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10 Indians among 19 killed in plane crash near Kathmandu

September 26, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

Flight BHA-103 of Buddha Air, crashed in the Kathmandu valley on Sunday morning, killing all 19 persons, including 10 Indians, onboard.

The Beechcraft plane had completed a flight around Mount Everest when it lost contact with the Tribhuvan International Airport tower at 7.31 a.m. It crashed four minutes later at Kotdanda in Lalitpur district, around 15 km south of the airport.

The others killed were six Nepalis, including three crew members; two Americans and a Japanese.

According to a statement issued by the Indian Embassy here, the Indians were: Pankaj Mehta and his wife Chhaya Mehta, M. Maruthachalam, M. Manimaran, A.K. Krisunan, V.M. Kanakasabesan, T. Dhanasekaran, Kattoor Mahalingam, Meenakshi Sundaram, and K. Thyagarajan.

While Pankaj Mehta was with the UNICEF here, the other eight men were from Tiruchi in Tamil Nadu. They came here on Saturday evening and checked into the Grand Hotel.

Hotel manager Phurba Sherpa told The Hindu, “All the eight persons were part of the Tiruchirapalli Centre Builders Association. They first communicated with us on August 21 and booked rooms for three nights and four days. They checked into the hotel on Saturday at 5 p.m., and were scheduled to check out on September 27. They left for their mountain flight this morning at 5.45 a.m.”

The Indian Embassy said it was “providing all assistance for the prompt evacuation of the remains of the Indian nationals killed in the accident.”

The helpline numbers at the embassy are: 00-977-1-4423702 (direct); 00-977-1-4410900 (Extension 4109); 00-977-1-4414990 (Extension 4109); and 00-977-1-4411699 (Extension 4109).

Aviation experts said the crash was a typical case of Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT). One of them, Hemant Arjyal, said: “The clouds this morning were rather low but not moisture-laden. It appears that the aircraft took the visual approach and the pilot got ‘in and out’ of the cloud. The plane seems to have been too close to the hill and touched it.”

Another expert, Kunda Dixit, told The Hindu: “This plane was coming back after not being able to see the Mount Everest. The south approach to the runaway was open. There were two other Everest flights ahead of this one. To give them more space, the pilot went too far to the east. The clouds were low because of all-night rain. The pilot must have assumed it was just a cloud, but there was a mountain hidden. 95 per cent of Nepal’s aviation crashes are CFIT, and they occur in the monsoon when clouds cover the mountains. If you are slightly off course, you hit the mountain. The real tragedy is we have not learnt the lessons from past crashes with better pilot training, and better equipment.”

The black box of the aircraft has been found, and an official three-member committee, led by a former Director-General of the Civil Aviation Authority Nepal has been set up to investigate the cause of the crash.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: aviation, buddha air, extension, flight, k thyagarajan, meenakshi sundaram, mountain, tribhuvan international airport

Giant eagle filled the role of a predator on Kiwi island 750 years ago

September 12, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, September 12 (ANI): In a new study, scientists have determined that the role of a predator, before humans colonized New Zealand about 750 years ago, was filled by a giant, extinct raptor known as Haast’s eagle.

Although the bones of Haast’s eagle have been known for well over a century, the behavior of these giants has been a point of debate.

Owing to their large size – these eagles weighed up to 40 lbs., larger than any modern eagle – some scientists believe they were scavengers rather than predators.

The new study, by Paul Scofield of the Canterbury Museum in New Zealand and Ken Ashwell of the University of New South Wales, used computed axial tomography (CAT/CT) scans to reconstruct the size of the brain, eyes, ears and spinal cord of this ancient eagle.

These data were compared to values from modern predatory and scavenging birds to determine the habits of the extinct eagle.

The results indicated not only that Haast’s eagle was a fearsome predator that probably swooped on its prey from a high mountain perch, but also that it evolved over a relatively short period of time from a much smaller-bodied ancestor.

“This work is a great example of how rapidly evolving medical techniques and equipment can be used to solve ancient mysteries,” said Ashwell, co-author of the study.

It is also an example of how the oral traditions of ancient peoples and scientific research can sometimes reach the same conclusion.

“This science supports Maori (native New Zealander) mythology of the legendary pouakai or hokioi, a huge bird that could swoop down on people in the mountains and was capable of killing a small child,” said Paul Scofield, lead author of the study.

Haast’s eagle became extinct a mere 500 years ago, probably due to habitat destruction and the extinction of its prey species by early Polynesian settlers. (ANI)

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Indo-Kazakh expedition team reaches Mount Marble Wall summit

September 12, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Astana (Kazakhstan), Sep 11(ANI): A mountaineering expedition team comprising six members of the Indian Army and eight from the Kazakhstan Army has successfully scaled the Mount Marble Wall Peak in Kazakhstan.

The expedition was jointly led by Lt Col SS Shekhawat and Ilinski, and the team reached Base Camp on August 23 at 3300 meters and established three camps on the mountain by August 27.

On September 3, the summit team left for Camp- III, located at a height of 5200 meters, and after nearly 11 hours of grueling climb finally summitted the peak on September 4.

The summit was a great challenge, as continuous inclement weather during the ascent and alpine climbing used by the teams further increased the degree of difficulty.

This was the first Indian expedition to Marble Wall Peak. (ANI)

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Tendong Lho Rum Faat festival celebrated by Lepchas of Sikkim

September 10, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Gangtok (Sikkim), Sep 9(ANI): Hundreds of people came together in Gangtok recently to celebrate Tendong Lho Rum Faat, which is a festival of the indigenous tribe of Sikkim “The Lepchas”.

During the festival, Lepchas offer prayers and worship Mount Tendong; the Kanchenjunga mountain range, that they believe saved them from destruction by floods.

“This festival is more than worshipping the mountain. It shows a strong connection and affinities of Lepchas with Nature. This is not something recent. They have been carrying on this, the worshipping of Nature since time immemorial,” said Sheba Sasm, a local.

To mark the day, quiz, debate and flute competitions were also organised.

Norzang Lepcha, the organiser, said that through the festivals they want to educate youngsters about to try and respect nature as well as to save it.

“Through these festivals and seminars what we are trying to inject in the minds of young generations is to save the nature and to plant more trees, so that the temperature can be maintained. We can come to the natural level of temperature,” Lepcha said.

The festival falls on the 3rd lunar month each year. By Tashi Pradhan(ANI)

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Chinese scientists claim to have filmed ‘UFO for 40 minutes’

September 7, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Sep 7 (ANI): Chinese scientists claim that they filmed an unidentified flying object for about 40 minutes, during the solar eclipse on July 22.

Researchers at the Purple Mountain Observatory in Nanjing have said that they will spend the next 12 months studying the footage before reaching any conclusions.

In an interview with sina.com, Ji Hai-sheng, the director of the observatory, said that scientists would not be speculating publicly on the nature of what was captured on film until it had been properly studied.

“‘Purple Mountain Observatory and Chinese Academy of Sciences said that during the July 22 total solar eclipse observation, China had discovered near the sun, by observing staff, an unidentified object, it’s physical nature remains to be further studied,” the Telegraph quoted him as saying.

“Currently manpower is being organized to deal with this data, complete the data analysis and reveal the scientific results and this will take at least one year’s time to finalise,” he added.

The incident comes after a series of UFO sightings in China, which eventually led to the object being captured on film by students in Deqing.

The footage, featured on Chinese television, apparently shows the object repeatedly changing shape after initially appearing as a glowing blue sphere. (ANI)

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Kimberley Walsh scared of camping after climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro

August 25, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Aug 25 (ANI): ‘Girls Aloud’ star Kimberley Walsh is scared of camping after her charity expedition to Mount Kilimanjaro.

The trip to the African mountain along with bandmate Cheryl Cole and ‘Take That’ star Gary Barlow and several other celebs has left her so exhausted that she has even cut short her tour to V Festival in Chelmsford because she couldn’t face another night under canvas.

“It’s nice, we can just chill out in the sun. We’re just here for the day. After the whole Kilimanjaro thing, camping’s a no-no in my mind. There was just no way I could do it,” Contactmusic quoted her as telling Absolute Radio.

Kimberley is keen to get back to work but admits she loves the time off to spend with her loved ones.

“We’re pretty busy. We’ve given ourselves a few months off now, for the first time really in like six or seven years.

“So we’re really enjoying just having a bit of time to chill and do holidays with the girls, boyfriends and family and it’s been nice,” she added. (ANI)

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‘Teen-proof’ room cuts out the clutter

August 25, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Aug 24 (ANI): The days of teenagers’ messy bedrooms may finally be over, courtesy an Edinburgh-based company, which has designed a room they can’t ruin.

Design firm IDP claims to have created the ‘teen-proof’ bedroom, which provides solution for the cluttered spaces that have enraged parents for decades, reports the Scotsman.

It features drawing pin friendly fabric wallpaper; a wipe-clean desk; a swivel chair with secret pockets for stashing chocolate and electronic gizmos; stain-resistant carpets; and enough space under the bed to hide a mountain of clothes and computer games and still leave room for a set of iPod speakers.

Gilly Corkery of IDP said: “It was an incredibly challenging project. How do you counteract the natural messiness of teenagers?”

The room includes shelves tailored to the size of CDs, along with compartments in the bed space so that electronic equipment such as stereos or PlayStations can be plugged in – great for easy access when the teens are still lounging in bed at noon.

The room will be exhibited at the Homes and Interiors Scotland Exhibition at the SECC in Glasgow next weekend.

The design firm is keeping some details a closely guarded secret – just releasing a rough sketch of a suspiciously tidy-looking room and a sample of some dog-themed furniture decor.

Corkery, who modelled the design on the taste and habits of her son Jamie, 12, said: “We’ve tried to do little quirky things that teenagers will think are quite cool,” says

“No self-respecting teenager wants to move for too long so we’ve designed a desk chair which has a pocket where they can keep a remote control, their iPod, pens, chocolate or whatever, without having to move.

“Then there’s the upholstery fabric on the walls, which means they can put posters up with drawing pins without leaving a mark,” Corkery added. (ANI)

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Why people walk in circles when lost

August 21, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Aug 21(ANI): It’s true: When people are lost, they walk in circles. That’s the conclusion of a new research which has also found the reason behind it.

Scientists in the Multisensory Perception and Action Group at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics in Tübingen, led by Jan Souman and Marc Ernst, have presented the first empirical evidence that people really walk in circles when they do not have reliable cues to their walking direction.

The study has been published in the journal Current Biology.

The boffins examined the walking trajectories of people who walked for several hours in the Sahara desert (Tunisia) and in the Bienwald forest area (Germany). They used the global positioning system (GPS) to record these trajectories.

The results showed that participants were only able to keep a straight path when the sun or moon was visible. However, as soon as the sun disappeared behind some clouds, people started to walk in circles without even noticing it.

Speaking about the study, Jan Souman said: “One explanation offered in the past for walking in circles is that most people have one leg longer or stronger than the other, which would produce a systematic bias in one direction. To test this explanation, we instructed people to walk straight while blindfolded, thus removing the effects of vision. Most of the participants in the study walked in circles, sometimes in extremely small ones (diameter less than 20 metres).”

However, it turned out that these circles were rarely in a systematic direction. Instead, the same person sometimes veered to the left, sometimes to the right. Walking in circles is therefore not caused by differences in leg length or strength, but more likely the result of increasing uncertainty about where straight ahead is.

“Small random errors in the various sensory signals that provide information about walking direction add up over time, making what a person perceives to be straight ahead drift away from the true straight ahead direction,” according to Souman.

Marc Ernst, Group Leader at the MPI for Biological Cybernetics, added: “The results from these experiments show that even though people may be convinced that they are walking in a straight line, their perception is not always reliable. Additional, more cognitive, strategies are necessary to really walk in a straight line.

“People need to use reliable cues for walking direction in their environment, for example a tower or mountain in the distance, or the position of the sun.” (ANI)

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World’s largest and most technologically advanced telescope to debut on July 24

July 14, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, July 14 (ANI): The world’s largest, most technologically advanced telescope is all set to make its formal debut on July 24 in Spain’s Canary Islands.

Known as the Gran Telescopio Canarias, the telescope has a 10.4-meter diameter mirror, and has more light-collecting area than any other telescope.

Perched 7,874 feet above sea level on a mountain on the island of La Palma, the GTC has 6 square meters more light collecting area than any of the roughly one dozen 8- to 10-meter telescopes worldwide.

With a mirror composed of 36 hexagonal segments thought to have the smoothest surfaces ever made, it is also the world’s most technologically advanced optical telescope.

Sensors keep the mirrors aligned to counteract the force of gravity, with the result that they act as a single surface, even as the telescope is rotated and aligned in place.

According to Stan Dermott, chairman of UF’s (University of Florida’s) astronomy department, the GTC’s size and technical attributes enable it not only to gather more light than any other telescope, but also resolve the light into sharper and clearer focus.

“For astronomers, those capabilities make it a powerful tool to study cosmic origins – the early days of the universe and the very early moments in the mysterious births of stars, planets and galaxies,” he said.

“The interpretation of the structure of the disks where new planets form is highly dependent on the quality of the image,” he said, adding that the GTC also will enable the discoveries of new planets, possibly including the first habitable planet.

At the inauguration of the telescope, officials and astronomers from the University of Florida, the only US institution that is part of the project, will join more than 500 astronomers, journalists and celebrities in a ceremony presided over by Spain’s King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofia. (ANI)

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Work in progress on longest tunnel of rail network in J-K

July 12, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Banihal (Jammu and Kashmir), July 12 (ANI): Construction of the longest tunnel in the Indian Railways network is proceeding at a rapid pace in Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir, irrespective of several topographical odds.

Considered as an engineering marvel, the tunnel is expected to be completed by 2012 and would connect the valley to other parts of the country.

The tunnel is being constructed with the most advanced technology, known as New Austrian Tunneling Method (NATM), and would pass through the mountain range of Pir Panjal.

“The mining of the tunnel running from Qazigund to Banihal will be completed in 2010. And after that we will take one and a half year more to complete its finishing and other things,” said R K Gupta, Divisional Railway Manager of Firozpur Division of Northern Railway.

“We will try that the work on the tunnel is complete and rail is operational for traffic by the end of 2011,” he added.

The construction of the 11 kilometers long stretch had begun in 2006 and working against numerous odds, such as difficult terrain and unpredictable weather, engineers and other specialised technicians of Railways hope to complete the work on time.

Besides the most advanced ventilation and drainage systems, the tunnel will also have a service road alongside the railway track for emergency and routine maintenance purposes. (ANI)

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Brown supports India’s bid for UNSC

July 8, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

L’Aquila (Italy), July 8 (ANI): India’s bid to become a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council got a boost when British Prime Minister Gordon Brown expressed his support for New Delhi’s demand to restructure the UNSC.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh held a bilateral meeting with his British counterpart in this Italian mountain town. The meeting lasted 45 minutes. Dr. Singh met Brown on the sidelines of the G-8-G-5 summit.

Sources said the two leaders discussed issues of bilateral and multilateral importance, besides areas where they could cooperate mutually, including terrorism.

They confirmed that both leaders discussed the current global economic meltdown.

On Tuesday, British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett had said, “India has become such an important and central part of the global infrastructure that just about everything that Britain wants to achieve internationally requires us to work in partnership with India.”

India has again broached the subject of UNSC’s expansion at the G-8 summit this year. In an article for he has written for The Vision of Emerging Powers – India, PM Manmohan Singh has said, “The Security Council has not changed at all and its present structure poses serious problems of legitimacy.

The system of two-tiered membership, which gives a veto to the five permanent members that is the nations that emerged victorious after the Second World War, is clearly anachronistic.”

Singh is expected to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday, Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso and Angolan President Jose Eduardo Dos Santos on Friday.

An informal meeting with US President Barack Obama is also scheduled. (ANI)

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Military historian uncovers ‘Band of Brothers’ falsehood

July 5, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, July 5 (ANI): A military historian has denied that Easy Company of the 101st Airborne Division was the first to enter Adolf Hitler’s Berchtesgaden mountain retreat near the end of World War II.

Dr. John C. McManus insists that in 1992 book “Band of Brothers”, Stephen E. Ambrose incorrectly attributed Berchtesgaden’s capture to another Army unit: Easy Company of the 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne Division.

He said that it was actually 7th Infantry Regiment that first took Berchtesgaden.

“Ambrose just made the mistake of taking the Easy Company guys at face value and not corroborating their stories with actual unit records,” writes McManus in his new book “American Courage, American Carnage: 7th Infantry Chronicles: The 7th Infantry Regiment’s Combat Experience, 1812 Through World War II.”

McManus said that his intent was not to impugn Ambrose’s reputation as a historian.

“I have great respect for Stephen Ambrose’s work and was definitely influenced by him,” he said.

“We all make mistakes, and I just wanted to help set the record straight,” he added.

The 7th Infantry has been involved in some of the America’s most pivotal and memorable battles.

McManus’s new book is a prequel to the first instalment in the 7th Infantry Chronicles series, published in June 2008 under the title “The 7th Infantry Regiment: Combat in an Age of Terror, the Korean War through the Present.”

It covered the regiment’s involvement in battles from the Korean War through Iraq. (ANI)

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Jacko leaves behind ‘mountain’ of unreleased material

July 2, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, July 2 (ANI): Michael Jackson has left behind a mass of unreleased recordings that did not make it onto the records.

Tommy Mottola, the former chairman and CEO of Sony Music, which owns the distribution rights to the singer’s music, confirmed there were stacks of previously unheard Jackson songs that might be repackaged and released in future.
“There are dozens and dozens of songs that did not end up on his albums. People will be hearing a lot of that unreleased material for the first time ever. There’s just some genius and brilliance in there,” the Telegraph quoted him as saying.

The material includes unused tracks from studio sessions of some of the late King of Pop’s best albums, along with more recent tracks compiled with Akon, a Senegalese R andB singer and producer, and will.i.am, the Black Eyed Peas frontman.

Mottola, who explained himself as the as the “shepherd and gatekeeper” of Jackson’s catalogue, added, the releases “could go on for years and years – even more than Elvis.”

However, who would hold the ownership rights to Jackson’s unreleased music and concert footage still remains to be cleared. (ANI)

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Pak ‘reorganizes’ troops on Afghan border following fresh US-led Taliban onslaught

July 2, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Islamabad, July 2 (ANI): The Pakistan Army has ‘reorganized’ its troops along the Afghan border to prevent the spill over of militants from the neighboring country following the fresh US-Afghan onslaught on the Taliban today.

“We’ve mustered more troops from the other areas of the border to deploy opposite the Helmand region. It is sort of a reorganization,” the ISPR spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said.

About 4000 US Marines and 650 Afghan troops have intensified their action against the militants in the Helmand province, supposedly a Taliban stronghold,The News reports.

US and Pakistan officials are concerned that their intense troop build-up in the region could see the militants cross over to Pakistan from Afghanistan through the poorly guarded porous mountain range.

The US believes that Taliban’s top commanders are hiding in the region opposite Helmand, which is around 260 kilometers long. (ANI)

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Dharamsala reels under acute water shortage

July 2, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Dharamsala, July 2 (ANI): Residents of Dharamsala are facing a severe water shortage.

People are now relying on mountain spring water for daily use.

However, the spring water is far too less to meet average demand.

Even the famous ‘Dal Lake’ has completely dried up, resulting in the death of fish.

A resident, who had come to fetch water from a spring, said that filling water and then taking it back was quite problematic.

“The water comes after every two days. Sometimes, it doesn’t come for days,” claimed Tilak, a resident.

S K Malhotra, the Superintending Engineer, Irrigation and Public Health, said the late arrival of the monsoon has affected water supply by 20-25 per cent.

“If there is snow in the mountains, then the supply of water would be good. But unfortunately, this year, the amount of snowfall was less. We received minimal rainfall due to which the water supply has fallen by 20 to 25 per cent,” Malhotra added.

He said the State Government has plans to deal with the crisis. (ANI)

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Successful Murray tucks into high calorie steaks, eggs, sushi, yogurt and fruit

July 2, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, July 2 (ANI): British tennis star Andy Murray has been tucking into high-calorie dishes even as he continues his march towards an expected place in the Wimbledon finals.

According to the Daily Express, Murray has been feasting on margherita pizzas, chocolate, pasta, bagels and his gran’s shortbread biscuits.

Murray, who lost four pounds during his five-set match against Stanislas Wawrinka on Monday night, has also gobbled up steaks, eggs, a mountain of sushi plus yogurt and fruit.

The recommended daily calorie intake for a man of Murray’s age is 2,500 – but he typically eats up to 4,000. (ANI)

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Plants saved planet Earth from freezing over during last ice age

July 2, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, July 2 (ANI): In a new research, scientists have suggested that plants may have played a crucial role in putting a limit on the last ice age.

When glaciers advanced over much of the Earth’s surface during the last ice age, the planet did not freeze over entirely.

This has been a puzzle to climate scientists because leading models have indicated that over the past 24 million years geological conditions should have caused carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere to plummet, possibly leading to runaway “icehouse” conditions.

Now, scientists report on the missing piece of the puzzle – plants.

“Atmospheric CO2 concentrations have been remarkably stable over the last 20 or 25 million years despite other changes in the environment,” said research co-author Ken Caldeira of the Carnegie Institution’s Department of Global Ecology.

“We can look to land plants as the primary buffering agent that’s held CO2 in such a narrow range during this time,” he added.

The research team, led by Mark Pagani of Yale University, found that the critical role of plants in the chemical breakdown and weathering of rocks and soil gave them a strong influence on carbon dioxide levels.

It was a link that earlier studies had missed.

The rise of the Andes, Himalayas, Tibetan Plateau, and mountain ranges in western North America over the past 25 million years would have been expected to have cause faster weathering and erosion, and therefore a faster burial of carbon drawn from the atmosphere.

But the stability of carbon dioxide levels indicate that this didn’t happen.

This is where the plants come in.

“The rates of weathering reactions are largely controlled by plants. Their roots secrete acids that dissolve minerals, they hold soils, and they increase the amount of carbon dissolved in groundwater,” said Caldeira.

“But when levels of carbon dioxide get too low, the plants basically suffocate and the weathering slows down. That means less sediment is eroded from the uplands and less carbon can be buried. It’s a negative feedback on the system that has kept carbon dioxide levels from dropping too low,” he added.

Extremely low carbon dioxide levels would have reduced the atmosphere’s ability to retain heat, putting the planet into a deep freeze.

“So you could say that by limiting the drawdown of CO2 by chemical weathering and sedimentation, plants saved the planet from freezing over,” said Caldeira. (ANI)

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Fish are likely to exhibit natural behavior in large groups rather than small

June 30, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, June 30 (ANI): A new research has determined that fish are more likely to exhibit natural behavior in a home aquarium in large groups, rather than when kept alone or in pairs.

Scientists at the Universities of Plymouth and Exeter in the UK conducted the research.

In line with the aim to establish welfare guidelines for fish, these researchers have been collaborating with the WALTHAM Centre for Pet Nutrition, examining healthy stocking densities and the use of novel objects with fish commonly kept in home aquaria.

This current research looked at two common aquaria species, neon tetras and white cloud mountain minnows.

According to Dr Katherine Sloman from the University of Plymouth, “Fish kept alone or in pairs show higher levels of aggression than those kept in groups of ten or more; large groups are also more likely to exhibit natural behaviours such as shoaling.”

Further research is needed to ascertain the criteria for fish welfare in home aquaria.

The results of these studies, funded by the WALTHAM Centre for Pet Nutrition, should go some way to improving welfare for these environmentally, economically and socially important and interesting animals. (ANI)

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Blackberry saves Brit skier from 700ft death plunge

June 29, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, June 29 (ANI): A 52-year-old skier miraculously survived the harrowing 700 ft fall, courtesy his Blackberry phone.

David Fitzherbert was skiing off-piste down a glacier in the Matterhorn and Monterosa peaks in Switzerland when the snow gave way.

However, he got caught between the two rocks due to the 1/2inch-wide Blackberry in his breast pocket.

“The snow gave way beneath me and I fell down a very deep crevasse,” the Sun quoted Fitzherbert as saying.

“After 70 feet it narrowed and I became stuck like a cork in a bottle between the walls.

“Fortunately the extra inches of the Blackberry were enough to block the fall,” he added.

Fitzherbert broke his jaw, smashed his teeth, cracked a bone in his chest, and nearly tore his nose off.

His mountain guide made a distress call, and a mountain rescue team came to dig him out.

“I was stuck so fast they had to get a drill to dig away at the ice around me. I was eventually winched out by the helicopter rescue team,” David added. (ANI)

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Buddhist Mount Wutai in China listed as World Heritage site

June 27, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, June 27 (ANI): Buddhist Mount Wutai in China has become the country’s 38th site to join UNESCO’s World Heritage List as a cultural landscape.

“We’ve been through a rough path, full of suspense,” said Tong Mingkang, deputy chief of China’s State Administration of Cultural Heritage, after the announcement.

Mount Wutai, literally the five-terrace mountain, is a sacred Buddhist mountain with five flat peaks.

The cultural landscape features 53 monasteries and includes the East Main Hall of Foguang Temple, a structure that was built in 857 during the Tang Dynasty (618-917) and is one of the oldest wooden buildings in China

It also features the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) Shuxiang Temple with a huge complex of 500 statues representing Buddhist stories woven into three dimensional pictures of mountains and water.

The structures on the site represent a catalogue of the way Buddhist architecture developed and influenced palace building in China for more than one millennium.

Mount Wutai, located in Shanxi Province, is the highest mountain in northern China and is remarkable for its morphology characterized by precipitous sides with five open treeless peaks.

Temples were built on the site from the first century AD to the early 20th century. (ANI)

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