Tag Archives: oceania

Interstate family of baby who died in magpie swoop must quarantine

Interstate family members of a baby girl who died after a magpie swooping attack in Brisbane will not be granted an exemption from hotel quarantine to attend a funeral.

Five-month-old Mia was being carried by her mother, Simone Francis, through Glindemann Park at Holland Park on Sunday when the "aggressive" bird swooped, causing Ms Francis to duck and trip.

Mia was rushed to Queensland Children's Hospital with serious injuries but later died.

READ MORE: Investigation underway into 'unthinkable' magpie swooping accident that caused baby's death

Five-month-old Mia was being carried by her mother through  Glindemann Park at Holland Park on Sunday before the "aggressive" bird attacked, causing Mia's mother to duck and trip.

Queensland Chief Health Officer Dr Jeanette Young this morning confirmed extended family members had been allowed to enter Queensland but would still have to complete 14 days' hotel quarantine in line with current restrictions.

"They currently all live in hot spots that are significant hot spots," Dr Young said.

She said early negative test results didn't change the risk.

"What if these people test positive day 10 or 11 and the funeral was day eight?

"It's really sad, I cannot imagine the distress and the awfulness of it.

"That park is quite close to where I live, I know it well.

"It is an absolutely tragic, terrible situation but I can't make it tragic even more, by having someone go to a funeral and spread the virus at that funeral.

"No one would want that."

A note with the words "Fly High Little Mia" with a knitted heart has been placed at a Brisbane park where a swooping magpie led to the death of a baby girl. Flowers to remember a baby girl who died after a magpie swooping incident at  Glindemann Park in Holland Park West.

More than $130,000 has been raised for Mia's parents, Ms Francis and Jacob Power.

"Everything about Mia was perfect from her head full of hair, to her tiny little nose and her little long toes," the fundraising page reads.

"Mia's arrival made Jacob and Simone's lives complete, they constantly doted over her, showered her with love, and shared her for all their loved ones to adore.

"Beautiful she was, and loved by all who got to meet her. The joy Mia brought to all of our lives cannot be described in words, but is certainly felt in all of our hearts."

The bird, which has since been relocated, was a known menace to locals.

An "urgent" investigation by Brisbane City Council is underway, Mayor Adrian Schrinner said earlier this week, and a report will be prepared for the coroner.

Eight missing after tourist helicopter crashes into volcano

A helicopter carrying tourists plunged into a deep volcanic crater lake on the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia’s far east Thursday, and rescuers were searching in the lake for up to eight people missing, officials said. At least eight others reportedly survived.

The helicopter crashed in the Kronotsky nature reserve, and the regional administration said workers were searching for survivors in Kurile Lake, which was formed in a volcano caldera and crater.

Russia's Emergencies Ministry said 13 tourists and three crew members were aboard the Mi-8 helicopter and eight people survived, according to the state RIA Novosti news agency.

It said two of them were heavily injured.

READ MORE: Russia 'building new doomsday' plane to direct nuclear attack

The Interfax news agency, however, cited officials as saying the helicopter was carrying three crew members and 14 tourists when it went down in deep fog. Interfax initially quoted regional officials as saying that nine people, including two pilots, survived the crash, but later reported that only eight survivors were found while the search for the others is continuing.

The varying numbers could not be immediately reconciled. The reports did not list the nationalities of the tourists, but said that most of them were from Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Regional prosecutors were investigating a possible violation of flight safety rules.

The helicopter reportedly is lying at a depth of about 100 meters (328 feet) in Kurile Lake, which is up to 316 meters (1,037-feet) deep with an area of 77 square kilometers (30 square miles).

The helicopter, manufactured during the Soviet era 37 years ago, was operated by Vityaz-Aero, a local private carrier. Its director said it had recently undergone maintenance and was in good shape.

The Mi-8 is a two-engine helicopter designed in the 1960s. It has been used widely in Russia, ex-Soviet countries and many other nations.

READ MORE: Russia unveils new 'Checkmate' fighter jet

The area where the crash occurred can only be reached by helicopters and the fog was complicating rescue efforts, the RIA Novosti reported. Several local emergency workers, including three divers, were conducting rescue efforts, it said.

Kamchatka, the pristine peninsula which is home to numerous volcanoes is known for its rugged beauty and rich wildlife. The Kronotsky reserve, which has Russia’s only geyser basin, is a major tourist attraction on Kamchatka and helicopters regularly carry tourists there.

Quickly changing weather often makes flights risky. Last month, an An-26 passenger plane crashed on Kamchatka while approaching an airport in bad weather, killing all 28 people on board.

Russian news reports said Vityaz-Aero is half-owned by Igor Redkin, a millionaire businessman who is a member of the Kamchatka regional legislature. Redkin was placed under house arrest earlier this week after he shot and killed a man who was rummaging in a garbage bin. Redkin said the shooting was accidental after he mistook the victim for a bear.

There are an estimated 20,000 bears on Kamchatka, and they occasionally roam into settlements looking for food.