Tag Archives: oceania

headline

Coast Guard diver pulls body from car above Niagara Falls

A US Coast Guard diver lowered from the sky braved frigid rapids to get to a car partly submerged in water near the brink of Niagara Falls, only to find it was too late to rescue the driver trapped inside.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Derrian Duryea, a Detroit-based rescue swimmer, descended from a hovering helicopter, climbed into the car and pulled out the body of its lone occupant, a woman in her 60s, officials from New York's State Park Police and Coast Guard said.

Video showed Mr Duryea, in an orange suit and with an axe in his left hand, buffeted by winds and spraying water as he was lowered toward the car through falling snow. After slowly spinning and swinging past the car, he was able to grab hold on the passenger side, open the door and disappear inside.

READ MORE: Niagara Falls shows difference in US and Canada's COVID-19 approach

A US Coast Guard diver is lowered from a hovering helicopter to pull a body from a submerged vehicle stuck in rushing rapids just metres from the edge of Niagara Falls.

About two minutes later, with water surging around the vehicle and over the precipice about 50m downstream, Mr Duryea emerged and signalled to the helicopter, which then hoisted him and the motionless driver from the water.

“It was an incredible job by the Coast Guard,” Park Police Captain Christopher Rola said at a news conference.

He said rescuers have never been called to a vehicle so close to the edge.

It was unclear how the car got into the Niagara River.

Witnesses reported seeing it floating near a pedestrian bridge, where it was believed to have gone in.

Roads in the area were slippery amid the light snow.

Authorities said the woman lived in the area.

Her name was not released pending notification of her relatives.

READ MORE: Man survives Niagara Falls plunge

A US Coast Guard rescue diver is lowered toward the vehicle lodged in the water at the brink of Niagara Falls.

After the rescue, the vehicle remained almost completely submerged, with only part of the roof and open trunk hatch visible, in the rapids upstream from the American Falls, one of three waterfalls that make up Niagara Falls.

Onlookers watched as emergency crews prepared to try to pull the vehicle from the water.

Captain Rola said the State Park department’s swift-water rescue teams had been unable to get to the car because of its location.

Police had used a drone to determine it was occupied.

Niagara Falls has a history of attracting both daredevils who try to cheat death by plunging over the falls in homemade contraptions, and those driven by suicide.

Captain Rola said investigators would try to determine whether the vehicle wound up in the water by accident or intentionally.

READ MORE: 'Siberian Express' freezes Niagara Falls solid

headline

Sydney Airport's proposed $23.6 billion takeover given green light

Australia's competition watchdog will not stand in the way of a consortium of investment funds who plan to purchase Sydney Airport in a deal worth almost $24 billion.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) today said it will not oppose Sydney Aviation Alliance's $23.6 billion proposed acquisition of the airport, which the ACCC says has no natural competition.

Sydney Aviation Alliance is a consortium of investment funds which each have investments in a range of infrastructure assets, including shareholdings in other Australian airports.

READ MORE: UK tightens COVID-19 rules amid Omicron surge

A plane arrives at Sydney Airport.

"Throughout our investigation, we heard that there is very little, if any, competition between Australian airports," ACCC Chair Rod Sims said.

"This is no surprise, as we've been saying for a long time that Australian airports such as Sydney Airport are natural monopolies, with significant market power and no price regulation.

"The proposed acquisition is therefore unlikely to substantially lessen competition in a market that already has such little competition."

READ MORE: Inside Operation Ironside's 'Phase Two' against organised crime

Some stakeholders consulted by the ACCC shared a concern that because the consortium holds shares in other airports, there could be a risk that information shared between common airports could make them a bargaining entity.

"We understand the stakeholder concerns, however, fundamentally the lack of competition between airports means that any such sharing of information between airports would not amount to a substantial lessening of competition, which is what the law requires before we can oppose a merger," Mr Sims said.

"The ACCC maintains the view that the threat of regulation under the current limited monitoring regime does not constrain the pricing behaviour of our airports.

"The absence of constraint ultimately leads to consumers paying higher airport passenger charges than they otherwise would."

READ MORE: Chinese rover spots 'mystery house' on the moon

Travelers queue to check in at the departure hall of the international terminal of Sydney Airport

Under the Commonwealth Airports Act 1996, cross-ownership of Sydney and Melbourne, or Sydney and Brisbane, or Sydney and Perth airports is limited to 15 per cent.

Sydney Airport is a public company listed on the ASX which owns 100 per cent of Kingsford Smith airport, one of Australia's most major air destinations.