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United Kingdom

Helicopter Crashes During London Rush Hour, At Least Two Dead

blogSourcesWORLDCRUNCHUnited KingdomCountries

BBC, SKY NEWS, THE GUARDIAN (UK)

Worldcrunch

LONDON - A helicopter crashed during London's morning rush hour on Wednesday, killing two people and wounding 11 others.

The incident happened at St George’s Wharf on the River Thames near Vauxhall, in southern London. According to The Guardian the helicopter hit a crane on a building site.

Scotland Yard has confirmed two deaths so far in the crash and 11 other people have been taken to hospital. Of the two fatalities, one was travelling in the helicopter and of the eleven injured, only one is critically injured.

The Guardian reports that Metropolitan Police have evacuated offices around the scene as the crane is in a “precarious position.” BBC reports that the RNLI (Lifeboat Services) are now searching the river after reported sightings of a person.

Aviation expert, Chris Yates told Sky News that any tall structure must have a warning light on top to alert pilots. The question is whether there was a warning light on the crane and whether the pilot would have been able to see it in the foggy conditions this morning. The circumstances are not yet known – whether there was a problem with the helicopter itself, or whether the pilot misread his instructions or received false instructions from air traffic control.

The incident occurred shortly after 8 A.M. local time, and many commuters witnessed the incident. A train happened to be crossing the bridge at the same time as the crash, with a lot of people posting pictures and videos on social media sites. Many told the BBC that a huge explosion was heard and then they saw a ball of fire.

Mad! RT @oog: Here's a very clear picture of the crane at #vauxhalltwitter.com/Oog/status/291…

— Jme (Jamie Adenuga) (@JmeBBK) January 16, 2013

Heard a massive bang, major fire on Wandsworth Rd, police, fire brigade everywhere.Roads closed #Vauxhall#NineElmstwitter.com/ColinDKavanagh…

— Colin Kavanagh (@ColinDKavanagh) January 16, 2013

#vauxhall#helicopter RT @vctrjmnz: A helicopter crashed minutes ago on Wandsworth road twitter.com/vctrjmnz/statu…

— Lawrence (@leisuresuitlawl) January 16, 2013

2 dead in #helicopter crash in #Vauxhall, South London - latest update .. m.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-englan…twitter.com/ADELiCi0US/sta…

— Adelyn xo (@ADELiCi0US) January 16, 2013

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Coronavirus
covid-19

Why Making COVID Predictions Is Actually Getting Harder

We know more about COVID than ever before, but that doesn't make it easier to predict what will happen this year. It also remains to be seen if we'll put the lessons we learned into practice.

​A young boy who arrived on a Cathay Pacific flight from Hong Kong wears a face mask and face shield at Vancouver International Airport in Canada on Jan. 10, 2023.

A young boy who arrived from Hong Kong wears a face mask and face shield at Vancouver International Airport in Canada on Jan. 10, 2023.

Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via ZUMA Press
CoronavirusTHE CONVERSATIONSourcesEuropefeatured-postUnited KingdomCountries
Duncan Robertson

In 2020, we knew very little about the novel virus that was to become known as COVID-19. Now, as we enter 2023, a search of Google Scholar produces around five million results containing the term.

So how will the pandemic be felt in 2023? This question is in some ways impossible to answer, given a number of unknowns. In early 2020, the scientific community was focused on determining key parameters that could be used to make projections as to the severity and extent of the spread of the virus. Now, the complex interplay of COVID variants, vaccination and natural immunity makes that process far more difficult and less predictable.

But this doesn’t mean there’s room for complacency. The proportion of people estimated to be infected has varied over time, but this figure has not fallen below 1.25% (or one in 80 people) in England for the entirety of 2022. COVID is very much still with us, and people are being infected time and time again.

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