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Good morning from The Oval, as President Obama heads back to a pivotal state in any election: Ohio.
China surged clear at the top of the Olympic medals table, as two world records fell in the pool on a night when France stunned swimming's superpowers to take a dramatic relay gold.
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After dominating day one of competition with four gold medals, Chinese athletes hit paydirt once again with wins in shooting for Guo Wenjun and synchronised divers Wu Minxia and He Zi yesterday.
Guo successfully defended her 10m air pistol title with a thrilling last-shot finish at the Royal Artillery Barracks to overhaul France's Celine Goberville, who had led going into the last round. Legendary diver Wu, meanwhile, clinched her third consecutive gold medal in the 3m springboard synchronised after wins in 2004 and 2008. Day two of the swimming competition saw another thrilling night of action, where records tumbled once more before France surged to the country's first ever gold in the prestigious 4x100m freestyle relay. The French quartet of Amaury Leveaux, Fabien Gilot, Clement Lefert and Yannick Agnel clocked 3:09.93, Agnel coming from behind on the last leg and overtaking American anchor Ryan Lochte for the triumph. Russia took the bronze but the much-fancied Australia, who had led off with James Magnussen, trailing home in fourth. It was sweet revenge for France, who were pipped to gold by the Americans at the 2008 Games in Beijing, losing by just 0.08sec. 'What happened four years ago, that was really tough -- this is an extraordinary revenge,' Gilot said. 'There is the sense of accomplishment. We have been rewarded for all the years when we missed out and were given nothing. We have won one of the finest medals and it is one which can never be taken away.' American Dana Vollmer won the women's 100m butterfly gold medal, clocking a world record of 55.98sec for a crushing victory over China's Lu Ying. Vollmer became the first woman to break through the 56-second barrier as she added Olympic gold to the world title she claimed last year. 'I just relied on my strengths," Vollmer said. "Just set it up well, passed a few people and charged it home." South Arican Cameron van der Burgh won the men's 100m breaststroke gold in a world record of 58.46sec before dedicating his win to late former training partner, Norway's Alexander Dale Oen who died from heart failure in April. 'I just have to pay tribute to Alexander Dale Oen tonight, I know he has been with me this year, I think he helped me finish the race in such a strong manner,' van der Burgh said. France's Camille Muffat won the women's 400m freestyle gold with Britain's defending champion Rebecca Adlington in third. While China celebrated their burgeoning gold haul, hosts Great Britain were still waiting for their first win with cyclist Lizzie Armitstead settling for silver in a thrilling road race won by Marianne Vos of the Netherlands. United States shooter Kim Rhode took the gold medal in the women's skeet, her fifth consecutive visit to the podium following medals at Atlanta, Sydney, Athens and Beijing. Uzbek gymnast Luiza Galiulina was provisionally suspended after testing positive for the banned diuretic furosemide, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced. Galiulina underwent a drugs test on July 25, three days before the start of the women's competition. Meanwhile, St. Kitts and Nevis record sprinter Tameka Williams has been sent home from the Olympics after admitting taking a banned substance. Williams, 22, the Caribbean country's 100m and 200m record-holder, did not fail a drugs test but made the revelation during discussions over vitamins and nutritional supplements, an official told AFP. Spain's footballers will also be making an earlier-than-expected departure from London after crashing out of the tournament. The world and European champions, beaten 1-0 by Japan in their opening game, suffered a 1-0 upset defeat to Honduras in a stormy Group D match at Newcastle which saw 13 bookings. In other action yesterday, the United States' collection of NBA multi-millionaires, who are expected to cruise to a successful defence of the basketball title, eased past France 98-71 in their opening game. Over at Wimbledon, Maria Sharapova, Novak Djokovic and home hope Andy Murray were all winners on a rain-hit day. |
47 passengers were charred to death and 27 others injured when a fire broke out in a coach of the New Delhi-Chennai Tamil Nadu Express near here in the wee hours today due to a short circuit.
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Additional DG Railways V S K Kaumudi said that 47 bodies have been recovered so far from the charred S-11 bogie of the train. South Central Railway officials in Hyderabad said 27 people have been injured in the mishap and have been admitted to different hospitals.
According to Nellore district officials, the fire was noticed by a gateman at around 4.15 am who alerted officials. Two fire tenders were rushed to the spot immediately to put out the fire and they managed to restrict the blaze to the S-11 bogie, they said. Nellore District Collector B Sridhar said, 'There was a short circuit near the toilet and the train was moving at a speed of 110 kms per hour. It was going to Chennai from Delhi. All the passengers were asleep when the fire broke out at 4.30 am. People were not able to come out immediately'. 'The fire spread fast and the passengers could not come out through one of the doors because of the fire. So the other edge of the coach was to be used. Some people could come out while others succumbed to death,' he said. The bodies have been charred so it is difficult to identify them, Sridhar said. Additional Joint Collector Laxmikant said the toll could rise up to 35 as some of the bodies are still to be recovered from the charred S-11 compartment. Nellore district police officials said 14 passengers in the bogie were safe. Some of the passengers travelling in the train told reporters that smoke engulfed the bogie soon after the fire broke out making it difficult for them to come out. Railway Minister Mukul Roy has announced an exgratia payment of Rs five lakh each to the next of the kin of those killed in the mishap. The Railway Minister also announced a payment of Rs one lakh each for those who were grievously injured and Rs 25,000 for those who suffered simple injuries. The Railway Ministry has also ordered an inquiry by D K Singh, Commissioner of Railway Safety of South-Central Circle to look into the cause of the accident. Expressing shock and anguish over the incident, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy conveyed his condolences to members of the bereaved families. A release from the Chief Minister's Office said he would visit Nellore to meet those injured in the mishap. The Chief Minister has asked the Chief Secretary to monitor the relief operations on a minute-to-minute basis and also coordinate with railway officials of Secunderabad and Delhi, the release said. The S-11 coach looked like a structure of mangled steel put in a furnace. Heart-rending scenes were witnessed at the railway station as relatives of some of the deceased passengers, who reached Nellore, wept inconsolably. The coach was brought to the Nellore railway station and normal traffic was restored by around 8.30 am, the South Central Railway officials said. Our reporter adds, one of passenger of coach S10, Ashok Kumar, who reached Chennai this morning, said, 'it took us a while to see what was actually happening around us when we saw coach S11 burning. Another passenger Veeru Raju, said, we heard alarm raised by passengers from S11 coach. The burnt coach was diconnected from the rake and the train was sent back to Chennai Central.
Helpline
Toll free numbers have been set up at Chennai Central. Nellore, Vijayawada and Delhi. The numbers are Chennai Central 044 - 25357398, Secunderabad - 040-27786723, Vijayawada - 0866-2345863, 2345864, Mellore - 0861- 2331477 and New Delhi - 011-23342954. |
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