| 2-18-03 - DREAM - I was out riding in a car with someone. We
made a right turn at an intersection where the road crossed some railway
tracks.
There was no warning signals or gates at this crossing, but we could
clearly see the yellow train engine coming. We could easily have crossed
the track before the train got there, but we decided to stop and wait for
the train to go past anyway.
After we stopped, 4 vehicles passed us and two of them stopped right
on the tracks. One was a farmer on a green tractor with yellow wheel hubs
(like a John Deere tractor) The other vehicle looked like a black hearse
on the way to pick up a body.
We could see there was going to be a train wreck so we backed up to
get out of the way of the crash.
Fortunately, at the last second, the other vehicles backed up and
the train wreck was averted.
Afterward, we were talking to an old man, who was watching this fiasco
and we asked him what possesses people to drive onto a train track when they
can clearly see the train coming.
|
-
Kentucky Coal Train
Collision
With UFO Disc
From Peter Davenport - Director
National UFO Reporting Center
6-7-6
- PAINTSVILLE
-- At exactly 2:47 a.m. on January 14, 2002, while working a
coal train enroute from Russell, Kentucky to Shelbiana,
Kentucky, our trailing unit and first two cars were severely
damaged as we struck an unknown floating or hovering object. I
know it was 2:47 because my watch froze, and to this day shows
that time. Along with my watch the entire electrical systems
on both locomotives went haywire. Approaching a bend near
milepost 42 in an area referred to as the Wild Kingdom, for
the many different types of animals spotted there, my
conductor and I saw lights coming from around the way. This
ordinarily means another train is coming and will pass on the
other track. The outlay of the area is this, the river, #1
track, #2 tracks and a straight up mountainside, carved out
for the laying of these tracks. I killed our lights as not to
blind the oncoming crew. As we rounded the corner our onboard
computer began to flash in and out, speed recorder went nuts,
and both locomotives died. Alarm bells began to ring and
that's when we saw the objects. Apparently scanning the river
for something. At least three objects had several
"search" lights trained there, the first object
hovered about 10 to 12 feet above the track.
-
- It was metallic silver in
color with multiple colored lights near the bottom and in the
middle. There were no windows or openings of any kind that we
could see. It was 18 to 20 feet in length and probably ten
feet high. With both engines dead as we rounded the corner we
made little noise and the first object did not respond in
time, I estimate that we hit the object at 30 mph with 16,000
trailing tons behind us. It clipped the top of our lead unit
then skipped back slicing a chunk out of our trailing unit and
first two coal cars. The other objects vanished.
-
- Our emergency brakes had
initiated due to the loss of power and we stopped
approximately a mile and a half to two miles after impact. Our
power restored after we were stopped and we notified our
dispatcher, located in Jacksonville, Florida of what had
happened. We were told to inspect the cars to see if they'd
hold the rail and try to limp into milepost cmg 60 which used
to be the Paintsville yard which is no longer in full
operation. We checked everything out and the cab of the rear
locomotive was demolished and smoking, the second two cars
looked as if they had been hit with a giant hammer, but looked
like they'd hold the rail.
-
-
-
- Aerial View Paintsville,
KY Railroad yard
-
-
- We pulled into Paintsville
yard at approximately 5:15 am. The huge overhead lights lining
the yard were noticeably dark and the only lights came from
what we assumed were railroad officials vehicles parked near
the end of the track. We pulled to a stop and began unloading
our grips off the wounded train. We could hear what sounded
like an army of workers immediately tending to our train.
Vehicle doors slamming, guys running by in weird outfits and
lights glaring from all directions, the one thing missing was
railroad officials.
-
- A guy named Ferguson shook
my hand and asked me to follow him into the old yard office.
We did, once inside they, and by they I mean I have no idea
who these people were, began to ask us hundreds of questions,
they then told us for our own protection we'd be medically
tested before we could leave. I asked repeatedly to talk to my
road foreman or trainmaster and not only were these requests
denied but they confiscated my conductor's cellular phone.
Hours later we were led outside the old yard office and the
strange things continued to happen, the 2 locomotives and two
cars were removed from the rest of the train we had brought in
and my only guess was parked 4 tracks over under a huge tent
like structure buzzing with activity. We were lead off the property
and told, due to national security, our silence on this matter
would be appreciated.
- We were then put in a
railroad vehicle and taken to Martin, Kentucky were we went
through questioning again with railroad officials and were
then drug tested. After all of this we were sent on to
Shelbiana, where we took rest for 8 hours and worked another
train back to Russell. Working back we passed by Paintsville,
no sign of the engines, cars, tent, people, nothing. Thanks to
Peter Davenport NUFORC http://www.nuforc.org/
-
|
http://www.rense.com
|
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|
Death toll at 44 in Montenegro train crash
Associated Press
January 24, 2006 BIOCE, Serbia-Montenegro, New
Zealand – Brake failure may have caused a
passenger train to plunge into a ravine outside Montenegro's
capital, killing at least 44 people and injuring 198, officials
said Tuesday.
Rescuers were scouring the wreckage for survivors and not all
passengers aboard had been accounted for by Tuesday afternoon.
It was one of the deadliest European train accidents in 25
years.
At least 250 passengers, many of them children returning from a
ski trip, were believed to be aboard.
The train derailed Monday near Bioce, a village about nine
miles northeast of Podgorica, as it emerged from a tunnel above
the Moraca River. It plummeted into a 330-foot ravine.
Interior Minister Jusuf Kalamperovic said initial reports
indicated brake failure may have been the cause. The injured
train driver was being held under police custody in the hospital
on suspicion of negligence.
Health Minister Miodrag Pavicevic said at least 44 people
died and 198 were injured. The death toll could soon rise to 45
because rescuers said they had discovered one more person
crushed in the wreckage who had not yet been counted in the
official tally.
There were 90 children among the injured, said Miodrag
Djurovic, the head of the main Podgorica hospital.
Serbia-Montenegro President Svetozar Marovic said the
accident was a "great tragedy" for Montenegro. A
three-day mourning period was declared for the victims.
A 17-year-old passenger gave birth to a boy at the hospital
Tuesday after her injuries induced premature labor.
Overnight, darkness in the densely forested area hampered
rescue efforts. Victims had cried for help from the deep ravine
and emergency workers removed bodies tangled in the four smashed
train cars and strewn around nearby patches of woodland.
"The train simply went wild, out of control," a man
who survived said as blood poured down his forehead. "I was
fine because I was in a back compartment, those in the front got
the worst of it."
Grieving relatives lined up outside an improvised tent at the
Podgorica hospital morgue to identify the dead and take the
bodies home.
"I lost my whole life in this tragedy," sobbed
Radomir Cobarkapa, 50. His wife and son were killed and two of
his other children were injured in the crash.
Tarzan Milosevic, mayor of the northeastern town of Bijelo
Polje, came to claim the bodies of 20 of his townspeople who
were killed. The train was en route from Bijelo Polje to the
Montenegrin coastal city of Bar when it derailed.
"There are no words to describe this," he said
through tears.
Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic visited the
Podgorica hospital where many of the injured were taken and said
emergency crews had "reacted as well as could be expected
in such a harsh and inaccessible terrain."
"We did all we could, but in many cases that was not
enough to save those tragically killed," he said.
Transport Minister Andrija Lompar resigned because of the
accident, Deputy Prime Minister Miroslav Ivanisevic said. The
head of Montenegro railways also resigned.
Other deadly train accidents in Europe in recent decades
included the June 1998 derailment of a high-speed train
traveling from Munich to Hamburg, which killed 96 people. A
crash in a dead-end tunnel at Moorgate Underground station in
central London killed 43 in February 1975.
~~~~~
Brake
failure suspected in Montenagro train crash
24/01/2006
- 13:22:16
Brake
failure may have caused a passenger train to plunge into a
ravine outside Montenegro’s capital, killing at least 43
people and injuring 198, officials said today.
Rescuers, meanwhile, continued to sift through the wreckage of
the four carriages because not all passengers had been accounted
for.
At least 250 passengers, many of them schoolchildren returning
from a ski trip, were believed to be on the train when it
crashed, in what was among the deadliest European train
accidents in 25 years.
The train derailed yesterday afternoon near Bioce, a village
about nine miles northeast of Podgorica, as it emerged from a
tunnel above the Moraca River, police said. The train plummeted
into a 100-meter (330-foot) deep ravine in the river canyon.
Initial reports indicated the train’s brakes may have failed,
Interior Minister Jusuf Kalamperovic said. The injured train
driver was under police custody in hospital, suspected of
negligence, but no other details were immediately available.
There were 90 children among the injured, said Miodrag Djurovic,
the head of the main Podgorica hospital. Earlier, the death toll
was reported at 44 because another hospital patient who died was
mistakenly counted among the passengers, Djurovic said.
Meanwhile, a 17-year-old passenger gave birth to a boy today at
the hospital after her injuries induced premature labour.
Overnight, darkness in the densely forested area hampered rescue
efforts. Victims had cried for help from the ravine.
“The train simply went wild, out of control,” a man said as
blood poured down his forehead. “I was fine because I was in a
back compartment, those in the front got the worst of it.”
Grieving relatives lined up outside an improvised tent at the
Podgorica hospital morgue this morning to identify the dead and
take their bodies home.
“I lost my whole life in this tragedy,” sobbed Radomir
Cobarkapa, 50, from the village of Tomasevo. His wife and son
were killed and two of his other children were injured in the
crash.
Tarzan Milosevic, the mayor of Bijelo Polje, came to claim the
bodies of 24 people from the northeastern town killed in the
accident. The bodies would be taken to a community hall in
Bijelo Polje later today.
“There are no words to describe this,” he said through
tears.
Deputy Prime Minister Miroslav Ivanisevic described the crash
“as the worst rail accident in the history of Montenegro.”
Montenegro’s transport minister, Andrija Lompar, resigned
because of the accident, Ivanisevic said. Head of Montenegro
railways, Ranko Medenica, also resigned.
A three-day mourning period was announced for the victims.
The train was en route from Bijelo Polje to the Montenegrin
coastal city of Bar when it derailed near Podgorica.
“I had fallen asleep when a loud noise woke me,” said
Stanislava Bukovic, 60, one of the injured passengers, as she
was carried away on a stretcher. “Then I felt something hit my
head and lost consciousness. The next thing I knew I was on this
stretcher.”
Serbia-Montenegro President Svetozar Marovic said the accident
was a “great tragedy” for Montenegro.
Emergency crews had “reacted as well as could be expected in
such a harsh and inaccessible terrain,” Montenegrin Prime
Minister Milo Djukanovic said while visiting Podgorica hospital.
EU envoy and Slovak diplomat Miroslav Lajcak, sent by Brussels
to mediate in the internal Montenegrin dispute over
independence, visited the injured and offered to give blood.
Posted on Mon, Oct. 31, 2005
>
• Train
Derailment
• Weather
India train crash rescue efforts near conclusion; 111 dead
VELIGONDA, India — Naval rescuers continued searching Sunday
for bodies but gave up on finding more survivors from a train that
plunged into a river, killing at least 111, officials said.
The accident in southern India occurred early Saturday in the
town of Veligonda in Andhra Pradesh state after flash floods washed
away a portion of the track.
By Sunday afternoon, rescuers had pulled out all survivors and
dead bodies trapped in seven cars that derailed along with the
train’s engine, said J. P. Batra, chairman of the railway board.
Rescuers on naval boats searched for bodies that were washed
away from the scene, said K. Jana Reddy, the home minister of Andhra
Pradesh.
He ruled out the possibility of finding more survivors. At
least 11 bodies were found downstream overnight, raising the death
toll to 111.
Soldiers and police used helicopters and cranes to cut through
the roof of some cars and retrieve passengers trapped inside, while
other rescuers swam to the train to help pull out the injured. Five
cars were submerged, while two more derailed on the ground.
Delhi Bomb Blasts Kill Over 60; 113 Die in Train Crash
October 31, 2005
India was struck by two tragedies over the weekend. On a busy
Saturday morning three bombs exploded at different locations in the
Indian capital Delhi, killing at least 60 people and causing
widespread destruction. Earlier on Saturday a train derailed south
of Hyderabad, in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh and plunged
into a rain swollen river. Rescuers have so far recovered 113 bodies
from the wreckage.
Two blasts went off almost simultaneously in markets crowded with
shoppers in central and south Delhi. A third explosion, reportedly
on a bus, went off several minutes later in the Govindpuri section
of the city, but apparently no deaths resulted. More than 100 people
are reported injured, many seriously. The markets were particularly
busy as people prepared for the Hindu Festival of Lights known as
Diwali and the Muslim festival of Eid.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called the blasts terrorist
attacks, and promised to hunt down the militants, who carried them
out. He stressed that his government will not tolerate militant
violence. Suspicions are focused on Muslim groups opposed to the
recent improvement in relations between India and Pakistan over
Kashmir. The two countries opened the border to speed relief efforts
following the earthquake and have taken steps to allow long-divided
families to visit their relatives.
The BBC reported that a previously little-known group
called Inqilabi has claimed responsibility for the attacks. Police
say they are trying to verify the claim, and have launched a hunt
for the attackers. They say it is likely that one group was behind
all three attacks which occurred in near succession.
|
|
|
|
Seven empty train cars and a tanker
containing
a flammable gas derailed Saturday in a Arkansas
switchyard, exploding in a ball of fire that killed
one person and forced the evacuation of hundreds of homes.
10:55 a.m. October 15, 2005
TEXARKANA, Ark. – Seven empty train cars and a tanker containing
a flammable gas derailed Saturday in a switchyard, exploding in a ball
of fire that killed one person and forced the evacuation of hundreds of
homes.
A plume of smoke covered the south end of the city, and at least
seven people went to hospital emergency rooms with complaints of
respiratory problems.
At least two homes were destroyed – including one where the
victim died – and several vehicles were totaled in the quarter-mile
area surrounding the accident, police spokesman Chris Rankin said.
At midday, the propylene tank was still burning, but the fire was
under control and the smoke had thinned out, Rankin said. Police
recommended that residents stay away from their homes.
Initially, police thought the chemical involved was vinyl acetate,
which releases poisonous fumes. Officers went door to door, urging
thousands of people in a 2-by-5 mile area to move to the north side of
town. Propylene is less dangerous.
"The smoke was so thick it blocked out daylight," Rankin said.
A Union Pacific train coming from Chicago hit the back of another
freight train in the rail yard, causing the eight cars to derail, said
Union Pacific spokesman Mark Davis. He said his initial report involving
"a small LPG tank" was wrong.
The train was headed for Laredo, Texas, when it hit the back of
the other Union Pacific freight train, which was coming from Pine Bluff
and headed for Harlingen, Texas, Davis said.
None of the railroad crews were injured, he said.
Rankin said the switching yard is behind the police station, about
a quarter mile from the Texas border and also serves Kansas City
Southern and Amtrak.
Wadley Regional Medical Center was in the evacuation area, and
several patients and nurses also complained of nose and eye irritation,
spokeswoman Shelby Brown said.
~~~~~
| At Least One Dead After
Arkansas Train Derailment |
| Saturday October 15, 2005 6:34pm
Posted By: Angela
Rachels |
|
Little Rock, AR - Hundreds of homes were evacuated in Texarkana today
after seven empty train cars and a tanker containing propylene derailed
in a switchyard, exploding in a ball of fire and leaving a plume of
smoke over the south end of the city.
Police spokesman Chris Rankin says one person was killed when a nearby
home was destroyed. At least seven people went to hospital emergency
rooms with complaints of respiratory problems, and at least two homes
and several vehicles were destroyed in the quarter-mile area surrounding
the accident scene.
The accident happened around 5 this morning. By noon, the propylene tank
continued to burn but the fire was under control and the smoke had
thinned out. Union Pacific said the fire should be burned out by early
tomorrow morning.
Police canceled the evacuation about 3 this afternoon and people were
returning home.
Initially, police thought the chemical involved was vinyl acetate, which
releases poisonous fumes. Officers went door to door, urging thousands
of people in a 2-by-5 mile area to move to the north side of town.
Rankin said the smoke was so thick it blocked out daylight.
Union Pacific spokesman Mark Davis said no one among the railroad crews
was injured.
Davis said a Union Pacific train coming from Chicago hit the back of
another freight train in the rail yard, causing the eight cars to
derail. He said his initial report that ``a small L-P-G tank'' was
involved was erroneous.
Union Pacific was investigating the cause of the accident.
The train was headed for Laredo, Texas, when it hit the back of the
other Union Pacific train, which was coming from Pine Bluff and headed
for Harlingen, Texas.
|
|
9-17-05 -
Train Derailment Kills One, Injures 83
Chicago Train Derailment Kills at Least One Person, Injures 83; No Details on Cause
By MIKE COLIAS Associated Press Writer
CHICAGO Sep 17, 2005 — A commuter train derailed
Saturday on Chicago's South Side, killing at least one person and injuring
83, officials said.
The five-car Metra train was traveling from Joliet to Chicago when
the derailment occurred around 8:36 a.m., authorities said.
Metra spokeswoman Judy Pardonnet said all track signals were working
when the derailment occurred but she did not have any other details on a
possible cause.
The speed limit there is 15 mph, Pardonnet said. She said she did
not know how fast the train was going.
The engineer has been operating Metra trains for six months,
following six months of training that included trial runs on the same
Joliet-to-Chicago route and more than five years as a CSX Corp. freight
train engineer, she said. The engineer, who was "badly shaken,"
was taken to a hospital for routine drug tests.
The Cook County medical examiner's office confirmed the fatality but
did not have details. Seventeen of the injured were in serious or critical
condition, said Assistant Deputy Fire Commissioner Raymond Orozco.
A total of 189 people, including four crew members, were on the
train.
The derailment occurred where the tracks are on an embankment next
to a street in a neighborhood of homes and businesses. None of the cars
fell onto the street. Firefighters had to raise ladders to the track.
Karen Birkeland, of Chicago, who was in the second car, said there
was no warning.
"The train rocked and slowed down and stopped," said
Birkeland, who was traveling to her office in Chicago's Merchandise Mart.
"We were tilting to the side."
Stephanie Smith, who was sitting in the second car in the upper
tier, said she heard brakes screeching before the train came to a halt.
"I just went flying into the safety seat bar and fell to the
ground," Smith, a master's student at DePaul University, told the
Chicago Tribune. "We were skidding out of control. Weaving back and
forth. People were weeping and screaming."
The engine ended up on its side and there was a 30-foot gap between
two of the cars. The remaining cars remained upright but went off the
tracks.
There was another accident nearby on the same line two years ago,
but Pardonnet said that may have been just a coincidence. "I don't
think it's anything specific to this area, but it's still under
investigation," she said.
Dozens of emergency vehicles and two medical helicopters were at the
scene and workers erected three red emergency triage tents to treat people
near the tracks. City officials asked for assistance from suburban
emergency response teams, said Fire department spokesman Larry Langford.
Federal authorities would lead an investigation into the cause of
the accident, said Monique Bond, a spokeswoman for the office of emergency
management.
Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
|
Suspected bomb
derails Moscow-bound train
- - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
By Steve
Gutterman
June 12,
2005 | MOSCOW
(AP) --
An
explosion believed caused by a terrorist bomb derailed a train traveling
from Chechnya to Moscow during Sunday's national holiday, injuring at
least 15 people, officials said.
The blast
occurred on the Day of Russia just hours before President Vladimir Putin
held a reception and awards ceremony in the Kremlin. Many Chechen rebel
attacks have been timed for significant Russian holidays.
June 12, 2005, 1:29AM
10 injured in Russian train explosion
Associated Press
MOSCOW - A passenger train traveling from Chechnya to Moscow derailed
on today, injuring 10 people, emergency officials said.
Russian news agencies had initially reported that an explosion hit the
train, and they noted that the incident occurred on a national holiday,
Day of Russia.
Many Chechen rebel attacks have been timed for significant Russian
holidays.
However, citing authorities in the Moscow region, where the incident
occurred, the ITAR-Tass and Interfax news agencies later reported that a
preliminary investigation indicated a technical cause.
ITAR-Tass quoted regional deputy governor Alexei Panteleyev as saying
that "at first glance, one can say that the cause of the incident was
a technical accident, which resulted in the connection between the
locomotive and the rest of the train coming undone."
Emergency Situations Ministry spokesman Viktor Beltsov said 10 people
were injured. Two children were among the injured, Interfax reported. The
crash occurred about 90 miles south of Moscow.
Beltsov said that two cars left the rails and five were left leaning at
an angle. Interfax said the train was traveling at a slow speed,
preventing more injuries.
|
Jan. 31, 2005,
Associated Press
CREIGHTON, Pa. - A freight train carrying a corrosive chemical derailed in
a Pittsburgh suburb early today, sending several cars into a river and
forcing the evacuation of 200 residents, officials said. Thirteen of the
Norfolk Southern train's 83 cars derailed at about 5:30 a.m. in East Deer
Township. One of several cars that ended up in the Allegheny River leaked
an unknown amount of anhydrous hydrogen fluoride, a chemical used in
steelmaking, said Betsy Mallison, a state Department of Environmental
Protection spokeswoman. The tanker can hold up to 15,000 gallons. There
were no reports of injuries and Mallison said no significant environmental
impact was expected. Nearby residents were evacuated as a precaution and
it wasn't clear when they would be allowed to return home, she said.
|
|
At Least 9 Dead in L.A. Commuter Train Crash
Wed Jan 26, 2005 11:05 AM ET
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - At least four people were killed and up to 30 were
critically injured when two commuter trains collided near downtown Los
Angeles early on Wednesday morning, emergency authorities said.
Emergency teams were picking through the debris of the crash, which
also involved a parked freight train, and could be seen carrying some
victims away on stretchers.
One of the train cars caught fire and another rolled to its side in the
crash, which occurred at about 6 a.m. PST. Authorities were unsure if some
passengers were still trapped inside the toppled train.
The cause of the accident was still unclear, said a spokeswoman for
Metrolink, which operates the commuter rail lines. A spokesman for Union
Pacific said its train was parked on another track when it was struck
after the initial accident.
NOTE: Later investigation shows that the accident was
caused by a 'car' being parked on the railroad crossing with one man
inside.
About 70 passengers with minor injuries including facial cuts and
bruises were ushered into an improvised treatment center outside a Costco
store near the tracks, in an industrial area near the Atwater Village
neighborhood of Los Angeles.
One of the commuter trains, which had departed Union Station in
downtown Los Angeles, was mostly full, witnesses said.
"For me, this is the worst train accident I have ever seen,"
said Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Rex Vilaubi, who confirmed four
people had been killed.
One man bleeding from a cut over his eye told KNBC TV that the crash
forced the train he was riding in to stop suddenly, throwing him violently
forward.
"It's like we went from 55-60 (mph) (90-100 kph) to zero in two
seconds flat," he said.
© Reuters 2005. All Rights Reserved.
|
| Posted on Wed, Jan. 26, 2005
|
Commuter train derails in Glendale; killing nine and injuring
more than 100
DAISY NGUYEN
Associated Press
GLENDALE, Calif.
Nine people were killed and more than 100 injured when
a Metrolink commuter train crashed into an SUV parked at a crossing,
derailed and sideswiped another commuter train early Wednesday,
authorities said.
Los Angeles Sheriff Lee Baca said
authorities were speaking with the driver of Jeep Cherokee and
believe he intentionally parked it on the tracks and then left the
vehicle.
"It didn't appear that the vehicle
had stalled," Baca said. "It appears that it was
deliberately placed there."
NOTE: CNN calling it an attempted
suicide who changed his mind and jumped out of the vehicle.
(Yeah right!)
The exact circumstances of the crash were still under
investigation and the National Transportation Safety Board was
headed to the scene.
Firefighters picked through twisted wreckage scattered across the
tracks in the suburb north of downtown Los Angeles and carried
wounded passengers from the trains to a triage center set up in a
nearby parking lot.
"At this time we believe we have nine fatalities," Los
Angeles Fire Chief William Bamattre said. More than 100 were
transported to hospitals, he said.
One commuter train was headed from Los Angeles' Union Station to
downtown Burbank, and the other was bound to Union Station from
Moorpark, Metrolink officials said. Passengers were sent tumbling
down the aisles as the trains derailed.
"I heard a noise. It got louder and louder," said
passenger Diane Brady, 56, of Simi Valley. "And next thing I
knew the train tilted, everyone was screaming and I held onto a pole
for dear life. I held on for what seemed like a week and a half it
seemed. It was a complete nightmare."
After the train headed to Union Station struck the SUV, one of
the trains was propelled into a Union Pacific car parked on a side
track, said Kathryn Blackwell, a spokeswoman for Union Pacific in
Omaha, Neb.
In a light rain, more than 300 firefighters climbed ladders into
windows of a battered train tipped onto its side. Los Angeles fire
spokesman Brian Humphrey said firefighters freed about six people
from the wreckage and no others were trapped.
Sheriff's Deputy James Tutino, on his way into work from his home
in Simi Valley, was killed in the crash, Baca said. He said Tutino
had been with the department for more 23 years.
Dazed passengers, some limping, gathered at tables in a nearby
store while the injured sprawled on mats before being whisked away
to hospitals by more than 35 ambulances.
"For me this is the worst train accident that I have ever
seen. I've never seen anything like it," Los Angeles fire Capt.
Rex Vilaubi told KNBC-TV.
One Metrolink car was sent twisting backward by the force of the
crash, which occurred after 6 a.m. near the intersection of San
Fernando Road and Chevy Chase Boulevard. A small fire that erupted
in the crash was quickly extinguished by firefighters, Humphrey
said.
Passenger Paul Konkirati, 28, of Burbank, said he was in a front
car that broke in two.
"I felt the train sliding so I braced myself and put my foot
on the chair next to me and held onto a bar. We hit and then
somebody's head landed on my thigh."
Konkirati, his jeans covered in blood, said he tried to comfort
the woman, "then it got really smoky, so smoky that I had to
leave. I don't know what happened to her."
Workers at a Costco store near the accident ran out to help after
the accident, which occurred in an industrial area with no homes
nearby. There were no evacuations.
George Touma, 19, of Burbank, said he was called by his mother,
who was on one of the commuter trains.
"She told me she was bleeding in the head and her arm was
really hurting," said Touma, who was near the scene of the
accident searching for her. "I'm really worried because she has
vertigo and when I tried to call back she wouldn't answer.
"She said she remembered hearing sequential loud noises and
then somebody pulled her out of the train while it was burning. She
was in a panicked mode and now she's not picking up."
Union Pacific spokesman John Bromley said the track on which the
crash occurred is owned and operated by Metrolink.
Metrolink began service in 1992 and operates seven lines, part of
a multibillion-dollar transportation network aimed at reducing
pollution and congestion in Southern California.
~~~~~
UPDATE:
Thursday,
January 27, 2005
Man
who caused Glendale
train wreck could face
death penalty
The Los Angeles
District Attorney says
the suicidal man who
caused yesterday's chain
reaction train
derailment could face
the death penalty.
Eleven people were
killed when a commuter
train slammed into Juan
Alvarez's Jeep Cherokee
in Glendale.
There are now names
and faces to put to the
numbers. Eleven victims
have been pulled from
the train wreckage all
but one have been
identified. Firefighters
have searched with dogs
and under crushed rail
cars and are turning the
site over to
investigators.
"We
believe we have
recovered everyone that
could possibly have been
a victim on this
train," said Tom
Lorenz with the Glendale
Police Department.
Murder charges have
been filed against
25-year-old Juan Manuel
Alvarez. He faces eleven
counts with special
circumstances, making
him eligible for the
death penalty.
"The mere fact
that you create a train
wreck and people died
can support murder
charges under California
law," said Los
Angeles District
Attorney Steve Cooley.
State of mind will be
an issue. Alvarez lived
in a converted garage
with his wife until she
threw him out several
months ago. Relatives
say he was despondent
and had a history of
drug abuse.
“He was in drug
rehab but to my
knowledge never finished
it,” said Alvarez’
brother-in-law, Ruben
Ochoa.
Before parking his
SUV on the tracks,
Alvarez had stabbed
himself and tried to
slash his wrists but as
he saw the train
approaching, he ran from
the car, watching as the
commuter train hit it
and slammed into a
freight train before
clipping another
commuter train.
There have been more
than 40 fatal crashes
involving Metrolink
trains, but this is the
worst in its 12 year
history. Officials now
will try to assess
whether there was anyway
to prevent it.
Juan Alvarez, will be
arraigned tomorrow. He's
being held without bail
in a hospital ward.
All
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2002 - 2005 WorldNow and
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UPDATE
- 2-18-05
Man deliberately
caused L.A. train wreck:
police
CTV.ca News Staff
California police say
they no longer believe a
man who caused a fatal
train wreck near Los
Angeles was attempting to
kill himself.
Juan Manuel Alvarez,
charged with the deaths
of 11 people on a
commuter train last month
by allegedly parking a
truck in its path, wanted
to create a
"horrific
tragedy," according
to police.
The crash also injured
at least 180 people.
Authorities initially
said Alvarez, 25, was
planning to commit
suicide; and it was
believed he lost his
nerve and fled the truck
before the Metrolink
train hit it and
derailed.
"The investigation
has revealed that his
actions are not
consistent with that of
an individual who is
attempting to follow
through with that
act," said Police
Chief Randy Adams.
"Although Mr.
Alvarez may have
contemplated suicide, his
actions were deliberate
with the intent of
causing a horrific
tragedy."
Adams stated that
Alvarez had poured
gasoline on both the
outside and inside of his
SUV.
Police spokesman Sgt.
Tom Lorenz added another
strange detail, saying
Alvarez wanted to gain
the attention of his
wife, Carmelita.
The couple had
separated and Alvarez's
wife had obtained a
restraining order against
him.
Alvarez's lawyer calls
the police statements
vicious, callous and
"a reckless
distortion of the
facts."
"If they want to
make this case about, as
they say, Juan Alvarez's
intent to cause a
horrific tragedy, I hope
they can back it
up," said Defense
attorney Eric Chase.
"Apparently the
Glendale police have not
seen enough blood and are
hungry for more."
Alvarez pleaded not
guilty Tuesday to 11
counts of murder and a
charge of arson causing
great bodily injury in
the crash and subsequent
fire.
Prosecutors have not
decided whether to seek
the death penalty,
reports the Associated
Press.
Alvarez was jailed
without bail pending a
March 16 preliminary
hearing, which will
determine whether there
is sufficient evidence to
try him.
Relatives and friends
of the 11 victims
gathered at the crash
site earlier this week
for the first time since
the disaster. They prayed
and left flowers on the
tracks. Fire officials
and grief counsellors
were on hand to provide
support.
Some of the family
members say they're angry
that the train lacked
seat belts and other
safety mechanisms that
could have prevented the
deaths.
With files from
the Associated Press
|
Eight killed, 240 treated in South Carolina train
wreck that released chlorine gas
PAMELA HAMILTON, Associated Press Writer
Friday, January
(01-07) 07:22 PST GRANITEVILLE, S.C. (AP) --
Margie West didn't want to leave her cats or comfy home, so she
thought about waiting out the toxic chlorine cloud that was released
after a train wreck.
Eight people died from the fumes, and sheriff's deputies persuaded
West to spend the night elsewhere when they asked for her next-of-kin in
case she died. "If anything happened I didn't want to die in the
night," she said.
The air in Graniteville remained too dangerous for people to breathe
Friday morning, 24 hours after a Norfolk Southern train carrying the
chlorine crashed into a parked train near an Avondale Mills Inc. plant.
About 75 people found shelter at the University of South
Carolina-Aiken on Thursday night, and shelter operators said the
displaced residents were planning for a three-day stay.
More than 240 people sought treatment for respiratory and other
ailments, and authorities said late Thursday that about 45 were admitted
to hospitals.
Five victims, all men, were found at a mill near the wreck. Another
man died in a vehicle, and one died in his home. The engineer of the
moving train died at a hospital.
Autopsies were planned, but authorities said all appeared to have
died from inhaling the chlorine gas.
Mill worker Rodney Johnson told the Aiken Standard that he smelled a
strong chlorine odor around 2:35 a.m. "When I opened the door I saw
a green mist coming toward me. I stepped up to see what it was and ran
to my supervisor. He said to get them out."
Johnson said he piled several of his fellow workers in his truck and
rushed them to Aiken Regional Medical Centers.
"It tore me all up," Johnson said. "My eyes burned and
lungs hurt. I couldn't breathe at all. All I could think about was
breathing and getting to rescue."
The wreck is the second in two months in the small textile mill town
near the Georgia state line. In November, five people were killed when
their car was hit by a train at a rail crossing.
The toxic gas kept investigators from reaching the site and officials
don't know how the two trains ended up on the same track, National
Transportation Safety Board spokesman Keith Holloway said.
The leak had slowed considerably Thursday night as Norfolk Southern
workers prepared to remove rail cars from the track, said state
Department of Health and Environmental Control spokesman Thom Berry.
Berry said Friday that officials would begin deciding how best to
unload the chlorine.
There were at least three hazardous chemicals on the train, but
officials were most concerned about the chlorine gas, which affects
respiratory and central nervous systems.
Most of the 5,400 residents living within a mile of the site were
evacuated about 12 hours after the early morning wreck. Until then,
residents had been told by authorities to stay inside homes and turn off
their ventilation systems.
By the time the evacuation order was issued, some had already
experienced the skin- and eye-burning sensations associated with
chlorine contact.
Cindy Britt, 39, said her throat had begun feeling clogged early in
the day, and it took little persuading from deputies to get her out of
her home. She sat Thursday in donated clothes on a blue cot in a
makeshift shelter at the University of South Carolina-Aiken. She had
turned the clothes and shoes she was wearing in to authorities.
"She forced me out," said Cindy's husband Randy Britt.
"I was just going to shut the car in the garage and watch TV."
|
|
Two Trains Collide in Thick Fog in Northern Italy, Killing 14 and Injuring Dozens
BOLOGNINA DI CREVALCORE, Italy Jan 7, 2005 — A
passenger train and a freight train collided in thick fog Friday in
northern Italy, killing 14 people and injuring dozens, rescue officials
said.
The crash, on a line between Bologna and Verona, left several train
cars in a wreck of buckled metal. At least one carriage was lifted high
into the air by the force of the collision.
The crash happened at 12:50 p.m. in a rural area of Bolognina di
Crevalcore, 25 miles north of Bologna.
Workers pulled bodies from the wreckage and laid them in body bags in a
misty field. Eight bodies had been recovered, according to police in the
nearby town of San Giovanni in Persiceto, who were overseeing the efforts.
Officials in Rome said 14 people were killed and 80 injured, several
seriously.
The Civil Defense department said around 100 people were on board the
passenger train, which was a local train traveling south from Verona to
Bologna. The freighter was headed north from Rome to San Zeno Falzano.
The cause of the crash was not known, but officials said there was
thick fog at the time of the collision. The Transport Ministry said it was
opening an investigation.
A helicopter was sent from Rome, the ANSA news agency reported, while
several ambulances rushed to the scene.
Several seriously injured people were taken to a hospital in Bologna,
and about 50 people were being treated on-site for minor injuries, the
report said.
Italy has few deadly train crashes, but a train from Palermo to Messina
derailed in northeastern Sicily, killing at least eight people in July
2002.
Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
|
Metro Trains Collide on Red Line
Updated: Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2004 - 3:00 PM
WASHINGTON (AP) - Two witnesses to Wednesday afternoon's train crash at
the Woodley Park Metro station are describing a harrowing scene. Nick
Harnice and his girlfriend, Deana Clingerman, both of Alexandria, were on
board the train that was hit at around 12:49 p.m.
Harnice says just as their train pulled into the station and stopped, the
conductor began screaming for people to get off the train, and the
passngers started running.
In a matter of seconds, Clingerman says a second train hit their train
head-on and went on top of the first train, sending debris flying.
Both described a lot of smoke and debris in the station.
The train that was hit was bound for Shady Grove. The second train was
reportedly empty.
D.C. Fire Department spokesman Alan Etter says four people have been
injured in the collision.
Etter says the injured are three passengers and the operator of one of the
trains involved.
He says none of the injuries are life-threatening.
But he says damage to the trains is "significant." He describes
the scene in the underground station as one of cars accordioned together,
like "sardines in a can."
Etter says Metro Transit police are on the scene, talking to witnesses and
collecting information about what happened.
The crash has closed a portion of the Red Line.
Service is shut down between the Van Ness and Dupont Circle stations. On
its web site, Metro is advising customers to find alternate ways home for
Wednesday afternoon's commute.
Shuttle bus service will be provided between Dupont Circle and Van Ness.
www.wtop.com
|
| FROM: http://www.stevequayle.com/index1.html
COMMENT:
Mainstream news articles are reporting eyewitness accounts of dry runs
on aircraft by Middle Eastern groups (6-14 men) scouting out specific
flights to and from L.A. and New York. Also today, Amtrak was stopped
and searched for explosives based on specific intel that there will be
a major East Coast train bombing on the order of Madrid. As we get
closer to the anniversary date of 9-11, it appears that the jihad
forums are becoming more frequent in their postings to the "Big
Day". I would strongly urge everyone reading this to be extra
diligent and if you MUST travel from the East Coast to the West Coast,
introduce stopovers into your schedule. Terrorist training manuals
indicate the number of terrorists will be increased on the flights
with the idea of over powering air marshalls and U.S. citizens.
Extreme caution is advised.
Flood of Non-Speaking Middle Eastern
Males Crossing Border
July 23, 2004
From Chris Simcox
The Tombstone Tumbleweed
Border Patrol field agents have shared some disturbing information with
the Tumbleweed as well as other civilian sources with the hope the
information will make it to the general public.
The Tumbleweed has verified information that a flood of middle-eastern
males have been caught entering the country illegally east of Douglas,
Arizona. The increased patrols in the Huachuca Mountains area of Cochise
County, seems to have diverted the flow of OTM's, "other than
Mexicans" east to the Chiricahua Mountains. In the last month, the
Tumbleweed has confirmed at least two documented accounts of Border Patrol
agents encountering large groups of non-Spanish speaking males in the
Chiricahua foothills and on trails along the high mountain areas.
On or about the early morning hours of June 13, 2004 Border patrol agents
from the Wilcox station encountered a large group of suspected illegal
border crossers, estimated to be around 100, just east of the Sanders
Ranch near the foothills of the Chiricauha Mountains. 71 suspected illegal
aliens were apprehended; among them were 53 males of middle-eastern
decent.
According to a Border Patrol field agent, the men were suspected to be
Iranian or possibly Syrian nationals. "One thing's for sure, these
guys didn't speak Spanish and after we questioned them harder we
discovered they spoke poor English with a middle-eastern accent, then we
caught them speaking to each other in Arabic…this is ridiculous that we
don't take this more seriously, and we're told not to say a thing to the
media, but I have to," said the agent, whose name will obviously
remain anonymous.
The agent stated the men were wearing the traditional uniform of migrants
- baseball caps, tennis shoes, some had work boots, denim jeans and many
had t-shirts with patriotic American flags and slogans. The agent added
the following description "A curious thing I noticed was that they
all had brand new clothing and they looked as if they had just been to the
barber shop, you know, new haircuts. They were clean cut and they all had
almost the exact cut of mustaches."
The information was corroborated by a local rancher in the area who
reports that sightings of groups similar to these are on the rise. The
rancher also reports that groups of heavily armed paramilitary drug
smugglers have also been seen in the same area.
"We've had groups in the hundreds coming through again. They were
gone for awhile but now they're back. And of course we have the drug mules
again and many are carrying automatic weapons. Many other ranchers in the
area have been frustrated with the lack of response from Border Patrol.
After calling over and over again, to the Wilcox headquarters, we might
get a response a few hours later. We call them in to the Border Patrol, we
only have the Wilcox station, and they're so darned far away. By the time
they send in the helicopters these groups are long gone. I don't know how
many they catch but they're coming through here heavy right now."
On or about the evening of June 21, 2004, agents from the Wilcox Border
Patrol station apprehended 24 members of a larger group of Arabic speaking
males located just east of the Pierce/Sunsites area of Cochise County. At
least half of the males escaped capture and disappeared into the United
States.
http://www.tombstonetumbleweed.com/tombstone/default.asp#iframe1
|
Amtrak Train Stopped For Arabic-Looking Graffiti
Officials Question Passengers, Search Station
POSTED:
6:13 pm EDT July 3, 2004
WASHINGTON -- An Amtrak train on its way from
Miami to New York was stopped at Union Station on Saturday after
Arabic-looking graffiti was spotted on its side, News4 reported.
News4 was told the graffiti possibly said "die," "July
Fourth" and "D.C."
Transportation Security Administration officials questioned everybody on
the train and used K-9 dogs to search the station.
No one was detained or arrested.
The train arrived in New York City Saturday evening, about four hours
behind schedule.
Copyright 2004 by nbc4.com.
All rights reserved.
|
|
TUESDAY
13/07/2004
Lurgan train bomb attack
A train carrying members of the
loyal orders was petrol bombed by nationalist youths in Lurgan, Co
Armagh today.
By:Press Association
No-one was injured as around six petrol bombs and at least one
paint bomb were hurled at the train on the outskirts of the town,
near the nationalist Kilwilkee estate, shortly after 10am.
The attack followed a parade by members of the Royal Black
Preceptory in the William Street area of the town.
The members traditionally march to the town`s train station before
boarding the train to Bangor, Co Down.
A police spokeswoman confirmed that several windows in the train
were broken, adding that the area was now quiet.
This year, a Parades Commission ruling meant that the parade
dispersed 300 metres from the station and members had to walk
along the footpath to catch the train.
The parade itself passed off peacefully.
Suspect is held in train bomb threats
By Kevin Murphy
Correspondent for The Capital Times
July 10, 2004
Before making the 911 bomb threat calls, Michael Dean Conwill called
AT&T and asked that the name of his cell phone account be changed to
the name of his previous employer, he told FBI agents this week.
He said he did so to prevent anyone from tracing the bomb threats back
to him.
It didn't work.
Conwill, 35, of Anchorage, Alaska, made an initial appearance Friday in
federal court in Chicago, where he was ordered to be delivered to federal
authorities in Madison.
He had previously admitted to the FBI that he made telephone bomb
threats while a passenger on the Seattle-to-Chicago Amtrak train
authorities stopped in Portage this week, according to documents filed
Friday in federal court.
He is expected to be transferred in federal custody to Madison by
Tuesday or Wednesday, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Grant Johnson.
According to an affidavit by FBI Agent Peter Freitag in Madison:
|
Train
bomb threat exposes security gap
8:40
PM 7/07/04
Though no bomb was found on a cross-country Amtrak train
evacuated Tuesday in south-central Wisconsin, the incident exposes
a real threat: America's rail system is terribly vulnerable to
attack. <
About 300 passengers were evacuated at the Portage Amtrak
station following bomb threats called in to 911 centers in
neighboring counties. Authorities spent nearly six hours searching
the Chicago-bound train, turning up only fireworks and an
illegally concealed weapon. <
By all accounts, local and federal authorities worked well
together. Nevertheless, the incident reminds us that more than two
years after the Sept. 11 attacks, American mass transit -
railways, subways and buses - still desperately need a major
security upgrade.
The Bush administration, intelligence agencies and
Congressional leaders continue to devote most attention and
federal resources to airport security, underestimating the threat
to other transportation such as regional and cross-country
passenger trains.
Those priorities should change now. In contrast to already
tightly controlled airports, the open access essential to rail,
subway and bus travel make these forms of public transit much
easier to attack and harder to defend. The recent railway bombings
in Madrid, where 10 bombs planted on four commuter trains killed
191 people during the morning rush, show that terrorists are able
and willing to carry out public transit attacks coordinated to
maximize murder and mayhem. <
In fact, our preoccupation with air travel may
|
Spain probe of Madrid train bombings gets under way
Parliament's investigation of the Madrid train bombings opened
yesterday with a witness account of three young men wearing wool caps on a
warm spring day, and with handkerchiefs covering their faces, at the
station that was the starting point of the attacks.
One walked quickly toward the train carrying a bag while the other
two stayed behind at a parked van.
"My blood ran cold. I thought it was a robbery," Luis
Garrudo, a doorman in the town of Alcala de Henares, said.
Garrudo told the commission what he told authorities on March 11: He
directed police to the suspicious van that was found to contain a cassette
tape with verses from the Quran, detonators and traces of explosives of
the kind used in the attack.
It was the first big break in the case.
In all, 10 backpacks stuffed with dynamite and shrapnel exploded on
four crowded trains heading to Madrid during the morning rush hour,
killing 190 passengers and bystanders, and wounding more than 2,000.
The attack is blamed on Islamic militants with possible ties to the
international terrorist group al-Qaeda.
Of the 50 people arrested, 16 remain in jail, including two believed
to have put the explosives on the trains.
Garrudo, his face electronically blanked for security reasons on the
live cable TV broadcast of the hearing, was the first of at least 35
people scheduled to testify before the 16-member commission of the
Congress of Deputies.
The commission will interview witnesses and officials, and examine
police documents and other material, to review what happened on March 11
and the following days.
On March 14, the Popular Party was upset in elections that brought
the Socialists to power.
The aim is to determine whether the threat of Islamic terrorism
might have been foreseen and counteracted; whether Spain is safer now that
greater security steps have been taken; and what impact Spain - and
Europe's - worst terror attack had on the election.
Thirteen people, most of them police officials, were due to appear
before the panel this week.
The investigation, similar to the September 11 commission in the
United States, is expected to last at least a month.
While declassifying some documents, the government of Prime Minister
Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero refused to declassify others, notably an
intelligence report from October 2003.
It reportedly cautioned that a threat from Osama bin Laden to target
Spain and other countries which deployed troops in Iraq during or after
last year's US-led invasion should be taken seriously.
The government won't declassify these documents because they contain
information from foreign intelligence agencies, the public disclosure of
which might provoke them to not cooperate with Spain's intelligence
agencies.
The Popular Party sent 1,300 peacekeeping troops to Iraq despite
massive opposition by Spanish voters. One of Zapatero's first policies was
to remove them.
Testimony from key politicians was left for the final stage of the
probe. It is not yet known if former Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar will
testify. He has not been subpoenaed. His Popular Party says he will
testify willingly if requested.
The probe is politically charged. Socialists seem bent on
highlighting the previous government's initial insistence that Basque
separatists - not Islamic militants - were the main suspects, in a bid
influence the election.
AP
Madrid train bombers had more targets lined up-media
30 Jun 2004
|
MADRID, June 30 (Reuters) - The Madrid train bombers were planning
other attacks on targets including a British school and two Jewish
centres, Spanish media said on Wednesday, quoting a police report.
Investigators found documents detailing the targets in the
wreckage of a suburban apartment where seven prime suspects in the
train attacks blew themselves up on April 3 when police cornered
them, the reports said.
Police have handed the information to a parliamentary commission
investigating the bombings that killed 191 people and injured
1,900 on packed commuter trains on March 11, news agency Europa
Press said.
As well as a British infant school in a suburb of Madrid, targets
included a Jewish hostel and a recreation centre used by Jewish
families, the agency said.
A parliamentary spokeswoman said she had no information on the
police report.
Investigators say Islamic militants acting in the name of al Qaeda
carried out the train bombings. They say most of the key suspects
either died in the April 3 suicide blast or are under arrest. A
judge has formally accused 25 people, most of them Moroccan.
|
The Madrid Train Bombing Was a Primer
They are using the example of the Madrid train bombing as a kind of overlay to
reinforce the likelihood in people's mind that this is going to happen.
The individuals who carried
out that attack had closer links to the Spanish government than they did
to Al-Qaeda. The man who provided the explosives was in contact with the
Spanish security services days before the attack, as BBC
reported . And of course the Boston
Globe reported that the Al-Qaeda group blamed for the attack was
non-existent.
They've already been laying
the groundwork for the pre-attack propaganda. A plane which was carrying
the governor of Kentucky to the Reagan funeral which strayed into
restricted airspace forced the capitol building to be evacuated
. This story didn't get much attention but there were police running
around screaming at people to run because a plane was about to hit in two
minutes. So those members of Congress who aren't in on the loop have
already been prepared.
Even if the election isn't
cancelled, Homeland Security may raise the color code to a red alert and
it will a martial law drill which will make a lot of people in the big
cities stay in their homes and not vote, which again conditions them that
voting is some kind of privilege afforded to them by the government
FROM: http://www.infowars.com/print/ps/postpone_election.htm
4-29-04 - ALERT
I am currently listening to a radio interview by Steve Quayle. at: http://www.realityradionetwork.com/thursday.shtml
He is saying that short trains pulling box cars with handcuffs on
the walls inside have been going through Bozeman, Montana on a nightly
basis. They only move at night. They were heading west.
Another guy in Wyoming reporting the same thing.
He also said there is a railroad yard in Portland, Oregon is where these
cars are stored.
He also said it is expected that there will be a civil war in the US
between Christians and Islamists.
It'll be horrible if that happens.
Dee
xxx
Another area rife with rumor
concerns secret concentration camps or "detention centers" which
reportedly are being built -- or are already constructed -- throughout the
country for the incarceration of American patriots. Usually these are said
to be under the control of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
Now, a police state is one big concentration camp or "gulag";
but, as in the Soviet Union, there were (and still are) gulags within the
gulag. And if the police state toward which we are headed eventuates,
America will have many Treblinkas, Vorkutas, Auschwitzes, and Kolymas. So
it is entirely possible that the police statists who are leading us into
the totalitarian vortex have indeed established and/or are building
prisons, concentration camps, re-education camps, and detention
facilities.
Some reliable sources have
provided THE NEW AMERICAN with photographs of, and information on, what
are reportedly secret prison facilities. We are investigating these
through both official and unofficial channels. We take them seriously, as
we do many of the issues mentioned throughout this article, even though
the enormous number of fraudulent, fanciful, exaggerated, and speculative
stories makes it more and more difficult to do so.
FROM: THE
NEW AMERICAN
ITS MORE THAN JUST 'TRAINS'
In an American information newsletter "The
Spotlight" which is issued from a Washington address, there appeared
an article quoting from a copy of an army manual known as FM-41-10 which
outlines army contingency operations designed to round up American
civilians and detain them in concentration camps. This manual has a
distribution restriction to government agency only and contains
instructions to destroy it to prevent disclosure of contents. Reprinted in
"The Spotlight" is a plan of a concentration camp complete with
wire fence and tower lights, with barracks for families, unescorted
children, unattached males and unattached females. The manual is designed
to be used in conjunction with national emergencies when units of the army
will be used to support the Federal Emergency Management Agency orders.
This organization is commonly known as FEMA and was
in charge of the murderous assault on David Koresh and his followers.
Incidentally, during the recent scare about the crash of the Russian Mars
space vehicle was the first time that I had heard mention of our own
Emergency Management Agency. How much more don't we know and need to find
out?
But to continue the "Spotlight" article.
"Included in the manual are illustrations of
the FEMA chain of command and the boundaries of the regions which will
become the governmental subdivisions supplanting state authority."
Here again we have a parallel with Australia with the
recent amalgamation of local councils into larger onees. Our former
Premier, Wayne Goss was correct, I believe, in assuming that this was a
prelude to the phasing out of State Governments and the Federal Government
dealing directly with local councils who are much closer to the people.
But to continue. "The manual includes details
on the methods of rounding up civilians and placing them in detention
centres. The newspaper also outlines the officials in the Pentagon charged
with facilitating "Civil Affairs" operations. Handling the
operation is Assistant Secretary of Defence, Henry A. Holmes who heads
something called "Special Operations Command" with General Wayne
A. Downing under him.
In addition to civil affairs planning, Holmes and
Downing handle special operations for all services, as well as
"Psychological Operations" and "Special Aviation"
units. Included in the Special Aviation Units are uniquely equipped
fixed-wing and rotary aircraft, some of which are for low-flying ground
surveillance.
The use of unmarked black military helicopters
flying low over civilian areas recently has raised rumours and fears that
surveillance is now being conducted against the civilian population."
Now if you are sitting there thinking to yourself
that this is pure speculation and a load of rubbish, just remember that
the German people under Hitler saw what was happening and closed their
eyes, but it was all too real anyway.
I often wonder if the now accepted practice in
Australia of emptying our mental hospitals and institutions and forcing
mentally incompetent people to fend for themselves in the community is so
arranged that those facilities might be used to house our dissident
population. Three or four years ago, the local mental hospital in my home
town of Toowoomba was extended at the same time that patients were being
sent out into the community. Seems odd to me.
HERE IS A FURTHER QUOTE FROM METRO FORCE BY SERGE
MONAST
"That everything is in readiness for the total
control of the U.S. population can be further affirmed by the presence of
"Rainbow" Highway Code Markers now appearing on certain U.S.
highways, where it is believed that inactivated army bases are to be used
as concentration camps. In January 1995 it was reported by residents in
Montana, that the area had been quietly invaded by U.N. Troops. A local
blacksmith reported that he had just returned from the north western part
of the state, and said the area was crawling with Belgian troops and some
Austrian troops.
Also he counted no less than 114 barges loaded with
U.N. equipment coming in from Canada. Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota and
Wisconsin and a few states below them are to be policed by Belgian troops.
This man was told that at the town of Kalisfel in Montana, the government
had bought a ranch and fenced it, the fence going inwards at the top to
keep people in - not out!
A massive new crematorium has recently been
completed in Indianapolis, Indiana, at the now disused Amtrak railroad
terminal, and an investigator has reported that he has received
information from some of those who helped to build the facility that
guillotines have been installed for those who arrive alive instead of
dead. Others say new gas lines have been installed - and not for heating
purposes. Pictures of this facility bear this out.
Three other such crematoriums are known to exist.
They are Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Kansas City. Missouri; and Bay City,
Michigan. The Blue Highway Markers on the back of the highway signs lead
to them. The Indianapolis Crematorium is a blue arrival point. As blue is
the colour indicating in hospitals that the subject has died, we believe
that this is a destination for those who are already dead, that is those
shot by the police and military forces of the New World Order.
On the same grounds is a Red Zone arrival point. As
red signifies death, we believe that this is a destination point for those
yet living who are destined for either the gas chambers or the guillotine.
An aerial picture was taken of the gas chambers being constructed at the
same Amtrak facility. Newly installed gas pipes lead to every chamber.
There are revolving steel gates by which admissions are made of the
living, who arrive in the Red Zone. The symbols of the New World Order
appear above the entrance gates; this is the all-seeing-eye of Satan atop
the Pyramid as appears on the back of the U.S. 1 dollar bill.
Parked at the facility is a locomotive decked out in
blue which patrols the old Amtrak railway station. It has U.S. Air Force
on its side. Blue Highway Code Markers are as I said before,
representative of death. Green represents life, and it is speculated that
these signs lead to detention facilities where people will be sorted out
for commitment to concentration camps, to work camps, either death or
release. Perhaps these will be sites for micro-chipping all those brought
to the facility.
The micro-chip is a means of keeping track of and
controlling you wherever you may be. Orange Highway Markers lead to
confiscation targets such as factories, smaller airports, gravel pits and
private lands. (Maybe the gravel pits are to be mass graves, as gravel
pits also have the blue markers.)
Red markers are death and lead to crematoriums.
Brown markers lead to materials to be seized and used; brown markers have
been noted to lead to building materials companies, seed companies, pig
farms and butchering facilities. Yellow markers are areas to be secured or
confiscated. White markers are areas used for holding seized material like
firearms; these white markers lead to military bases, National Guard
Armories, and certain warehouses.
These highway markers are ominous and can be found
in the U.S., Canada, Russia and other countries. They are obviously U.N.
ordained. U.N. troops who are stationed in a foreign country and who do
not speak the language of the country they are in can be guided to
destinations by these markers.
On 13th January 1994, traffic at a railroad crossing
in Tulsa,
Oklahoma, was held up by an extremely long train of
over 100 cars that were south west bound from that location. The next
major city on that route was Oklahoma City. The train however, could
continue on to Arizona and California.
The train was described as consisting of brand new
totally black boxcars, all probably empty due to the fact that a single
engine pulled the number of cars involved. There were no markings on the
cars other than a bar code and a serial number. When interviewed, a
railway security officer said he knew of such train cars being stored
"up north" in either Minnesota or Michigan or Wisconsin.
He was told they were boxcars that preceded the
"white" trains. He was then asked `What do you guys do with
those boxcars that have shackles and handcuffs bolted to the inside
walls?' Without hesitation he stated "Oh those must be the
"white" trains. We supposedly use those to precede any
transportation of nuclear weapons or material. When we move a nuc. train
we don't stop for anyone. If there are any demonstrators on the tracks, a
security force in the lead train rounds them up and sticks them in the
boxcars until they can be dealt with later.
The more reasonable explanation, I think, is that
these cars, especially in this quantity, are not being built and
maintained for simply preceding nuclear shipments". These boxcars are
obviously being readied for future civilian detainee transportation. You
may be asking yourself, why aren't we seeing this here? My theory is this.
We have a vastly smaller population, and America has a much greater
proportion of Christians who are likely to resist, whereas Australia has
few strong, born-again Christians in comparison, in fact, several years
ago, the U.N. itself designated Australia as a pagan country. I pondered
whether to include the seven rainbow classification of the New World Order
prisoners, due to their horrific nature, but have decided to do so, as I
believe we need to know.
MORE: http://www.despatch.cth.com.au/Transcripts/d_dart.htm
|
http://www.freep.com/news/latestnews/pm19475_20040422.htm
Reports: Explosion kills thousands in North Korean train station
Thursday, April 22, 2004
BY SANG-HUN CHOE
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SEOUL, South Korea - Two fuel trains collided and exploded in a
North Korean train station near the Chinese border Thursday, according to
South Korean media, which reported large numbers of casualties. One
television station said 3,000 people were believed killed or injured.
The North Korean leader, Kim Jong Il, reportedly had passed through
the station as he returned from China nine hours earlier. It was not clear
what caused the crash, or if it was related to Kim's journey. The trains
were carrying oil and liquefied petroleum gas, media reported.
The crash reportedly took place about 1 p.m. in Ryongchon, a town 12
miles from China. North Korean authorities declared a ``state of
emergency'' in the area, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported.
In another sign of the accident's magnitude, the secretive North
Korean government cut international phone lines to prevent news of the
collision from leaking across its borders, Yonhap said, citing no sources.
The number killed or injured could reach 3,000, South Korea's
all-news cable channel, YTN, reported, citing unidentified sources on the
Chinese side of the border.
``The area around Ryongchon station has turned into ruins as if it
were bombarded,'' Yonhap quoted witnesses as saying. ``Debris from the
explosion soared high into the sky and drifted to Sinuju,'' a North Korean
town on the border with China, it said.
Cho Sung-dae, a Yonhap correspondent in Beijing, said his reports
were based on Chinese sources in the Chinese border town of Dandong who
had talked with their relatives in Ryongchon.
They described a massive explosion involving a large number of
casualties but could not give figures, Cho told The Associated Press in a
telephone interview. Cho also said North Korean authorities appeared to be
shutting down the border with China after the incident.
Subsequent attempts by his Chinese sources to contact people in
Ryongchon failed because the phone lines had been severed.
North Korea is one of the world's most isolated countries and rarely
allows visits by outside journalists. News events within its borders are
difficult to confirm independently.
North Korea's state-controlled media is unlikely to provide quick
confirmation of such an accident. The communist country's infrastructure
is dilapidated and accident-prone. Its passenger trains are usually
jam-packed with people, but defectors say they are seldom punctual and
frequently break down.
Sometimes, trains are stranded for hours at stations until their
electricity supply is restored enabling them to continue on their journey,
some defectors say.
YTN, citing an unidentified South Korean government official, said
the government in Seoul confirmed a huge explosion in the Ryongchon train
station. The official told YTN he believed the incident was an accident,
not politically motivated.
Yang Jong-hwa, a spokeswoman of South Korea's Unification Ministry,
said her organization could not immediately confirm the reports. The
ministry is in charge of relations with North Korea.
The Defense Ministry could not comment, and the Foreign Ministry
could immediately be reached.
YTN reported that the casualties included Chinese living in the
North Korean border region, and that Chinese in Dandong - a bustling
industrial city on Yalu River - were desperate to learn about their
relatives.
Some of the injured were evacuated to hospitals in Dandong, it said.
Chinese and North Korean traders frequently cross the border at
Dandong.
The accident resembled a disaster in Iran on Feb. 18, when runaway
train cars carrying fuel and industrial chemicals derailed in the town
Neyshabur, setting off explosions that destroyed five villages. At least
200 people were killed.
North Korea's state-run news agency on Thursday confirmed that Kim
made a secretive trip to China on Monday through Wednesday, but carried no
comments on the reported explosion.
China, which also confirmed Kim's visit, is North Korea's last major
ally, and the two countries' ruling communist parties boast of close ties.
But while China's experiments with capitalism have transformed it into an
economic dynamo, North Korea suffers chronic food shortages and depends on
its larger neighbor for aid.
Kim met with President Hu Jintao and other Chinese leaders and
agreed to ``push ahead'' with a peaceful resolution to the standoff over
its nuclear weapons programs, the North's official KCNA news agency and
central television network reported earlier Thursday.
The broadcast added that Kim said his government ``will continue to
be patient and flexible and actively participate in the process of
six-nation talks and contribute to making progress at the talks.''
The comments were likely to be encouraging to the United States and
other countries, who want China to use its leverage as North Korea's
leading supplier of food and energy aid to get the country to disarm.
Washington wants Pyongyang to dismantle its nuclear facilities, but
North Korea has said it doesn't trust the United States not to invade and
wants a security guarantee.
The last round of six-nation talks - involving China, the two
Koreas, the United States, Japan and Russia - ended in February in Beijing
without a settlement.
|
| MADRID, Spain (March 11) -- Ten terrorist bombs blasted three Madrid
train stations at the height of the morning rush hour Thursday, killing
more than 170 people and wounding at least 600 before this weekend's
general elections. Officials blamed Basque separatists for the worst
terror attack in Spanish history.
Blasts Strike Madrid; 173 Dead
Basque Separatist Group ETA Suspected, but Party Leader Denies
Responsibility
by MAR ROMAN, AP
MADRID, Spain - Ten terrorist bombs blasted three Madrid train
stations at the height of the morning rush hour Thursday, killing more
than 170 people and wounding at least 600 before this weekend's general
elections. Officials blamed Basque separatists for the worst terror attack
in Spanish history.
Rush Hour Shattered
''This is a massacre,'' government spokesman Eduardo Zaplana said.
A total of 10 bombs exploded, killing 173 people and injured more
than 600, Interior Minister Angel Acebes said. Police found and detonated
three others.
Before the Thursday bombings, the Basque separatist group ETA had
been blamed for more than 800 deaths in its decades-old campaign to carve
an independent Basque homeland from territory straddling northern Spain
and southwest France.
Largest Terror-Related Death Toll
Blast Blamed on Separatists
Aftermath of the Bombing
''ETA had been looking for a massacre in Spain,'' Acebes said after
an emergency cabinet meeting, citing recent thwarted attacks.
''Unfortunately, today it achieved its goal.''
He said security services knew ETA was responsible because the group
tried a similar attack on Christmas Eve, placing bombs on two trains bound
for a station that was not hit Thursday. He also noted the Feb. 29 police
interception of a Madrid-bound van packed with more than 1,100 pounds of
explosives. Authorities blamed ETA.
''Therefore, it is absolutely clear and evident that the terrorist
organization ETA was looking to commit a major attack,'' Acebes said.
''The only thing that varies is the train station that was targeted.''
A top Basque politician, Arnold Otegi, denied the separatists were
behind the blasts and blamed ''Arab resistance.'' Many al-Qaida-linked
terrorists were captured in Spain or were believed to have operated from
there.
Thursday's bombs exploded about 7:30 a.m. on trains or at platforms
on the commuter line running to the Atocha station, a bustling
transportation hub in the capital. At least two of the bombs went off in
trains that were in the Atocha station.
Otegi told Radio Popular in San Sebastian that ETA always phones in
warnings before it attacks. Acebes said there was no warning before
Thursday's attack.
''The modus operandi, the high number of victims and the way it was
carried out make me think, and I have a hypothesis in mind, that yes it
may have been an operative cell from the Arab resistance,'' Otegi said,
noting that Spain's government backed the Iraq war.
Until now, the highest death toll in ETA-linked attacks was 21
killed in a supermarket blast in Barcelona in 1987.
People streamed away from the Atocha station in tears Thursday as
rescue workers carried bodies covered in sheets of gold fabric. The
wounded, faces bloodied, sat on curbs and used mobile phones to tell loved
ones they were alive. Hospitals appealed for blood donations. Buses were
pressed into service as ambulances.
Rescue workers were overwhelmed, said Enrique Sanchez, an ambulance
driver who went to Santa Eugenia station, about six miles southeast of
Atocha station.
''There was one carriage totally blown apart. People were scattered
all over the platforms. I saw legs and arms. I won't forget this ever.
I've seen horror,'' Sanchez said.
Shards of twisted metal were scattered by rails in the Atocha
station at the spot where an explosion severed a train in two.
''I saw many things explode in the air ... it was horrible,'' said
Juani Fernandez, 50, a civil servant who was on the platform waiting to go
to work.
''People started to scream and run, some bumping into each other and
as we ran there was another explosion. I saw people with blood pouring
from them, people on the ground,'' Fernandez said.
''Those responsible for this tragedy will be arrested and they will
pay very dearly for it,'' Acebes said at Atocha station.
The attacks traumatized Spain on the eve of Sunday's general
election.
The campaign was largely dominated by separatist tensions in regions
like the Basque country, with both the ruling conservative Popular Party
and the opposition Socialists ruling out talks with ETA.
The government convened anti-ETA rallies nationwide for Friday
evening and announced three days of mourning.
''What a horror,'' said the Basque regional president, Juan Jose
Ibarretxe, who insisted ETA does not represent the Basque people. ''When
ETA attacks, the Basque heart breaks into a thousand pieces,'' he said in
the Basque capital Vitoria.
''This is one of those days that you don't want to live through,''
said opposition Socialist party spokesman Jesus Caldera. ''ETA must be
defeated,'' referring to the group as ''those terrorists, those animals.''
"I won't forget this ever. I | | |
