Top Asian News 2:45 a.m. GMT

A bridge collapse at an Indian tourist site kills 2 and injures 32

NEW DELHI (AP) — At least two people died and 32 others were injured after an iron bridge over a river collapsed on Sunday at a popular tourist destination in India’s western Maharashtra state, the state’s top elected official said. At least six people were hospitalized in critical condition, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis wrote on the social media platform X. Local media reported that scores of tourists were on the bridge when it collapsed, plunging many into the swollen river. Fadnavis said six people were rescued and that an intense search operation was ongoing as some people were swept away. The incident occurred in Kundamala area in Pune district, which has witnessed heavy rains over the past few days, giving the river a steady flow, Press Trust of India reported.

Remains of Air India crash victims are handed over to relatives

AHMEDABAD, India (AP) — Authorities have started handing over remains of the victims of one of India’s worst aviation disasters, days after the Air India flight crashed and killed at least 270 people, officials said Sunday. The London-bound Boeing 787 struck a medical college hostel in a residential area of the northwestern city of Ahmedabad minutes after takeoff Thursday, killing 241 people on board and at least 29 on the ground. One passenger survived. Hundreds of relatives of the crash victims provided DNA samples at the hospital. Most of the bodies were charred or mutilated, making them unrecognizable. Rajneesh Patel, an official at the Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad, said authorities have so far identified 32 victims through DNA mapping and their families were informed.

Helicopter carrying Hindu pilgrims crashes in India’s Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, killing 7

LUCKNOW, India (AP) — A helicopter carrying Hindu pilgrims crashed on Sunday in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, killing seven people on board, officials said. The helicopter was headed to Guptkashi, a prominent Hindu pilgrimage site in the Himalayas, from Kedarnath temple town when it crashed minutes after taking off, officials said, on what should have been a 10-minute flight. Nandan Singh Rajwar, a local disaster management official, said authorities have launched a rescue and search operation following the helicopter crash. The helicopter, operated by Aryan Aviation, a private helicopter service company, went down in a forested area near the Kedarnath pilgrimage route at around 5:30 a.m.

Taiwan adds China’s Huawei and SMIC to export control list

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan’s Commerce Ministry has added Chinese chipmakers Huawei Technologies and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC) to its export control list, as trade and technology frictions between the self-ruled island, China and the United States increase. Inclusion on the “strategic high-tech commodities” list means Taiwanese companies will need to obtain export permits before selling goods to the respective companies. Other entities on the list include organizations such as the Taliban and al-Qaeda, as well as other companies in China, Iran and elsewhere. The export control entities list was last updated on Sunday. Neither Huawei nor SMIC initially commented on their inclusion.

King Charles III marks Air India tragedy at Trooping the Colour

LONDON (AP) — King Charles III and other members of the royal family in uniform wore black armbands and observed a moment of silence during his annual birthday parade Saturday as the monarch commemorated those who died in this week’s Air India plane crash. Charles requested the symbolic moves “as a mark of respect for the lives lost, the families in mourning and all the communities affected by this awful tragedy,” Buckingham Palace said. An Air India flight from the northwestern city of Ahmedabad to London crashed shortly after takeoff on Thursday, killing 241 people on board and at least 29 on the ground.

Sole survivor of Air India crash describes failed takeoff and disbelief at being alive

NEW DELHI (AP) — The lone passenger who survived an Air India crash couldn’t believe he was alive when he opened his eyes and was surrounded by flames, debris and charred bodies. Viswashkumar Ramesh, a British national of Indian origin, was on the flight headed to London that crashed minutes after taking off from India’s northwestern city of Ahmedabad on Thursday afternoon. The accident killed 241 people on board and at least 29 on the ground. Recovery teams working until late Friday found at least 25 more bodies in the debris, officials said. It was one of India’s worst aviation disasters and the first crash for a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner since the widebody, twin-engine planes went into service in 2009, according to the Aviation Safety Network database.

What to know about the Air India plane crash that killed more than 240 people

AHMEDABAD, India (AP) — The Air India plane crash this week was one of India’s worst aviation disasters, killing 241 people on board and several people on the ground. Indian authorities said Friday the investigation into the crash was underway and is expected to include experts from the plane’s maker Boeing and U.S. aviation regulators. The Air India plane crashed minutes after takeoff Thursday afternoon in the northwestern city of Ahmedabad. Surreal images captured both the plane’s last moments and the horror of the crash site, with rescuers picking through smoking debris as they searched for survivors. Here’s what is known about the crash: The lone survivor was a passenger, Vishwashkumar Ramesh, a British national of Indian origin.

News that one man survived the Air India plane crash weighs on some other sole survivors

News of the sole survivor of an Air India plane crash that killed the other 241 people aboard has led to endless online fascination, but it has also stirred up painful feelings for a handful of others who have had similar fates. Tens of thousands of people have searched for details about Vishwashkumar Ramesh since Thursday’s crash, according to Google Trends. People have commented on social media that the idea seems unreal, remarkable, a work of divine intervention, and a miracle. But it has happened more than a dozen times before. George Lamson Jr., who was the lone survivor of a Galaxy Airlines crash more than 40 years ago, said such stories always deeply affect him.

Australian man shot and killed at a villa on the tourist island of Bali

DENPASAR, Indonesia (AP) — Authorities were searching Saturday for two Australian gunmen suspected of fatally shooting an Australian tourist and injuring another at a villa on the Indonesian resort island of Bali. The shooting just after midnight on Friday at Villa Casa Santisya near Munggu Beach in the district of Badung killed Zivan Radmanovic, 32, from Melbourne. The second victim, who is 34 and also from Melbourne was beaten, said Badung Police chief Arif Batubara. “We cannot yet determine the motive,” Batubara said, adding that an investigation is underway. The two Australians were rushed to hospitals in Denpasar, the provincial capital.

Cambodia bans Thai movies and TV shows in latest border feud tit-for-tat

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia escalated its cold war with Thailand on Friday when it announced a ban on Thai movies and TV shows and a boycott of the neighboring country’s international internet links. Tensions between the Southeast Asian countries have soared since an armed confrontation in a border area on May 28 that each side blamed on the other and which left one Cambodian soldier dead. Cambodian officials said the import and screenings of Thai movies would be banned, and that broadcasters would be ordered not to air Thai-produced shows, which include popular soap operas. The government said it would inflict a financial blow on Thailand by rerouting its international internet traffic through other countries instead.