering” on Saturday, and others, have been pouring into Novi Sad since Friday, arriving by car, bicycle, or on foot.

Thousands marched from Belgrade for some 100km (62 miles) and other parts of the country, including Novi Pazar, about 340km (210 miles) south of the capital. It took them 16 days to finish the march.

Residents of Novi Sad took to the streets to greet the marchers, blowing whistles and waving flags, many visibly moved.

Reporting from the city on Saturday, Al Jazeera’s Milena Veselinovic said local residents have provided marchers with food and shelter.

She added the student organisers of the event have stressed they want it to be peaceful and only about the victims, rather than the country’s politics.

‘I am looking for justice’

Dijana Hrka’s 27-year-old son was among the victims.

“What I want to know is who killed my child so I can have a little peace, so that I don’t keep going through hell,” she told Al Jazeera.

Hrka added: “I am looking for justice. I want no other mother to go through what I am going through.”

The protests over the station’s collapse have led to the resignation of the prime minister, the fall of his government and the formation of a new one. But nationalist President Aleksandar Vucic has remained defiantly in office.

Vucic regularly labelled demonstrators as foreign-funded coup plotters, while members of his SNS party pushed conspiracy theories, claiming that the train station roof collapse may have been an orchestrated attack.

But in a televised public address on Friday, Vucic made a rare gesture and apologised for saying things that, he said, he now regretted.

“This applies both to students and to protesters, as well as to others with whom I disagreed. I apologise for that,” Vucic said and called for dialogue.

Saturday’s commemorative rally at the Novi Sad railway station will start at 11:52am (10:52 GMT), the time when the tragedy occurred, with 16 minutes of silence observed for 16 victims.

Thirteen people, including former construction minister Goran Vesic, were charged in a criminal case over the collapse.

A separate anticorruption probe continues alongside a European Union-backed investigation into the possible misuse of EU funds in the project.

‘Sky high’ corruption

The government has declared Saturday a day of national mourning while the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC), Patriarch Porfirije, is to serve a mass for the victims at the Belgrade Saint Sava church.

“On this sad anniversary, we appeal to everyone … to act with restraint, to de-escalate tensions and to avoid violence,” the EU delegation in Serbia said in a statement.

Aleksandar Popov, a Serbian political analyst, told Al Jazeera that “sky-high” corruption is a major issue in the country that needs to be addressed.

“We’re not talking about tens of millions of euros, but hundreds of millions of euros spun through large infrastructure projects, perhaps billions of euros,” he said.

“This government and the president have captured all key institutions of state, like the judiciary,” he added.

The protests have remained largely peaceful, but, in mid-August, they degenerated into violence that protesters blamed on heavy-handed tactics by government loyalists and police.

Callum: This is becoming the worst disgrace in the history of Scottish football. When are the powers that be at Ibrox going to realise that if it is Thelwell and Stewart that continue to be the stumbling block then they have to be removed immediately? Three potential managers have turned us down in a little more than a week. Shocking and embarrassing.

Michael: Thelwell and Stewart want too much of an input into first-team affairs and this is what seems to be the breakdown. Both of them need to go. If Andrew Cavenagh and Paraag Marathe wanted Gerrard and Muscat then the deal should have happened – after all, they are the ‘bosses’.

Isobel: The club knew Muscat’s situation at the outset, so why go ahead at all if they were so desperate to get someone in ASAP? It is utter incompetence and breathtaking arrogance to believe they could get him in earlier given he was on the cusp of a second title. The whole management group including the Americans have dragged a proud club into the gutter in this continuing omnishambles. It is absolutely disgraceful and I actually feel for the players in all this, left leaderless, rudderless and hung out to dry.

Neil: It’s becoming clear that if the new manager wants control of recruitment then Thelwell is going to be the problem. Time for the owners to take control and show they are capable of running the club.

Stuart: I’ve supported this club since my late dad took me to my first game back in the late 1970s, spent thousands travelling across the UK and Europe to watch them and this is quite ‘simply the worst’ I’ve ever seen from top to bottom. Poor boardroom choices, poor management and poor recruitment. Thelwell and Stewart have to go as they’re simply filling their pockets whilst making a complete mockery of what was once a proud club.

Sonny: Sack the board. The Americans have somehow managed to turn the club into a bigger shambles than the previous administration, which I thought was impossible. We’re a laughing stock and there’s hardly an array of great candidates remaining. Embarrassing.

Brian: What a shambles and what an absolute shocker from those in charge – the blame must lie with Stewart and Thewell, who could not even make a double act as a pantomime horse. I am at a complete loss bordering on despair.

Alexander: The main problem appears to be Thelwell and Stewart. If these two are the reason we can’t get a deal finalised then get rid of them. Rangers are too big to be run in such a haphazard way. The supporters aren’t going to take much more of this nonsense, maybe an empty Ibrox and not renewing season tickets will wake the owners up.

Oct. 18 (UPI) — At least 10 people were taken to hospitals, including one with life-threatening injuries, after an apartment’s balcony collapsed near the University of Cincinnati, the city’s fire department said.

The collapse occurred at 10 p.m. Friday in the city’s Corryville neighborhood, firefighters said, according to WLWT-TV.

The balcony, which was 8 feet by 12 feet, fell about 20 feet into the pavement because of too many people, the fire department said.

Most of the victims were taken to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, about a half mile away.

Besides the life-threatening injury, four were described by the fire department as serious.

Deputy Fire Chief Nicholas Caliguri said “other victims may have self-transported to area hospitals.”

Some of the victims were UC students, fire department spokeswoman Lindsay Haegele.

“We want to assure you that the situation is being addressed with the highest priority,” said a letter to residents by Dayton-based Eclipse Community Management, which manages condominium and homeowners associations.

Students were celebrating after passing an exam, WXIX-TV reported.

Hamilton County’s Division of Buildings and Inspections was notified.

One neighbor told the Cincinnati Enquirer he saw 40 to 50 people on the street before the collapse.

In November 2019, one person died and others were injured when a six-floor building under construction in downtown Cincinnati partially collapsed.

Emmerdale aired worrying scenes for an emotional Moira Dingle on Friday night as she collapsed from exhaustion, amid her husband Cain Dingle being AWOL on the ITV soap

There was concern for Moira Dingle on Emmerdale on Friday as the character collapsed.

Just last year the character was diagnosed with a brain tumour and underwent treatment. Before her diagnosis she experienced funny turns, memory loss, blackouts and she suffered from seizures.

So when Matty Barton watched his mum suddenly collapse out in the field during Friday’s episode, he feared the worst. He got her inside and helped her onto the sofa, but Moira said she was fine.

Matty was desperate to call doctor Liam Cavanagh to check her over, but Moira told him not to and that nothing was wrong. Panicking after her collapsing a year ago due to her tumour, Matty confessed his concerns that she might be unwell again.

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Moira had seemed a bit off all episode, clearly tired and seeming a little rundown. She called out Kammy Hadiq, and was clearly stressed out and was rushing around.

When doing work on the farm she suddenly fell down to the ground. As Matty later asked her: “What if you are sick again?” she commented that she wasn’t and instead she was just “really tired”.

Matty was unsure though, remembering what they had gone through a year ago. Moira repeated her claim though, and suggested she may have picked up a virus or something but that she wasn’t sick again.

She said to him: “I’m sorry I scared you, darling. I’m just really tired, that’s all it is. Maybe I’ve picked up a virus, the last thing I need is to be ill.” Moira went on: “It’s just hard at the minute.”

Moira told Matty about how much she was struggling without her husband Cain being around, after he fled to chase killer John Sugden who murdered his son Nate Robinson. With her having to do everything and keep an eye on it all, she revealed she was finding it all difficult.

Matty told her she wasn’t “fine” and was clearly “not coping”, something she had admitted to. With that, he fumed about his stepfather Cain’s vanishing act, reminding Moira he was going through his own grief, after the loss of his wife Amy Wyatt this year.

Moira defended Cain though, no doubt recalling how she felt after the loss of a child. But Matty wasn’t sympathetic and seeing how much his mum had been impacted, he urged her to tell her husband to come home immediately – but is Matty right to be concerned about Moira?

Emmerdale airs weeknights at 7:30pm on ITV1 and ITVX, with an hour-long episode on Thursdays. * Follow Mirror Celebs and TV on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .

Footage shows rescue dogs and workers combing through debris after a building collapse in central Madrid killed four people, including three construction workers and an architect. The six-story building was being converted into a hotel. Several people were also injured.

Sidoarjo, Indonesia – Sixteen-year-old Muhammad Royhan Firdaus had just finished praying on the first floor of the Al-Khoziny Islamic Boarding School in the East Javan city of Sidoarjo on Monday when something struck him on the head.

When he looked up, he saw pieces of the ceiling falling upon him and the other boys, all aged 12 to 18.

“I thought it was an earthquake,” he said. “We all started to run.”

But it wasn’t an earthquake.

For several weeks, construction work had been taking place at the school, where builders were pouring concrete on two upper floors. The weight of the concrete caused the building to collapse in layers that Indonesian officials described as resembling a “pancake”.

Muhammad fell several times as he fled and was hit by debris, including large chunks of crumbling cement. Fuelled by adrenaline, he said he felt “nothing at the time” but once he was outside and had collapsed on the ground, he realised his leg was broken. He had also fractured his shoulder so severely that doctors at Siti Fajar Hospital in Sidoarjo had to insert a metal pin to hold it together.

While more than 100 students managed to flee the building, as of Sunday, the number confirmed killed had risen to 40.

Rescue teams are still trying to recover bodies, with about 27 more students thought to be under the rubble. On Thursday, it was announced that thermal drones had found “no further signs of life”.

‘A tragic accident’

In the aftermath of the deadly incident, questions have been raised about the safety of the structure and why construction work was going on while students were inside.

But neither Muhammad nor his mother, Yuni, had any concerns about him returning to the school, where he had studied since he was 12.

“I am not scared to go back to the school,” Muhammad said as his mother expressed hope that he could continue his studies there once it has been rebuilt.

“We consider this a tragic accident,” Yuni added, explaining that she had no desire to blame school authorities.

All but one of the dozen parents Al Jazeera spoke to said they want their child to return to the school.

Syamsul Arifin, who teaches the sociology of religion at Muhammadiyah University in the nearby city of Malang, explained that Islamic boarding schools like Al-Khoziny play an important role in conservative religious communities, and it is against this backdrop that the reluctance to attribute blame must be understood.

“While parents may be understandably shocked or saddened by the incident, they are unlikely to want to blame the owners or leaders of the school where there is essentially a patron and client relationship,” he said.

These schools offer “a sacred canopy for students that protects and comforts them, which is why their parents submit to the leaders [of the schools] completely,” Arifin added.

‘Religious authority’

Indonesia has more than 30,000 Islamic boarding schools, known as pesantren, where students live in dormitories and study under religious scholars called kyai, or ustadz.

Pesantren focus on religious education, although many, like Al-Khoziny, also teach secular subjects.

In East Java province alone, there are almost 7,000 pesantren.

“Kyai and ustadz are incredibly well respected, particularly in [conservative areas like] East Java because they are considered people of great knowledge and wisdom,” Arifin explained.

They also play a central role in community life, with others regularly consulting them for spiritual guidance, he added.

“They are considered closer to God because of how religious they are, which is why people have such extraordinary respect for them.

“So when something like this happens that raises questions about a potential lack of safety, parents revert to theology and a very traditional way of thinking about religious authority.”

Al-Khoziny was established in 1927, and several of the “founding fathers” of Nahdlatul Ulama, the largest Muslim organisation in the world, taught or studied there, Arifin said. This helped to cement its position “as a centre of religious knowledge and spirituality”.

‘Hoping for a miracle’

Muhammad Ali studied at Al-Khoziny just as his father had before him. That was why he chose to send his own son, 14-year-old Muhammad Fajri Ali, to the school.

The boy was in the school when it collapsed and has not yet been found. Ali has been camping at the site since he heard about the collapse on social media on Monday.

“I am hoping for a miracle,” he said.

Ali explained that senior members of the school’s leadership had met with the parents and apologised.

“Before we gathered to see them, we [the parents of the missing students] held a meeting and decided as a group that we would not blame the school or anyone else for what happened,” he said.

“I shook hands with [the school leadership] and they hugged me,” Ali said, adding, “It was the will of God.”

Mohammad Abduh, a lecturer in civil engineering at Muhammadiyah University, has analysed images of the destroyed building and believes it is likely that the construction work on the school’s upper floors caused the collapse.

“This immediately caused a weakness in the structure, particularly when pouring things like cement, which causes vibration and takes time to dry,” he explained, adding that it was also possible that the pillars used to support the structure were not big enough to hold up the upper floors.

“Often in Indonesia, we see a phenomenon of ‘living structures’ where floors or rooms are added to existing buildings over time. This can become a problem if it was not the plan from the outset,” he said.

“In this case, it may have been that they wanted to add bedrooms or classrooms, but without thinking of the added weight of the floors.”

The school was reportedly building a prayer room and ablutions area on the upper floors.

“Whatever the case, when building works are ongoing, no one should be doing any other activities inside,” Abduh explained.

TV chef Jamie Oliver raked in £28.5million last year as he continued to bounce back from his restaurant chain collapse.

Jamie Oliver Holdings’ bumper 2024 income came from TV shows, book sales and restaurants.

It also covered his cookery school and fees for promoting Tesco.

Jamie’s Italian chain collapsed in 2018, with debts of £83million.

But he now has international brands and a restaurant in Covent Garden, central London.

Revenues were up from £27.1million in 2023, Companies House files show.

But profits took a slight dip to £4.6million last year, from £5.2million.

The chef and his wife Jools, both 50, received dividends of £3million.

A report said: “The principal drivers of this decrease in profitability were reduced revenue from the effects of the cyclical nature of long term partnerships contracts, partially offset by savings in central staff costs (excluding Owned and Operated sites)

“We have delivered new Jamie Oliver titles in both book and TV formats during the year and there has been continued strong performance from back catalogue book titles and our international television content distributor.

“The Board recognises that the Jamie Oliver brand is a key asset of the Group and is confident that the night controls are in place to protect its value.”

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Authorities say they are using heavy equipment to look for the 49 people who remain missing.

The death toll from the collapse of a boarding school in Indonesia’s East Java province has risen to 14, according to officials, as rescuers battle to recover dozens of students believed still buried under the rubble.

Hundreds of students, most of them teenage boys, were inside the Al-Khoziny Islamic Boarding School in the town of Sidoarjo when it collapsed on Monday, initially killing at least five students and injuring about 100.

National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) chief Suharyanto told reporters on Saturday that rescuers found nine bodies on Friday, raising the death toll to 14.

“As of today, we are still searching for 49 people who are still missing,” said Suharyanto, who goes by one name, as reported by broadcaster Kompas TV.

More victims could be found, Suharyanto said, as rescuers moved to use heavy machinery to clear locations where the victims were believed to be buried underneath the rubble.

“After the last victim was found last night, we are focusing on a massive cleanup, with heavy equipment entering the collapsed areas,” he said.

Suharyanto said victim identification had been complicated by the fact that most of the victims were under 18 and did not have government identity cards or fingerprint records.

“Some of the bodies were too badly damaged to be recognised visually,” he said.

The total number of victims recorded is 167, of which 104 have been found and are safe, said Abdul Muhari, head of the Disaster Data, Information and Communication Centre at the BNPB.

Fourteen survivors are receiving hospital treatment, while 89 have been discharged. One has been transferred to another hospital, added Muhari.

The school collapse was so violent that it sent tremors across the neighbourhood, according to residents.

Investigators have been looking into the cause of the collapse, but initial signs pointed to substandard construction, experts have said.

The rescue operation was complex because vibrations in one place could affect other areas, officials said.

But the families of the missing agreed on Thursday for heavy equipment to be used, after the 72-hour “golden period” for the best chance of survival came to an end.

The rescue operation was complicated by an earthquake that struck overnight on Tuesday, briefly halting the search.

Pilgrims were visiting the Menjar Shenkora Arerti Mariam Church to mark the annual Virgin Mary festival.

Makeshift scaffolding set up at a church in Ethiopia has collapsed, killing at least 36 people and injuring dozens, state media reported.

The incident occurred at about 7:45am [4:45 GMT] on Wednesday in the town of Arerti, in the Amhara region, some 70 kilometres (43 miles) east of the capital, Addis Ababa.

A group of pilgrims were visiting the Menjar Shenkora Arerti Mariam Church to mark the annual Virgin Mary festival when the scaffolding collapsed.

District police chief Ahmed Gebeyehu told state media Fana “the number of dead has reached 36 and could increase more,” according to the AFP news agency.

The number of people injured remains unclear, but some reports suggest they could be as many as 200.

Local official Atnafu Abate told the Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation (EBC) that some people remained under the rubble but did not provide details on rescue operations.

Some of the more seriously hurt were taken to hospitals in the capital, he added.

Teshale Tilahun, the local administrator, described the incident as “a tragic loss for the community”.

Images shared on the EBC’s official Facebook page showed tangled wooden poles, with crowds gathering amid the dense debris.

Other pictures appeared to show the outside of the church, where scaffolding had been precariously constructed.

Health and safety regulations are virtually non-existent in Ethiopia, Africa’s second most populous nation, and construction accidents are common.

Indonesia’s National Agency for Disaster Management says 77 victims taken to hospitals for treatment.

A student has been killed and dozens are missing following the collapse of an Islamic boarding school in Indonesia’s East Java province, authorities have said.

Rescuers are searching for 38 people believed to be trapped under the rubble following the building collapse, Indonesia’s National Agency for Disaster Management said on Tuesday.

Eleven people have been rescued from the rubble, and 91 others managed to escape, the disaster management agency said.

Seventy-seven victims were taken to several hospitals in the area for treatment for their injuries, according to the agency.

“Efforts to assess the site, monitor the remaining building structure, and prepare evacuation routes for victims are the primary focus of the teams on the ground,” the agency said in a statement on social media.

The agency added that the incident called attention to the need for the “strict implementation of construction safety standards”.

“The public and managers of multistorey buildings are urged to ensure technical supervision during construction to prevent similar occurrences in the future,” it said.

Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency, a separate body, had earlier reported that “provisional data” indicated that 100 students were caught up in the collapse, of whom all but one had been located alive.

Al-Khoziny Islamic Boarding School, in Sidoarjo, East Java, collapsed at about 3pm on Monday as students were gathering for afternoon prayers.

Authorities say the school’s foundation pillars gave way as crews were concreting the fourth floor of the building, trapping dozens of people under debris.

The incident is the second building collapse in Indonesia in less than a month.

At least three people were killed and dozens were injured when a community hall hosting a Quran recital collapsed in West Java’s Bogor district on September 3, according to officials.

Sept. 9 (UPI) — A Miami area condo was showing visible signs of structural strains weeks before it collapsed and killed 98 people, federal investigators revealed Tuesday.

The update from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) comes four years after the catastrophic collapse of the Champlain Towers building in Surfside, Fla. The incident drew national headlines, leaving questions about what caused the 12-story building to suddenly fall apart.

NIST investigators determined that the collapse likely started in the building’s pool deck instead of the structure of the tower, aligning with preliminary findings into the cause of the incident. Co-lead investigator Glenn Bell said that “it is more likely that the failure started in a pool deck slab-column connection,” according to a news release.

Investigators used computer simulations, large-scale structural testing and signs that the building was in distress weeks before the collapse, according to the release. Those signs included a sliding glass door that had come off its frame, a horizontal crack in a planter wall and a vertical gate shifting so much that it became jammed and could not be opened.

The signs of distress were concentrated in a small area of the pool deck and the street-level parking lot, both of which began to give way at least seven minutes before the rest of the tower collapsed, the release stated. Additionally, a leak in part of the garage ceiling that was cracked had undergone many repairs and became significantly worse a day before the collapse, investigators found.

Investigators are fine-tuning their analysis of the role steel reinforcement corrosion, concrete shrinkage and shoddy construction joints in the pool deck slab had in the collapse. They intend to complete their technical work by the end of the year and draft reports on their findings. A significant update on the investigation is expected by spring 2026.

Previously, Surfside Mayor Charles W. Burkett suggested a sinkhole caused the collapse. Lawyers for victims also argued that construction on a neighboring luxury building destabilized the condos.

The collapse destroyed 55 condominium units and left the remaining 136 units to be demolished. In 202, a Miami Judge approved a $1 billion settlement to surviving family members, condo owners and people injured.

Aug. 18 (UPI) — An explosion occurred Monday evening aboard a 751-foot bulk carrier in Baltimore’s Patapsco River, near where the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed in March 2024.

The explosion was reported to the Baltimore City Fire Department at around 6:30 p.m. EDT, the fire department said in a statement. Officials have identified the craft as the W. Sapphire, which, according to marine traffic website MarineTraffic.com, is a Liberia-flagged Class A bulk carrier that was to depart Baltimore, Md., shortly before 6 p.m. Its destination was Port Louis in the East African nation of Mauritius.

Unverified video of the incident published online shows an explosion on the vessel ejected a large fireball into the air. Once the smoke cleared, a fire on deck could be seen.

The Baltimore fire department said the vessel sustained damage “consistent with a fire and explosion.” It remained afloat and was being assisted by tugboats.

All 23 people onboard the vessel when the explosion occurred have been accounted for and were uninjured, officials said.

“Fireboats remain on scene as the Coast Guard and other agencies begin their investigation,” the Baltimore City Fire Department said. “The vessel will be moved to a designated anchorage area and held there until cleared by the Coast Guard.”

UPI has contacted the U.S. Coast Guard for comment.

The Maryland Department of Emergency Management said in a statement online that it is “aware of the cargo ship fire” and is “monitoring.”

“At this time, there are no reports of injuries or property damaged beyond the ship,” it said.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore similarly said his office is closely monitoring the situation.

“State agencies are responding to the situation near Baltimore Harbor,” he said in a statement. “My office is in touch with local and federal authorities.”

The incident occurred not far from where about 510 days ago the Francis Scott Key Bridge across the Patapsco River collapsed after a commercial vessel, the MV Dali, crashed into it.

The Port of Baltimore is crucial to the economy of not only Baltimore and Maryland, but also the United States, with 45.9 million tons of international cargo with a value of $62.2 billion transiting through it in 2024, the second highest on record.

The collapse blocked the port, resulting in its 11-week closure.

EUROPE’S car industry is “heading at full speed against a wall” and risks collapsing if the EU doesn’t rethink its ban on new petrol and diesel cars, the boss of a huge car firm has warned.

In a stark intervention, he said a “reality check” was needed before the 2035 ban on combustion-engine sales is locked in.

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Mercedes-Benz boss Ola Källenius told German business paper Handelsblatt: “We need a reality check. Otherwise, we are heading at full speed against a wall.

“Of course, we have to decarbonise, but it has to be done in a technology-neutral way. We must not lose sight of our economy.”

The luxury brand — once gung-ho about going fully electric in Europe — has already dropped its ambitious 2021 pledge to stop selling combustion cars “where market conditions allow” by the decade’s end.

Källenius, who also heads the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), now warns the EU’s policy could trigger a last-minute rush for petrol and diesel cars before the cut-off, which “doesn’t help the climate at all.”

Electric cars remain far from dominating the market.

In the first half of this year, EVs made up just 17.5 per cent of sales across the EU, UK, and EFTA countries, while plug-in hybrids took 8.7 per cent.

Traditional hybrids accounted for 35 per cent, but that figure includes mild-hybrids, which critics say aren’t “true” hybrids.

Mercedes’ own figures show EV sales slipping — just 8.4 per cent of its global deliveries in the first six months of 2025, down from 9.7 per cent last year.

Even with plug-ins included, electrified models made up just 20.1 per cent of shipments.

The EU’s 2035 ban is due for review in the coming months, but Brussels has so far signalled no U-turn, reiterating in March its commitment to zero-emission new cars by the mid-2030s.

It comes as the boss of Stellantis — the giant behind 14 brands including Fiat, Peugeot, and Maserati — warned that unreachable EU CO2 targets could force plant closures.

Europe chief Jean-Philippe Imparato said the Franco-Italian group faces fines of up to €2.5 billion within “two-three years” if it fails to meet emissions rules.

Without a regulatory rethink by year-end, “we will have to make tough decisions,” he told a conference in Rome.

“I have two solutions: either I push like hell (on electric)… or I close down ICE (internal combustion engine vehicles).

And therefore I close down factories,” he said, pointing to the risk for sites such as Stellantis’ van plant in Atessa, Italy.

The warning comes amid fresh turmoil for Stellantis, with its new CEO Antonio Filosa inheriting the fallout from Donald Trump’s 25 per cent US import tariffs and a crisis at Maserati, which has seen sales plunge from 26,600 in 2023 to 11,300 last year.

With EV targets biting, petrol and diesel models under threat, and luxury brands cancelling investments — including Maserati’s £1.3bn electric MC20 Folgore — Europe’s car bosses are sending a clear signal to Brussels: ease off, or risk slamming the brakes on the continent’s auto industry.

Everything you need to know about electric cars

Former UN Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza Sigrid Kaag speaks to Talk to Al Jazeera about delivering aid under Israeli siege, amid what many world leaders call genocide. She discusses blocked aid, famine, the collapse of humanitarian norms, and the UN’s credibility crisis. Kaag, also a former deputy prime minister, finance minister, and foreign minister of the Netherlands, offers her perspective on what future remains for a rules-based order when even humanitarian principles are no longer guaranteed.

More than 100 people had been involved in the search for workers at the El Teniente copper mine, the world’s largest underground mine.

All five workers trapped at a copper mine in Chile have been found dead, according to a regional prosecutor, after rescue teams cleared more than 24 metres (78 feet) of underground passages that collapsed in a strong earthquake last week.

Prosecutor Aquiles Cubillo of the O’Higgins region said on Sunday that the body of the fifth trapped worker had been found at the El Teniente copper mine.

More than 100 people had been involved in the search for workers at the El Teniente copper mine, the world’s largest underground mine, in Rancagua, about 100km (62 miles) south of Santiago.

“We deeply regret this outcome,” Cubillos said.

The latest death brings the total toll from the accident to six, including one person who died at the time of the incident on Thursday evening.

Chile’s state-owned mining company Codelco discovered the first trapped worker on Saturday and another three on Sunday. It has not yet commented on the final worker.

The miners had been working at a depth of more than 900 metres when the collapse happened, killing one colleague and halting operations at the site. Their exact location had been pinpointed with specialised equipment.

Minister for Mining Aurora Williams announced the temporary cessation of activity at the mine on Saturday.

The mine began operating in the early 1900s and boasts more than 4,500km (some 2,800 miles) of underground tunnels.

Last year, El Teniente produced 356,000 tonnes of copper – nearly 7 percent of the total for Chile.

The cave-in happened after a “seismic event” on Thursday afternoon, of which the origin – natural or caused by drilling – was not yet known, the authorities said on Saturday. The tremor registered a magnitude of 4.2.

“It is one of the biggest events, if not the biggest, that the El Teniente deposit has experienced in decades,” Andres Music, the mine’s general manager, said in a statement.

The search team included several of the rescuers who participated in successfully surfacing 33 miners trapped in a mine for more than two months in the Atacama Desert in 2010, attracting a whirlwind of global media attention.

Chile is the world’s largest copper producer, responsible for nearly a quarter of global supply, with about 5.3 million tonnes in 2024.

Its mining industry is one of the safest on the planet, with a death rate of 0.02 percent last year, according to the National Geology and Mining Service of Chile.

It also lies in the seismically active “Ring of Fire” that surrounds the shores of the Pacific Ocean.

Love is in the air for Dev Alahan and Bernie Winter on Coronation Street – but a burglary, debauched behaviour, and a medical emergency risk ruining their big day

It is wedding season on Coronation Street – and Dev Alahan and Bernie Winter are set to tie the knot with a lavish ceremony. But as fans of the long-running ITV continuing drama will know – happiness rarely runs smooth in the world of soaps.

Dev, played by Jimmi Harkishin, has been living on the Cobbles since 1999 and married Sunita Alahan, played by Shobna Gulati, in 2004 – before she was killed off in 2013, surviving the Rover’s fire only to be murdered by arsonist Karl Munro, played by John Michie. Fans may be hoping Dev has a happier second marriage.

And he is set to swap vows with Bernie, played by Jane Hazlegrove, in scenes this coming week. The pair have been an on-screen item since September last year – growing close after the death of Bernie’s son, Paul.

After enduring a brief split, the pair will become husband and wife – if they can survive a series of dramas. Stag party shenanigans, a burglary, a surprise proposal, a shock collapse and a hospital dash midway through the ceremony all look to cause havoc with the wedding plans.

Fans tuning in at the start of the week will see Dev and Bernie embracing the last of their single lives as they celebrate their stag and hen parties. But when Bernie learns Dev and the boys have hired a pole dancer to join them at the Rovers, she is not best pleased.

With the ceremony set to appear on Wednesday’s episode, trials face the couple as some guests fall ill and have to watch via a live stream. Bernie’s emotions run wild when she forgets her lucky charm locket that contains a photo of late son, Paul – and disaster strikes when she runs home to retrieve it only to find a burglar in her house.

While the big day is supposed to be all about Dev and Bernie, Debbie Webster steals some attention for herself when she gets down on one knee to propose to Ronnie. And fans will need to wait to find out if Bernie even makes it down the aisle – as she collapses in front of Dev, leaving him scared for the life of his bride.

The Corrie cast have been discussing all the highs and lows of the wedding day plans. Bernie actress Jane, 57, laughs: “The day goes from bad to worse!

“That’s what is so brilliant about Coronation Street, you don’t know what you’re going to get until you open the page of the script and that’s what is so fantastic about how it plays out – we’ve got this woman raving down the aisle and the next minute she’s collapsed and an ambulance is on its way!”

Jane also revealed that she had a hand in the design of Bernie’s wedding dress.

She revealed: “I knew that Bernie wouldn’t go down the road of wearing a traditional dress. I had seen some old footage of Elkie Brookes on TV and she was wearing a kaftan.

“I am a big fan of Elkie so that was the initial inspiration, but this is for Bernie so it needed to be a bit extra. Our fantastic talented costume department came up with the 1970s style white dress that is a bit Elkie Brookes, a bit Demis Roussos and very Bernie Winter.”

Fans can see all the drama unfold as Coronation Street airs this week on ITV1 and via ITVX on Monday at 8pm, Wednesday at 8pm, and Friday at 8pm.

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Rescue teams race to find survivors after deadly school building collapse in western India.

At least four children have been killed and 17 others injured after the roof of a school building collapsed in India’s western state of Rajasthan, according to local reports.

The tragedy took place on Friday morning shortly after daily prayers at a government-run school in Barmer district. Authorities say about 25 to 30 students were inside the classroom when the ceiling suddenly gave way.

Local police believe the building’s deteriorating structure, worsened by recent heavy rainfall, may have caused the collapse. “Some of the injured are in critical condition,” senior police officer Amit Kumar told the Press Trust of India.

Rajasthan’s education minister, Madan Dilawar, said he had instructed officials to oversee the medical treatment of the injured and ensure families receive support. “I have directed the authorities to make proper arrangements and to oversee the injured children’s treatment, and to ensure they do not face any kind of difficulties,” he told AajTak news channel.

Dilawar added that a formal investigation would be launched to determine the exact cause. “I have also spoken to the collector and directed authorities to take stock of the situation and help in whatever way possible,” he said.

Footage broadcast on Indian television showed locals and emergency workers using cranes to clear debris as anxious parents looked on. The sound of relatives wailing could be heard near the site.

Rescue efforts were ongoing late into the day. Local media said 32 students had been pulled out alive so far, though some were severely injured.

“Instructions have been given to the concerned authorities to ensure proper treatment for the injured children,” Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma said in a statement on X.

Rajasthan, known for its extreme weather, has experienced intense monsoon rains in recent weeks, raising concerns over the safety of ageing infrastructure in rural schools.