Published 19:55 IST, October 14th 2019
Elderly woman falls from rescue helicopter in Japan: Typhoon Hagibis
An older woman has plunged to her death falling from a chopper during a rescue operation in Japan's Fukushima city, according to various media reports
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An elderly woman has plunged to her death after she fell from a chopper during a rescue operation in Japan's Fukushima city, as the loss of life from Typhoon Hagibis climbs to 35. The 77-year-old woman fell around 40 meters from a helicopter after rescue workers failed to verify her safety harness accurately during an evacuation process in Iwaki city, around 195 km northeast of Tokyo. She was reported dead once her body arrived at the hospital. According to the local reports, the Tokyo Fire Department called a news conference to accept the condemnations and apologise for the tragic incident.
Thousands of homes drowned
Thousands of homes in close proximity to the sea and riverways were drowned on Saturday. It was the fiercest storm in Japan in more than half a century to make landfall and hit the country's largest island, Honshu. The wind gusts reached a maximum speed of 230 kilometers per hour and a 5.7 magnitude earthquake shook Tokyo after the storm. The electricity has been snapped on almost half a million homes according to international media reports. Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe has convened an emergency meeting of ministers and set up a task force to deal with damage from the storm.
At least 35 people have been reportedly killed
At least 35 people have been reportedly killed so far by Typhoon Hagibis which has brought record levels of rain and left some 425,000 homes without power. Another 20 people were missing and more than a dozen injured, according to the reports of the concerned authorities. The government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said that the government is trying its best to engage in rescue and search operations. More than 4.4 million people have been requested to evacuate their homes in east and northeast Japan, including 910,000 in the city of Kawasaki.
(With inputs from agencies)
18:14 IST, October 14th 2019