Swell Surge In Sea Kills Five Medicos Off Kanyakumari Beach

by Pabitra Mohan Senapaty

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

Five house surgeons of a private medical college in Tiruchi drowned near Lemur Beach in Kanniyakumari due to a swell surge in the sea on Monday.

Chennai, May 6: Five house surgeons of a private medical college in Tiruchi drowned near Lemur Beach in Kanniyakumari due to a swell surge in the sea on Monday.

The police said that a team of 12 house surgeons from the college had gone to Nagercoil to attend a wedding. After attending the wedding ceremony, they went to Lemur Beach, which falls under the Rajakkalmangalam police station limits in Kanyakumari district.

While seven of the house surgeons were standing near the shoreline, the others were sitting a little distance away from the sea which was rough.

A giant wave swept those standing by the sea away, as the others raised an alarm and called for help.

The local fishermen rescued two medicos -- S. Neshi (24) and R. Preethi Priyanka (23) -- who have been admitted to the Kanyakumari Government Medical College.

The deceased have been identified as P. Sarvadharshith (23), M. Praveen Sam (23), B. Gayathri (25), D. Charukavi (23), and Venkatesh (24).

To recall, the National Disaster Management and Research Centre issued a ‘Red Alert’ warning on Saturday.

It had forecast that the sea would be unusually rough for three to four days in Thoothukudi and Kanniyakumari districts, advising people not to venture into the sea.

(IANS)

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Captain Gopichand, Five Others Set To Fly To Edge Of Space Aboard Blue Origin Mission

by Hemanta Pande

New Delhi, May 19: Captain Gopichand Thotakura, along with five others, is set to fly to the edge of space on Blue Origin's crewed flight mission on Sunday evening.

The launch window by billionaire Jeff Bezos-owned space venture for the 11-minute flight opens at 6.30 a.m. PT (7 p.m. India time).

"We're 'Go' to proceed to launch, Sunday, May 19. The #NS25 launch window opens from Launch Site One in West Texas," the company posted on X social media platform.

The reusable New Shepard rocket is set to take the six-person crew to space above the Karman line which is an internationally recognised boundary of space that lies 100 km above the Earth's surface.

It's been more than two since Blue Origin's last crewed flight.

The six travellers include 90-year-old Ed Dwight, Mason Angel, Sylvain Chiron, Kenneth L. Hess, Carol Schaller and Thotakura.

With this mission, Thotakura will become the second Indian to visit space, after Rakesh Sharma's journey aboard Russian Soyuz T-11 in 1984.

After Sharma, three people of Indian origin have reached space -- Kalpana Chawla (1997), Sunita Williams (2006), and Raja Chari (2021) as NASA astronauts.

Blue Origin's NS-25 mission is set to lift off from Launch Site One in West Texas in the US.

The company has undertaken six human flight missions to date, and launched 31 people to the Karman line.(IANS)

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Nimapara MLA Samir Ranjan Dash Quits BJD

by Hemanta Pande

Puri, May 19: In another jolt to Odisha’s ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) amid the ongoing general elections, former Minister and incumbent MLA from Nimapara, Samir Ranjan Dash resigned from the primary membership of the party on Sunday, days after being denied party ticket to contest the assembly polls.

According to sources, Dash sent his resignation letter to BJD president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

"I have been working for the Biju Janata Dal since 2006. Today, the BJD president has lost faith in me and the party's organisation in Gop and Nimapara... it is not appropriate for me to remain in the party. Hence I am resigning from the primary membership of the BJD," Dash said in a video message.

Dash, who won from the Nimapara seat thrice in a row in 2009, 2014 and 2019 on a BJD ticket, was denied the party ticket this time. Dillip Kumar Nayak, who recently joined BJD after resigning from BJP, was rewarded with the Nimapara ticket.

Later, the three-time legislator held a series of meetings with various segments of the constituency, including women, youth, and minority groups, garnering support for his electoral bid.

Dash was in the eye of a storm for his suspected role behind the suicide of BJD zilla parishad member Dharmendra Sahoo in September 2022. In the wake of the controversy, Samir had to step down as The School And Mass Education Minister in May 2023.