23 SENT TO HOSPITAL WHEN AIR CANADA FLIGHT 624 CRASH LANDS IN HALIFAX AND SKIDS OFF THE RUNWAY

MARCH 29, 2015

It was a frightening landing for passengers on Air Canada Flight 624 arriving in Halifax from Toronto early Sunday morning.

The plane made a “hard landing” as it skidded off a runway at Halifax Stanfield International Airport during a snowstorm.

Air Canada confirmed 23 passengers and crew were sent to hospital, but there were no serious injuries reported and 18 have since been released. Thirteen were sent to Capital Health-run hospitals while 10 were sent to either the IWK Health Centre in Halifax or the Colchester Regional Hospital in Truro, N.S

AC624 had 133 passengers and five crew members on board. It’s believed the plane hit a power line and then skidded, leading to a mass power outage at the airport. A direct link between the power outage and the hard landing have not been confirmed by airport officials.

The airplane was an Airbus A320, the same type involved in the deliberate crashing of a Germanwings flight over France last week.

Air Canada said more of its management staff have arrived in Halifax on Sunday to help, but did not confirm how many.

Officials from the Transportation Safety Board are coming from Ottawa and expect to hold a news conference at 6 p.m.

He says the Airport Authority can’t comment on the RCMP or TSB investigation, they can only give updates on the runway conditions and airport operations.

Airport spokesman Peter Spurway said the airport was closed to all traffic after the accident.

“We don’t know if weather was a factor,” Spurway said. “Crews had been clearing snow all day.”

Confirms AC624, YYZ-YHZ exited runway upon landing at Halifax. All passengers have deplaned, going to terminal. More updates to come.

— Air Canada (@AirCanada) March 29, 2015

Passenger Gordon Murray said he was calm despite the horrific experience.

“We just hit hard and things broke up,” he said. He added he feels fortunate to be alive considering what could have been.

“Just before we hit there was a big ball of light. It hit like a hard landing and we bounced and we skidded.”

This couple was on the plane, said the plane circled for 30 min before trying to land. #Halifax pic.twitter.com/cczJOU6Xf4

— Julia Wong (@JWongGlobalNews) March 29, 2015

Eleven-year-old Leon Yu wasn’t sure what was happening at the time, but recalls the plane “sliding everywhere.”

“A couple minutes later they just told us to get out of the plane,” he said.

"It was just sliding everywhere then a couple minutes later they just told us to get out of the plane" Leon Yu says pic.twitter.com/QKKfWmm9vv

— Julia Wong (@JWongGlobalNews) March 29, 2015

Some passengers told Global News they saw an engine fall off during the landing. “The airplane hit so hard the running gear all came off, both sets of wheels, then the engines got torn off,” passenger Randy Hall said.

Officials say the investigation into what led #AC624 to make a hard landing @HfxStanfield is currently underway @globalhalifax #Halifax

— Natasha Pace (@NatashaPace) March 29, 2015

“It was surreal,” Wayne Ezekial of St. Andrews, N.S., said. “It was almost like I was in a movie looking forward and my first concern was the plane was gonna start breaking apart and the second thing was it was gonna catch fire.”

Spurway says the plane was under control when it made contact with the runway. Federal investigators have been called in to probe the incident.

RT @hfxstanfield: Again, operations are resuming. Expect changes to flight schedules, please check ahead.

— RCMP, Nova Scotia (@RCMPNS) March 29, 2015

Power was restored to the airport overnight and operations are resuming, but significant delays are expected.

As of 10 a.m. on Sunday, the airport said there was an issue preventing airlines from updating flight schedules on its website, and passengers were being advised to call their airlines directly for the latest information.

In a prepared statement, Transportation Minister Lisa Raitt thanked first responders for the “quick and decisive action.”

“Transport Canada continues to monitor the situation and the Transportation Safety Board is on scene. I understand that the airport will be reviewing their response to the incident and I look forward to the results‎. We will let the proper authorities determine the cause of this incident.”

Source: http://globalnews.ca

2 SERIOUSLY INJURED, POPULAR PIZZA SHOP DESTROYED IN EAST ROCHESTER, NEW YORK EXPLOSION. THE CAUSE IS UNKNOWN AT THIS TIME, PERHAPS A BOILER OR NATURAL GAS EXPLOSION

MARCH 29, 2015

EAST ROCHESTER, NEW YORK

Two people were hospitalized following an explosion and fire in an East Rochester apartment/commercial building this morning.

East Rochester Fire Chief Mike Romach said crews were called to 404 W. Commercial Street, East Rochester, NY 14445 around 5:30 a.m. for a report of an explosion.

"Upon arrival, we had heavy fire coming out of the second floor and the roof," he said. "The main part of the wall on the west side of the building was completely blown away, so it was apparent we had an explosion."

Romach said firefighters were unable to enter the two-story structure because it was so unstable, but extinguished the blaze within an hour or so by attacking the flames from outside. More than 75 firefighters from departments including Pittsford, Fairport and Brighton were called to the scene.

"The whole back of the building is gone, so we have a heavy wrecker coming in," he said. "The building is going to be demolished."

Romach said occupants of two apartments in the building's second floor escaped, but two people sustained serious burns and were hospitalized.

Witness Tim Murphy said he was awakened by an explosion, looked out his window to see roof and walls of upstairs apartment collapse

— Meaghan McDermott (@meagmc) March 29, 2015

He did not speculate on the cause of the blast. An investigation is under way.

The blast woke Rob Evans, who said he fled his apartment with wallet and keys in hand after seeing the back wall of his bedroom begin to collapse.

"Our neighbor's door was open and I could just see into their apartment that it was on fire and I could see outside because their wall was gone," he said. "So we ran downstairs real quick and pieces of the wall were laying in our driveway."

Evans has lived in his apartment at 404 W. Commercial Street above Frank and Paul Surace Pizza aand Subs for nearly 10 years.

"It was pretty surreal. The door to the restaurant was missing and our door to get out was kind of off the hinges," he said. "I just looked up and saw a hole where the apartment should have been and it just sunk in what had happened."

Timothy Murphy, who lives in a nearby apartment building, saw the explosion.

"I saw the apartment caught on fire, the roof caved in and then the walls caved in and I saw the two people in there and I ran and called 911," he said. "I evacuated all the people in our building."

Witnesses at the scene said the people who were injured may have been trying to save their pets.

The family-owned Surace pizza shop was destroyed.

"We've been in business there 32 years," said Paul Surace, his voice breaking. "It's a family shop and it's all gone, it's all gone. I can't believe this has happened. I don't know what to do now."

The Red Cross is providing assistance to displaced residents.

Romach did not release any information about the two people who were hospitalized.

Source: http://www.democratandchronicle.com