M A I N   N E W S

113 killed in Paris air crash

PARIS, July 25 (PTI) — In the first aviation disaster involving a Concorde, an Air France supersonic jet crashed near Charles de Gaulle Airport here this afternoon minutes after takeoff killing at least 113 persons, mostly German tourists.

The New York-bound plane carrying 100 German tourists, including 97 adults, three minors and a nine-member crew, crashed into a hotel and restaurant in the town of Gonesse, north of Paris, exploding into flames that spread to the hotel.

Official sources said 113 persons had been killed and the toll was likely to increase.

The Germans on board were going to New York to join a 16-day cruise to Manta in Ecuador.

Those killed included four persons in the hotel, officials said. There is one survivor from the crash, they said.

The officials said this was the first time that a Concorde has been involved in the aircrash. The accident, the first involving a Concorde, occurred at 4:45 pm local time (8.15 IST).

British Airways plans to withdraw the Concorde from service in the next 15 to 20 years, while Air France has said it will use the airliner “at least until 2017.”

Small cracks, said to be “microscopic” in size, were detected a few months ago in all seven British Concordes, a British Airways spokeswoman said on Monday.

Two lockers opened
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, July 25 — Two lockers, one belonging to a cricketer, were opened by the Income Tax Department here today, setting in the process of examining the contents of a large number of lockers sealed during the countrywide raids last week against cricketers, board officials and bookies.

“We have opened two lockers — one belonging to a cricketer and another of an associate — in Delhi today,” the Director-General (Investigations), Income Tax, Mr S C Parija, said here.

Sources indicated that the locker which was opened today belonged to Manoj Prabhakar.

The coach of the Indian team, Kapil Dev, has sought two days time to accompany the income tax officials to the bank for opening the lockers, sources added.

The IT Department has identified 17 lockers in Delhi belonging to cricketers and bookies.

When asked whether the IT department had come across any property/bank account of those persons raided last week, Mr Parija said, “There are some indications.”