A fire broke out at a warehouse just four miles away from Russian President Vladimir Putin’s official residency late on Thursday, Russian state news reported.
By midnight Moscow time the fire had spread to over 21,500 square feet, TASS reported citing a statement from the emergency services. It was not immediately clear what caused the fire – and there has been no mention from either warring party about a drone strike – but it marks the second huge ‘mystery’ fire in Russian territory in the past two days.
The warehouse is in Odintsovo, west of Moscow, a town that lies between President Putin’s official residence and Vnukovo airport.
Russia has reported two Ukrainian drone strikes that were heading for Moscow this week before being shot down by air defence systems. Kyiv has not been publicly commenting or claiming attacks inside Russian territory.
In the early hours of Thursday a fire that had spanned 1,000 square metres broke out at a car repair centre in the Moscow suburbs as Russia said that two drones were shot down. Authorities have not given any official reason for the cause of either fire.
Another 17 fatalities were confirmed on Thursday, taking the toll to 53 victims. By Thursday night, another two people had been found dead, Maui County confirmed.
Hawaii Governor Josh Green said on Thursday evening that around 1,000 people are still unaccounted for, as he said that the Aloha State is headed for its deadliest disaster in state history.
Mr Green said that those unaccounted for are not presumed dead but that hundreds have been left without communications and so their safety is unclear.
“Here’s the challenge: there’s no power, no internet, no phone, no radio. You compound some of that. So when we’re speaking to our officers, we need them to get a sat phone,” he said.
Mick Fleetwood says his Hawaii restaurant was ‘lost’ in devastating Maui wildfires
Mick Fleetwood has confirmed that his restaurant in Hawaii has been burnt down by the ongoing deadly wildfires in Maui.
The Fleetwood Mac co-founder, 76, wrote in a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, that Fleetwood’s on Front Street “has been lost” as the fires rip through the historic town of Lahaina on the island.
President Biden issues major disaster declaration as wildfires burn in Hawaii
President Joe Biden declared the wildfires in Hawaii to be a major disaster, allowing for the state to use federal funding in recovery efforts.
On Thursday, Mr Biden issued the declaration after 53 people died and thousands of others were evacuated as a result of the raging wildfires that burned through several areas of Maui, Hawaii and Ohau.
The fires, which began earlier this week, have caused extensive damage in towns, including the historic town of Lahaina, knocking out power and cellphone service.
Thousands of visitors and residents have been ordered to evacuate.
The new declaration will allow Hawaii to use federal funding to assist individual and business recovery efforts in Maui County.
The devastating wildfire that has destroyed the historic town of Lahaina was 80 percent contained by Thursday morning local time, according to Maui officials.
Firefighters were also making progress in the battles against two other major fires across the Hawaiian island.
However, despite the progress, none of the wildfires which have been burning on Maui since Tuesday are 100 percent contained yet.
Oprah Winfrey has been seen handing out supplies in Maui to those displaced by the devastating wildfires.
The talk show host visited the War Memorial Stadium in Maui on Thursday where she donated pillows, nappies and shampoo to people who have been forced to take shelter at the site.
“It’s a little overwhelming, you know. But I’m really so pleased to have so many people bringing what they can and doing what they can,” she told the BBC.
“I came earlier to see what people needed and then went shopping. Because often, you make donations of clothes or whatever and it’s not really what people need.
“So I actually went to Walmart and Costco and got pillows, diapers, sheets, pillowcases.”
A wildfire burns in Kihei, Hawaii late Wednesday, 9 August 2023. Thousands of residents raced to escape homes on Maui as blazes swept across the island, destroying parts of a centuries-old town in one of the deadliest US wildfires in recent years. (AP Photo/Ty O'Neil)
Pictures of the Week-North America-Photo Gallery
(Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
Around 1,000 people are still missing in the wildfires which have ravaged the Hawaiian island of Maui.
Hawaii Governor Josh Green revealed on Thursday evening that hundreds are still unaccounted for, as he warned that the Aloha State is headed for its deadliest disaster in state history.
Those unaccounted for are not presumed dead, he said, but have been left without communications and so their safety is unclear.
“Here’s the challenge: there’s no power, no internet, no phone, no radio. You compound some of that. So when we’re speaking to our officers, we need them to get a sat phone,” he said.
“There’s around 1,000 missing. It doesn’t mean that many have passed - I’m not saying that at all - but because we can’t contact them we can’t know.”
The governor admitted that “we don’t know” the true death toll.
The death toll from the devastating wildfires on the island of Maui, Hawaii, has now climbed to 55 – as officials warned that the loss of life is expected to rise further.
On Wednesday, Lahaina, Pulehu and Upcountry fire departments said that 36 people had died as a result of the fires.
Another 17 fatalities were confirmed at around midday on Thursday, taking the toll to 53 victims.
By Thursday night, another two people had been found dead taking the death toll to 55, Maui County confirmed.
A British man has allegedly been beaten to death by bouncers in Cyprus, according to local reports.
Huseyin Mavideniz, 29, died after being attacked early morning on Thursday outside a club in Iskele, northern Cyprus, local media said, citing the police.
He was allegedly punched in the head several times by the club's security before being rushed to Famagusta State Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Shortly after Mavideniz arrived at the medical centre, a group of men turned up and proceeded to wreak havoc - smashing windows in the hospital's A&E department with a sledgehammer - local reports said.
It was not immediately clear who the group was or why they attacked the hospital.
The Cyprus Mail reported that Mavideniz 'engaged in an altercation' with a 26-year-old man outside the 'Breeze' bar in a town called Trikomo at around 3.30am.
The 26-year-old man, who has not been named, has been arrested by police. Another man is understood to be wanted in connection with the incident.
Deputy Chief Physician of Famagusta State Hospital, Dr. Eyüp Göksu, told Yenidüzen: 'He died when he came to the hospital. The cops are investigating right now. We will receive detailed information from our doctors on duty.'
Another local news site, Kibris Gazetesi, said a further ten people had been arrested for 'serious assault and grave damage' - likely in connection to the events at the hospital.
Pictures from the medical centre posted to Facebook showed smashed glass covering the floor, chairs and desks of a reception room.
The windows seem to have been smashed from the outside-in.
According to Cyprus news site Yenidüzen, a group of people prevented the outlet's reporter from taking photographs and forced them to delete others from their phone while accompanied by the police.
Yenidüzen did not detail who forced the deletion of the pictures.
Mavideniz is understood to have travelled to Cyprus with his father for him to have medical treatment, The Sun reported.
MailOnline has contacted the Foreign Office for comment.
Another 17 fatalities were confirmed on Thursday, taking the toll to 53 victims. By Thursday night, another two people had been found dead, Maui County confirmed.
Hawaii Governor Josh Green said on Thursday evening that around 1,000 people are still unaccounted for, as he said that the Aloha State is headed for its deadliest disaster in state history.
Mr Green said that those unaccounted for are not presumed dead but that hundreds have been left without communications and so their safety is unclear.
“Here’s the challenge: there’s no power, no internet, no phone, no radio. You compound some of that. So when we’re speaking to our officers, we need them to get a sat phone,” he said.
A wildfire burns in Kihei, Hawaii late Wednesday, 9 August 2023. Thousands of residents raced to escape homes on Maui as blazes swept across the island, destroying parts of a centuries-old town in one of the deadliest US wildfires in recent years. (AP Photo/Ty O'Neil)
Pictures of the Week-North America-Photo Gallery
(Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
Around 1,000 people are still missing in the wildfires which have ravaged the Hawaiian island of Maui.
Hawaii Governor Josh Green revealed on Thursday evening that hundreds are still unaccounted for, as he warned that the Aloha State is headed for its deadliest disaster in state history.
Those unaccounted for are not presumed dead, he said, but have been left without communications and so their safety is unclear.
“Here’s the challenge: there’s no power, no internet, no phone, no radio. You compound some of that. So when we’re speaking to our officers, we need them to get a sat phone,” he said.
“There’s around 1,000 missing. It doesn’t mean that many have passed - I’m not saying that at all - but because we can’t contact them we can’t know.”
The governor admitted that “we don’t know” the true death toll.
The death toll from the devastating wildfires on the island of Maui, Hawaii, has now climbed to 55 – as officials warned that the loss of life is expected to rise further.
On Wednesday, Lahaina, Pulehu and Upcountry fire departments said that 36 people had died as a result of the fires.
Another 17 fatalities were confirmed at around midday on Thursday, taking the toll to 53 victims.
By Thursday night, another two people had been found dead taking the death toll to 55, Maui County confirmed.
Thousands of residents in Hawaii have been racing to escape their homes as deadly wildfires swept across the island of Maui, killing at least 53 people in one of the worst US wildfires in recent years.
Search for bodies continues as officials call for patience
Authorities in Maui are still trying to locate and identify people who died in Lahaina when a wildfire raced through the historic town.
Maui Mayor Richard Bissen told a news conference: “People whose homes are not damaged 0 you can come home as soon as we have recovered those who have perished. Please allow us to complete this process.”
Meanwhile Maui Police Chief John Pelletier asked for patience, prayers and perseverance, adding that his officers are trained to catch “bad guys” and not to pull bodies from buildings.
Search and rescue teams from California and Washington state, which are trained in disaster skills including using dogs to find human remains, have been deployed to Maui to assist with the process, officials said.
Lahaina survivors say they didn’t hear Hawaii’s famous warning sirens
Maui residents who made desperate escapes from flames, some on foot, have asked why Hawaii’s famous emergency warning system didn’t alert them as fires raced toward their homes, in interviews at evacuation centers onThursday. Hawaii emergency management records show no indication that the warning sirens were triggered before a devastating wildfire killed at least 53 people and wiped out a historic town, officials confirmed.
There are around 400 sirens positioned around the islands, with Hawaii boasting the largest integrated outdoor all-hazard public safety warning system in the world.
Residents claim they weren’t alerted to the danger by any warning sirens
(Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
Many of Lahaina’s survivors however said they didn’t hear any sirens and only realised they were in danger when they saw the flames. Thomas Leonard, a 70-year-old retired mailman from Lahaina, didn’t know about the fire until he smelled smoke. As power and mobile phone services had gone out, he was left with no real-time information about the danger.
He tried to leave in his Jeep, but had to abandon the vehicle and run to the shore when cars nearby began exploding. He hid behind a sea wall for hours, the wind blowing hot ash and cinders over him. Firefighters eventually arrived and escorted Leonard and other survivors through the flames to safety.
Thousands of residents in Hawaii have been racing to escape their homes as deadly wildfires swept across the island of Maui, killing at least 53 people in one of the worst US wildfires in recent years.
US senator Brian Schatz said the historic town of Lahaina, which dates back to the 1700s, is almost totally burnt to the ground, with the blaze leaving behind smoking piles of rubble where historic buildings stood.
“This is a deeply sombre day,” Maui Mayor Richard Bissen said. “The gravity of losing any life is tragic. As we grieve with their families, we offer prayers for comfort in this inconsolable time.”
Where are the current wildfires in Hawaii? Read here:
Kristin Harila climbed the world’s second highest mountain on 27 July along with her Nepali sherpa Tenjen (Lama) Sherpa, 35, to complete her 14th highest peak in just over three months to secure a new world record.
During the Norwegian’s ascent, porter Mohammed Hassan fell off a sheer edge about 8,200 metres high. Harila, 37, has insisted her team did everything they could to save Hassan but conditions were too dangerous to move him.
Images have emerged of climbers clambering past Hassan on a ridge during Harila’s ascent.
Austrian climbing duo Wilhelm Steindl and Philip Flämig, who were also on K2 that day, said footage they later recorded using a drone showed climbers walking over his body instead of trying to rescue him.
Flämig told Austria’s Standard newspaper: “He is being treated by one person while everyone else is pushing towards the summit. The fact is that there was no organised rescue operation although there were sherpas and mountain guides on site who could have taken action.”
Steindl added: “Such a thing would be unthinkable in the Alps. He was treated like a second-class human being.
“If he had been a westerner, he would have been rescued immediately,” he added. “No one felt responsible for him. What happened there is a disgrace. A living human was left lying so that records could be set.”
According to Steindl, who visited the porter’s family after descending the mountain, Hassan took the job of rope fixer in order to pay for his diabetic mother’s medical bills despite his lack of experience.
Harila rejected the allegations on Thursday and insisted her team did everything they could to save Hassan.
“It is simply not true to say that we did nothing to help him,” she told the Telegraph. “We tried to lift him back up for an hour and a half and my cameraman stayed on for another hour to look after him. At no point was he left alone.
“Given the conditions, it is hard to see how he could have been saved. He fell on what is probably the most dangerous part of the mountain where the chances of carrying someone off were limited by the narrow trail and poor snow conditions.”
Harila said when her team found Hassan he was not wearing either gloves or a down jacket and did not appear to have been given oxygen.
K2 is widely regarded as the one of the hardest peaks in mountaineering, and is the deadliest of the five highest mountains in the world, with data from 2018 showing just over a fifth of attempted ascents ending in a death.
Experts say the topography on K2 is more difficult than Everest because less of the mountain flattens off. It is also avalanche and rock fall-prone.
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At least 36 people have died and 11,000 have been evacuated, as wildfires devastate the historic town of Lahaina in Hawaii.
Fanned by winds from a faraway hurricane, multiple neighbourhoods have been burned to the ground.
Thousands were told to evacuate as officials confirmed widespread devastation to Lahaina, its harbour and surrounding areas.
Once bustling with people, now the streets are populated with burnt-out cars. Adults and children were forced to dive into the ocean, seeking safety as flames ravaged through the night.
Flyovers conducted by the US Civil Air Patrol and the Maui Fire Department reported that approximately 271 structures were damaged or destroyed.
“We just had the worst disaster I’ve ever seen. All of Lahaina is burnt to a crisp. It’s like an apocalypse,” said Lahaina resident Mason Jarvi.
Helicopter pilot Richard Olsten told Hawaii News Now: “It’s like an area was bombed. It’s like a war zone.”
Voices: I saw houses being washed away in Alaska. Stop the victim blaming
“In Maui, hurricane-fueled fires have resulted in dozens of deaths, people missing, and communities decimated. We should avoid shaming and guilt-tripping people about their choices regarding where they live.”
Hawaii officials gathered on Thursday to begin assessing the damage and death toll in Maui after wildfires raged through the islands this past week.
Lieutenant governor Sylvia Luke said it was unclear how much has been lost in areas beyond the town of Lahaina, which was hit hard, according to The New York Times.
Maui resident describes sudden evacuation after wildfire spread
A resident of Maui, Hawaii described the hasty evacuation he made after uncontrollable wildfires spread on Tuesday evening.
In an interview with CNN, Jeff Melichar said he was out on a walk on Tuesday when he saw the fire “rapidly approaching” his neighbourhood.
"We had to run back through the neighborhood because we were getting overwhelmed with smoke and embers,” Mr Melichar said.
Residents did not have much time to gather their belongings due to the fire, which was spreading quickly because of strong winds.
“We ran back to the house and had another 10 or 15 minutes before we knew we were going to be overtaken. And at that point, we had to just jump in the car.”
Thousands of Hawaii citizens have been displaced following wildfires that devastated the historic town of Lahaina in Maui.
Multiple neighbourhoods were burned as the fires were fueled by heavy winds blowing from Hurricane Dora, resulting in many being told to evacuate, with some Hawaii residents taking refuge in the ocean to avoid the flames. As of 10 August, at least 36 people have died and 11,000 have been evacuated as a result of the wildfires.
President Biden offers ‘prayers’ and ‘assets’ to Hawaii
In remarks given on Thursday, President Joe Biden said he had spoken with Hawaii governor Josh Green where he offered all available resources to the state.
Mr Biden said he had a “long” conversation with Mr Green to ensure Hawaii had all federal and state resources it needed in recovery.
“We offer our prayers, not just our prayers but every asset we have will be available,” Mr Biden said.
The President has also ordered the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to “streamline” all requests.
Mr Biden appointed Maona Ngwira to coordinate federal recovery operations.
Wildfires in Hawaii could be the state’s worst natural disaster in decades
Wildfires raging out of control in Hawaii have claimed at least 36 lives, caused large numbers of burn and smoke inhalation injuries, knocked out 911 and cell services, forced residents to escape into the ocean, and destroyed hundreds of homes, officials say.
President Biden issues ‘major disaster’ declaration for Hawaii
President Joe Biden declared the wildfire disaster in Hawaii to be a major disaster on Thursday, allowing for federal funding to become available to the state.
The funding can now be used for individuals to repair their homes or seek loans and for business owners to recover from the disaster.
“Federal funding also is available to state and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for debris removal and emergency protective measures in Maui County, and assistance for emergency protective measures for Hawaii County,” the handout says.
Federal coordinating officer of FEMA Maona Ngwira has been appointed to coordinate Federal recovery operations in the affected areas.
Average area burned in Hawaii has increased 400 per cent in last century
Though the islands of Hawaii are no stranger to some wildfires, the number of fires has increased exponentially over the past century due to human activity and an increase in invasive, flammable grasses, according to the Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization (HWMO).
“Nonnative grasslands and shrublands now cover nearly one quarter of Hawaii’s total land area and, together with a warming, drying climate and year round fire season, greatly increase the incidence of larger fires,” the HWMO wrote in a factsheet.
The HWMO estimates the average number of area burned per year in Hawaii has increased 400 per cent over the past century.
At least 36 people have died as fast-moving wildfires rage across the Hawaiian island of Maui, officials say.
The fires have been fanned by strong winds from a passing hurricane, destroying hundreds of buildings and burning some areas to the ground.
Thousands of people have been forced to evacuate their homes on the island and a state of emergency has been declared.
A huge search and rescue operation is under way, with some people still unaccounted for.
"We barely made it out in time," Kamuela Kawaakoa, who fled to an evacuation shelter on Tuesday with his partner and six-year-old son, told the Associated Press.
"It was so hard to sit there and just watch my town burn to ashes and not be able to do anything," he said. "I was helpless."
Five evacuation shelters have been opened on Maui and officials earlier said they were "overrun" with people. The island is a popular tourist destination and visitors have been urged to stay away.
"This is not a safe place to be," Hawaii Lt Governor Sylvia Luke told reporters. "We have resources that are being taxed."
Firefighters are still battling active fires, with helicopters dropping water on the blazes from above.
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