No survivors in plane crash
Authorities said Sunday there were no survivors among the 155 people aboard the Brazilian jetliner that crashed deep in the Amazon jungle, as rescue workers began to pull bodies out of the twisted wreckage.
The Boeing 737-800 apparently clipped a smaller executive jet midair Friday, crashing in jungle so dense that crews had to cut down trees Saturday to clear a space for rescue helicopters to land. The smaller plane – carrying Americans – safely landed at a nearby air force base.
The Brazilian air force said in a statement that all 155 people aboard the jetliner had died. Rescue workers had recovered two bodies by Sunday night, the statement said.
LAVAL, Quebec
Probe promised in bridge collapse
Quebec’s government said Sunday it would launch a public inquiry to determine why an overpass collapsed north of Montreal, crushing five people to death.
Visiting the accident site Sunday, Quebec Premier Jean Charest gave his condolences to the families of the victims and said an inquiry by a former provincial leader would seek to shed light on the disaster.
“The crushed cars were pulled out about 15 hours after Saturday’s lunchtime accident. Firefighters and other workers had to use cranes and other heavy machinery to break up the concrete into as many as 18 huge slabs to remove it.
Vehicles were crushed so badly they barely reached the knees of one firefighter when lifted from under tons of concrete rubble Sunday.
BRASILIA, Brazil
Election likely headed for runoff
Dogged by corruption accusations, Brazil’s leftist president was falling just short of the majority of votes needed to be re-elected Sunday and appeared headed toward a runoff with his chief rival, official results showed.
With 72 percent of the ballots counted, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had 49 percent of the vote compared to 41 percent for center-right Sao Paulo state Gov. Geraldo Alckmin, election authorities said.
Silva, who had been favored to win due to the economic stability and anti-poverty programs he brought to Brazil, needs 50 percent plus one vote to win the contest Sunday. If he fails to get that, he and Alckmin head to a runoff on Oct. 29.
SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina
Voters divided on nation’s course
Bosnians appeared split in key elections on the country’s future Sunday, with Muslims and Catholic Croats voting for politicians who want to unify the Balkan nation, but Serbs backing a candidate who advocates ethnic division, early results showed.
With up to 50 percent of the vote counted, election officials said it appeared that Nebojsa Radmanovic – whose party chief recently proposed a referendum that would allow Serb territories to secede – would win Orthodox Christian Serbs in Bosnia’s three-member presidency.
Officials said his counterparts looked likely to be strong advocates of a united Bosnia: Haris Silajdzic, who won election to the Muslim Bosniak seat, and Ivo Miro Jovic, who was leading a tight race for re-election as the Croat representative.
“I will do everything I can to enable Bosnian citizens to live a better life,” Silajdzic said after the partial results were announced Sunday, calling the election “an important step towards full democracy.”
Further results were to be announced today, the election commission said.
Compiled from news wires