Five dead and over 100 hospitalised after Indian air show in 36C heat

At least five people died and around 100 others were hospitalised after more a million people attended the Indian Air Force’s air show in southern Chennai city in scorching heat.

A record 1.3 million people flocked to the venue at the iconic Marina Beach in Chennai in the state of Tamil Nadu on Sunday to watch the thrilling display in 36C heat.

However, the situation turned awry as people began to leave the venue at 1pm local time after the air show ended and an overwhelming crowd packed the streets and roads, leading to a blockade. The airshow was held to mark the IAF’s 92nd anniversary and was widely publicised by the IAF, as it was the first such event in the coastal city of Chennai in over two decades.

People began filling the two-kilometre stretch of coastline from 7am in the blazing sun to secure the best spots for the 11.30am show. The event also earned a spot in the Limca Book of Records, India’s longest-running record book, for the record turnout at an airshow in the country.

As the event concluded, the large crowd began to disperse, leading to a stampede-like situation. People were stuck for more than 40 minutes as exit points became congested, and chaos ensued when some individuals broke through barricades in a desperate attempt to leave the venue.

Ambulances were unable to reach those in need, with some stranded in the crowd for over 30 minutes, delaying patient transfers to hospitals.

Footage showed people, car and ambulances stranded on roads as they tried to leave the venue. Metro stations and railway stations were also packed to capacity.

Around 230 people were treated for fainting and dehydration at the venue, with approximately 93 hospitalised, according to the Times of India.

Among the deceased was D John, 56, who collapsed around 3 pm, but the ambulance was reportedly delayed after getting stuck in the crowd. He was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.

Karthikeyan, 34, died after experiencing chest pain while riding his bike after leaving the event. A doctor at the RGGGH hospital said that heatstroke could not be ruled out as the cause of the chest pain, but the cause of death would be confirmed after the post-mortem report.

Two of the other three victims were identified as Srinivasan and Dinesh.

Chandramohan, a software engineer who attended the event and uses only one name, said there was no water supply at the function despite the “hot and humid” weather and he saw people fainting due to lack of air circulation and dehydration.

“Worst was the exit after the event. Roads were choked…Buses got stuck too,” he said.

Ma Subramanian, state minister for medical and family welfare, said in a post on X that the government had provided medical teams, security, temporary toilets, and drinking water supply for the event.

“The news of the deaths … is very sad and painful when the public… suffered due to overcrowding and high temperatures,” Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, member of parliament from ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party tweeted, adding unmanageable gatherings should be avoided.

The IAF event is being accused of poor management and lack of preparation in a country where mass gatherings have led to deaths in recent years.

In July 2024, at least 121 people were killed after a crowd crush during a religious event in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras district.

in 2017, a stampede at a crowded pedestrian bridge connecting two Mumbai railway stations killed 22 people and 32 were injured.

Officials from the air force did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Indian foreign minister to ‘behave himself’ on rare Pakistan visit

Indian foreign minister S Jaishankar has said that he will “behave himself” during his upcoming trip to Pakistan, marking the first visit by a top official to the rival country in almost a decade.

New Delhi confirmed that Mr Jaishankar will travel to Islamabad on 15-16 October for the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, or SCO, a transregional grouping led by China, in place of prime minister Narendra Modi.

The visit marks a significant moment in regional diplomacy as relations between the rival neighbours have remained tense since they gained independence from the British in 1947.

In spite of periods of relative peace and normalcy, the animosity has grown over the years with the two nations fighting multiple wars and frequently suspending trade and cultural ties.

Relations have been almost frozen since India carried out crossborder airstrikes in Pakistan in early 2019, a few weeks after a car bombing killed at least 46 Indian paramilitary personnel in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir.

Speaking about his maiden visit to Islamabad, Mr Jaishankar emphasised that the agenda is not to address bilateral issues. “It will be for a multilateral event. I’m not going there to discuss India-Pakistan relations. I’m going there to be a good member of the SCO,” he said.

“But, you know, since I’m a courteous and civil person, I will behave myself accordingly.”

He made the remarks on the sidelines of an event in New Delhi on Saturday. “I am scheduled to go to Pakistan in the middle of this month for the SCO Summit. Normally, the prime minister would have gone,” he said.

Although Mr Jaishankar downplayed expectations of a discussion on bilateral relations, the mere presence of Indian and Pakistani leaders in the same room is likely to attract attention.

Observers see this as a moment for cautious optimism as multilateral platforms often serve as conduits for behind-the-scenes engagements, even in the absence of formal dialogue.

Michael Kugelman, senior programme associate for South Asia at the Woodrow Wilson International Centre, argued that the significance of the visit for India-Pakistan relations “shouldn’t be overlooked”.

“2019 was a disastrous year for India-Pakistan relations. 2020 brought the pandemic. 2021 yielded a new LoC truce, which has helped keep ties relatively stable–a cold peace–despite continued tensions,” he said.

“It’s in this environment that Jaishankar’s visit was able to go forward.”

The last Indian foreign minister who visited Pakistan was the late Sushma Swaraj. She attended the Heart of Asia Conference in December 2015 and her visit was followed by Mr Modi’s surprise stopover in Lahore where he met then prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

Pakistan’s then foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari visited India last year to attend a SCO ministerial meeting in Goa. He and Mr Jaishankar exchanged heated statements at the main event and did n0t hold any bilateral talks.

The SCO was founded by China, Russia and four Central Asian countries in 2001 in Shanghai. It has since expanded to include nine member states in Eurasia. The summit agenda of the SCO is typically focused on issues such as regional security, counterterrorism, and economic cooperation.

Two dead in ‘terror attack’ on Chinese convoy at Pakistan’s largest airport

Two Chinese workers were killed and several injured in an explosion outside Pakistan’s biggest airport on Sunday night, just days ahead of the Shangai Cooperation Organisation summit in Islamabad.

The Chinese embassy in Pakistan said the workers were killed in a targeted attack on a convoy carrying Chinese staff of the Port Qasim Electric Power Company Private Limited at around 11pm.

It said the death toll could rise as there was an unspecified number of Pakistani casualties as well.

The embassy condemned the “terrorist attack”, expressed “deep condolences to the innocent victims of both countries”, and called for a thorough investigation to punish the perpetrators.

Police and army were rushed to the scene after the blast was heard near the Karachi international airport.

The outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the attack but this could not be independently verified.

The separatist group has claimed several attacks on Chinese workers involved in projects in the country in the last few years.

The group claimed in a statement that its Majeed Brigade “targeted a high-level convoy of Chinese engineers and investors” leaving the Jinnah airport.

This was the latest in a spate of terrorist strikes targeting workers involved in projects linked to the China-Pakistan economic corridor. The project, launched in 2015, includes building and improving roads and rail systems to link western China’s Xinjiang region to Pakistan’s Gwadar port on the Arabian sea.

The project is part of Chinese president Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative, which is aimed at increasing trade by building infrastructure around the world.

The attack comes ahead of this month’s summit of the Shangai Cooperation Organisation, a trans-regional grouping that focuses on security cooperation, with fighting terrorism a key aspect.

The explosion was so powerful it reportedly rang across the city. Footage of the aftermath of the blast showed several vehicles engulfed in flames.

Pakistani authorities are yet to confirm if it was a terrorist attack. The provincial Sindh government initially said an oil tanker exploded in the area.

Sindh home minister Ziaul Hasan Lanjar said it was suspected the blast was likely caused by an improvised explosive device.

The minister’s office said a “tanker truck” exploded at the scene and that he was in touch with police to “ascertain the facts”.

The Taliban, which governs neighbouring Afghanistan, said tensions between the Pakistani government and “supporters of the political opposition” has reached a “concerning level”.

“We are closely monitoring the situation in Pakistan and hope that the Pakistani government and influential institutions will respond to the growing dissatisfaction in a reasonable and realistic manner,” the Taliban said in a statement.

In March this year, a suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden car into a convoy of Chinese engineers and workers, killing five of them in Bisham in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Pakistani authorities alleged that the attack was planned in neighbouring Afghanistan and that the bomber was an Afghan citizen.

Pakistan has accused the Taliban government of failing to prevent the use of Afghan soil for cross-border terrorism. The Taliban has rejected the allegation and blamed the violence on dissatisfaction among Pakistan’s people.

In April 2022, the Balochistan Liberation Army said it killed three Chinese tutors and a Pakistani driver in a suicide bombing attack near Karachi University.

Senior member of Myanmar’s former ruling party dies in prison

Zaw Myint Maung, a senior member of Myanmar’s former ruling party arrested during the 2021 military takeover, died on Monday while serving a prison sentence that was considered politically motivated. He was 72.

He was a close colleague of ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi and spokesperson of her National League for Democracy party. He had been a second vice president and chief minister of the central Mandalay region before the army seized control of the government in 2021, arresting him, Suu Kyi and many top members of her NLD party and government.

Zaw Myint Maung had been jailed at least twice under previous governments for his political activities.

He had had leukemia since 2019. His death was confirmed by Tun Kyi, a party colleague from Mandalay, and another friend, who insisted on anonymity for fear of being punished by the authorities.

In a statement expressing condolences, the National Unity Government, the main shadow opposition group organizing against army rule, lauded Zaw Myint Maung for being “unwaveringly committed to the democratic cause, fighting alongside the people and other democratic forces to dismantle military dictatorship.”

The NLD won a landslide victory in Myanmar‘s 2020 election, but the army seized power on 1 Feb 2021, the day it was supposed to begin a second five-year term in office. The country now is enmeshed in civil war between the military and pro-democracy forces allied with armed ethnic minority groups.

Zaw Myint Maung was serving a prison sentence of 29 years after being convicted in closed court in 2021 and 2022 on charges of violating coronavirus restrictions, corruption, sedition and election fraud. The charges are similar to those against other NLD members, including Suu Kyi, and are widely regarded as having been fabricated to sideline the party and legitimize the military’s takeover.

Zaw Myint Maung often was transferred to Mandalay General Hospital from Obo prison to be treated for his condition.

The friends who confirmed his death said prison officials came to the hospital Sunday to read Zaw Myint Maung an official letter saying the military had granted him amnesty. A copy of the purported letter posted on social media said the amnesty was granted as an act of leniency and compassion.

He was not the first senior NLD member to die after being imprisoned by the military government.

Nyan Win, who had been a member of the NLD central executive committee as well as a confidante of Suu Kyi, died in July 2021 after getting COVID-19 in Insein prison in Yangon.

The NLD was dissolved along with 39 other political parties in 2023 for failing to reapply under a new party registration law. The military has said there will be an election next year but has not set a date.

British climber rescued from Indian Himalayas after three days

A British climber who was missing for three days in the Himalayas confirmed she is “back down and safe” after being rescued.

Fay Manners, 37, and her friend from the US Michelle Dvorak, 31, were trekking up India’s Chaukhamba mountain when they became unaccounted for on Thursday.

The pair became stranded for three days at an altitude of more than 6,000m (19,000ft), according to Indian news agency IANS.

They were airlifted down on Sunday after an 80-hour search conducted by the Indian Air Force, army and local authorities.

Ms Manners shared a message on an Instagram story which read: “We’re back down and safe.”

Speaking to reporters after her rescue, Ms Manners told The Telegraph the pair had lost their equipment when a rockfall crashed into it.

“We were pulling up my bag and she had her bag on her,” she said. “And the rockfall came, cut the rope with the other bag, and it just went down the entire mountain.”

She added: “We sent a message to our friends and they knew. I live in France and that team is also coming from France… and so they had told [the rescuers], ‘Oh they are stuck on the mountain, they have no equipment.’

“So then this other team [of mountaineers] came to help us.”

In a statement on X, the Indian Air Force said: “The rescue of two foreign (US & UK) mountaineers from Chaukhamba III trek in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli is a testament to the resilience and skill of the Indian Air Force, along with the collaborative efforts of SDRF, NIM, and French mountaineers.

“After battling two days of bad weather, the IAF’s Cheetah helicopter airlifted the climbers from 17,400 feet, showcasing remarkable coordination in extreme conditions.”

A French climbing party played a key role in rescuing the duo after the group helped them descend to the altitude where they were eventually airlifted from, according to the force.

Ms Manners, from Bedford, left the UK to move to the Alps to pursue her passion for climbing and became a professional alpinist sponsored by brands including The North Face and Petzl.

She recently charted an adventure across the Alps where she would climb and then ski down before cycling to another range.

“My ambition is to inspire women to pursue their interest in alpinism,” her website reads.

A FCDO spokesperson said: “We have been supporting the family of a British woman reported missing in India who has since been safely rescued.”

How the Taliban is profiting as flights avoid Middle East crisis

The number of international flights passing through Taliban-controlled Afghan airspace reached a record high this week in the aftermath of Iran’s missile attack against Israel.

On Thursday, a record 191 flights passed over Afghanistan, with airlines paying the country’s civil aviation ministry $700 per flight for the privilege. The payments represent a significant and growing revenue stream for the cash-strapped Taliban regime.

Afghan airspace became off-limits to international flights amid safety fears around the time of the collapse of the Nato-allied government in August 2021, when Western militaries withdrew from Kabul and the hardline Islamist group seized control of the country.

But those planes have steadily been returning, particularly in the past year since the 7 October attack on Israel by Hamas and the subsequent war in Gaza. In the second week of August, Afghanistan saw more than seven times the number of flights through its airspace compared to August 2023, data from FlightRadar24 showed.

And this shift accelerated dramatically earlier this week when Iran launched almost 200 ballistic missiles at Israel, forcing many more airlines to give up the usual route from Europe to Asia through Iranian airspace.

Data from FlightRadar24, analysed by The Independent, shows an average of 147 flights per day travelled through Afghan airspace between 19 and 30 September, not including journeys that start or finish in Afghanistan itself.

The number spiked 20 per cent to 171 on Tuesday as Iran carried out its attack, beginning early in the morning, and jumped again to 191 on Thursday, the most flights to transit through Afghanistan on a single day since the Taliban takeover.

Among the airlines whose flights are returning to Afghan skies are Swiss Air, Finnair, Singapore Airlines, British Airways, and Lufthansa.

FlightRadar24’s spokesperson Ian Petchenik told The Independent: “We’re seeing aircraft that would normally transit through Iran make use of Afghanistan airspace now. As we start to see more and more airspace restrictions [in the Middle East], airlines are making a trade-off or a calculated decision on risk – is this a safe method of operation? And is it safer than the alternative that still allows us to operate these flights?”

A video has been widely shared on social media that was taken from inside a passenger jet over the Middle East as Iran launched its ballistic missiles at Israel, showing giant fireballs visible from the plane’s window. There are reports that air traffic control towers across the region were also caught unawares as they became flooded with urgent requests for guidance from pilots.

“Airline companies, in particular of the West, received thousands of requests from pilots to avoid airspaces in Iran and Syria, forcing them to opt for the Afghanistan air corridor, which is relatively less risky,” says Anant Mishra, an Afghanistan commentator and visiting fellow at the International Centre for Policing and Security, University of South Wales.

The decision to avoid Afghan airspace after August 2021 was not just borne out of safety concerns – it was also a political decision, a means of pressurising the Taliban by denying them a source of international currency.

The amounts paid by airlines are not enormous, but neither are the Taliban’s total revenues: World Bank estimates put the de facto Afghan government’s entire income between March and August this year at just AFN 90.6bn (about $1.3bn). If flights continued at Thursday’s rate, it would be worth around $50m a year to the Taliban.

“The idea of not allowing Afghan airspace to be used was to basically pressurise them, by not paying them overflight fees by airlines, as a way of signalling that they really need to deliver on security guarantees [and] on a number of things that the West has asked for,” says Kabir Taneja from the Observer Research Foundation think tank in Delhi.

He suggests those considerations will always rank lower than the nightmare scenario of a military threat to passenger aviation. “There is always imminent danger with civil traffic over conflict zones, always a question mark on it,” he says.

“Be it the MH17 plane shot down over Ukraine or the Boeing 737 shot down over Iran, it’s not new, and it shows that things can go horribly wrong in the fog of war when it comes to civil aviation.

“Afghanistan airspace, we presume, is being seen as safer than Iranian airspace right now. We don’t know how long these changes will last.”

Flights crossing Afghan airspace at 35,000ft are less likely to be the targets of surface-to-air missiles, Mr Taneja says, adding that terrorist groups in Afghanistan just do not have those kinds of capabilities, despite access to some leftover American weapons. According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), flights at or above 32,000ft in Afghanistan remain out of reach of such weapons, even if fired from a mountaintop.

Graeme Smith, a senior analyst on Afghanistan with Crisis Group, says returning to Afghan skies makes sense for many routes across the region. “For airlines, it reduces their carbon footprints and cuts costs by giving them more direct routes,” he explains.

He argues that it is also no bad thing as long as the funding from these flights reaches ordinary Afghans, who have seen their country’s economy crash since the Taliban takeover. “The increased reliance on Afghan airspace will never amount to a very large source of revenues for the Taliban-controlled state, but every bit helps with funding essential services such as health and education,” he says.

New Zealand naval ship catches fire and sinks off Samoa

A New Zealand navy ship carrying 75 crew members and passengers has caught fire and sunk off Samoa, but all onboard are safe, the New Zealand Defence Force said on Sunday.

The Royal New Zealand Navy vessel HMNZS Manawanui ran aground near the southern coast of Upolu Island in Samoa while conducting a reef survey.

Videos shared on social media show thick plumes of grey smoke rising after the vessel ran aground.

The over 5,700-tonne, 84m-long ship capsized and was below the surface by around 9am local time on Sunday, the New Zealand Defence Force said in a statement.

It had been used for coastal and harbour surveys, underwater explosive disposal, and underwater search and recovery, the defence department said.

Crew and passengers, including seven engaged in scientific work and four foreign personnel, were assisted and rescued by nearby vessels, Commodore Shane Arndell of the defence force said.

A plane is scheduled to depart for Samoa on Sunday to bring the rescued crew and passengers back to New Zealand.

The root cause of the ship’s grounding has yet to be determined.

“I look forward to pinpointing the cause so that we can learn from it and avoid a repeat,” New Zealand defence minister Judith Collins said, describing the vessel’s grounding as “really challenging for everybody on board”.

“I know that what has happened is going to take quite a bit of time to process,” she said.

Samoa fire and rescue officials shared their account of the incident on Facebook.

“Our fire rescue team responded to the Manawanui vessel navy crew in distress, working from last night until this morning,” the rescuers said.

“Fortunately, no one was heavily injured and no lives were lost. We’re proud to say we saved them,” they posted.

Photos shared by the firefighters show navy personnel being taken ashore and a distressed man being stretchered off. Another photo shows some dozen navy officers standing on the Samoa island shore, with palm trees behind them.

“If you’re unsure about our sea areas, please be careful, take caution, and stay safe,” the Samoa rescuers posted on Facebook.

Taiwan president says ‘impossible’ for mainland China to be motherland

Taiwan’s president Lai Ching-te said it was “impossible” for mainland China to become the self-governing island’s motherland, claiming that Taiwan had older political roots.

“In terms of age, it is absolutely impossible for the People’s Republic of China to become the motherland of the Republic of China’s people,” Mr Lai said.

The People’s Republic of China (PRC) governs mainland China, whereas the Republic of China (ROC) administers Taiwan and several smaller islands.

“On the contrary, the Republic of China may be the motherland of the people of the People’s Republic of China who are over 75 years old,” Mr Lai said.

In a speech at a concert before Taiwan’s national day celebrations on 10 October, Mr Lai highlighted that the People’s Republic of China marked its 75th anniversary on 1 October, while the Republic of China will celebrate its 113th birthday shortly after.

“One of the most important meanings of these celebrations is that we must remember that we are a sovereign and independent country,” the Taiwanese president said.

China considers Taiwan a part of its territory and Chinese president Xi Jinping has threatened to “reunite” the island with the mainland, while the democratically elected government of Taiwan says only the island’s people can choose their future.

Taiwan split from the mainland in 1949 following a civil war after which the losing nationalist government fled to the island. Many countries recognise China’s “One China” policy which does not consider Taiwan a sovereign entity.

In recent years, tensions have soared between China and Taiwan, with Beijing conducting military drills and ramping up political pressure near the island territory.

On Sunday, Taiwan’s ministry of national defence (MND) reported that four Chinese military aircraft and six naval vessels were detected operating around the island.

While Beijing has vowed to take Taiwan, by force if necessary, Mr Xi has also promised to make “utmost efforts” to do so peacefully.

Mr Lai, who took office in May, has also warned that any conflict in the Taiwan Strait could have “a more profound economic impact on the world than the Russia-Ukraine war and Covid-19”.

Taiwan’s closest ally, the US, has also warned that Beijing could wage an economic and cyberwar to force Taiwan’s surrender.

Recently, the Chinese premier reiterated in a speech on the eve of the country’s national day that Taiwan was its territory.

China has not yet commented on the Taiwanese president’s remarks.