MANAMA: A US Navy submarine and a US amphibious vessel collided in the Strait of Hormuz on Friday slightly injuring 15 sailors and creating a fuel spill of around 25,000 gallons, the US Navy said."The collision between USS Hartford (SSN 768) and USS New Orleans (LPD 18) occurred at approximately 1:00 am local time (2030 GMT on Thursday)," the Bahrain-based Fifth Fleet said."Fifteen sailors aboard the Hartford were slightly injured and returned to duty. No personnel aboard New Orleans were injured," it added.The New Orleans' fuel tank ruptured, causing the spill of diesel fuel.Both ships are operating under their own power, and the overall damage to both vessels is being evaluated, the statement added.The Strait of Hormuz, less than 100 kilometres (60 miles) at its widest point, separates Oman from Iran and is the gateway into the oil-rich Gulf.An estimated 40 percent of the world's crude oil passes through the strait on the way to market.Both the submarine and the ship are on regularly scheduled deployments to the US Navy Central Command area of responsibility, the navy said.Ships from the Fifth Fleet, based in Bahrain, patrol a 7.5 million square mile (19.4 million square kilometre) area of eastern Africa, the Middle East and Southwest Asia.
Friday, August 14, 2009 MUMBAI: A 26-year-old woman died Thursday of H1N1 swine flu in the southern city of Bangalore, raising India's death toll from the virus to 20, authorities said.The death was the first reported in India's information technology capital, the Press Trust of India reported.Meanwhile in Pune, the worst-affected in India, two more victims of the virus died Thursday, raising the death toll in that western city near Mumbai to 12, the report said. The victims were an 11-month-old boy and a 75-year-old old woman.US media reported movie halls, schools and colleges were ordered closed Thursday for three days to a week in Mumbai, the commercial and financial capital of the country, as fear of the pandemic spread.Prajakata Lavangare, a spokeswoman for the government of Maharashtra state of which Mumbai is the capital, said similar orders were issued in Pune, which is also located in the state.The woman who died in Bangalore was identified only as Roopa, a teacher in...
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