Six kids die in Chicago fire; candle is suspected as cause
Chicago – Children screamed, “We’re burning!” early Sunday as an apartment fire, likely caused by a candle used for light because there was no electricity, killed six children ages 3 to 14, authorities said.
The victims’ mother and three siblings were injured.
The third-floor, three-bedroom apartment on the city’s North Side had no smoke detector, said visibly shaken Fire Commissioner Raymond Orozco.
“This is the largest multiple fire fatality we’ve had from a single fire in quite a few years. I mean, it’s children. It’s difficult for everyone involved,” Orozco said.
Commonwealth Edison spokesman John Dewey said the apartment hadn’t had electricity since May, but he wouldn’t say why it was turned off, citing confidentiality reasons.
Firefighters found most of the children huddled in the apartment’s front room, not far from the spot where the fire probably started, said Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford.
“It appears that candles were used in the apartment, and right now our preliminary cause is that the candles were the cause of origin,” Orozco said.
The fire broke out just after midnight, Langford said.
CASSADAGA, N.Y.
One of two troopers shot by fugitive dies
One of two troopers ambushed while searching for an escaped convict died Sunday of his injuries, New York State Police said.
Joseph Longobardo was shot in the leg Thursday night while staking out the property of a former girlfriend of Ralph “Bucky” Phillips.
State police warn that Phillips, who has been on the run for five months, could hurt anyone who gets in his way. Phillips, 44, cut his way out of an Erie County jail with a can opener.
Longobardo, 32, died at Erie County Medical Center in Buffalo, officials said.
Troopers held a candlelight vigil Sunday for Longobardo and Donald Baker Jr., 38, who was shot in the back. Baker remained in critical condition, police said.
WILLIS, Okla.
Probe to reconstruct boats in deadly crash
Investigators plan to reconstruct two speedboats that collided on Lake Texoma to gather clues about the crash that left five people dead and one injured, authorities said Sunday.
The boats collided Saturday during the “Highroller Poker Run,” in which participants get a playing card at five different stops and win if they have the best poker hand at the end, said Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper Kera Philippi.
One of the victims, Gordon Mineo, had organized the poker run. The victims were Myra L. Gibson, 51; Ann Mineo, 59; and Gordon Mineo, 61, of Rockwall, Texas; and Amy Dawn Lane, 31, and Justin R. Lane, 25, of Little Elm, Texas.
DULUTH, Minn.
Smoke causes plane’s emergency landing
A Northwest Airlines flight to London made an emergency landing after smoke was reported in the cabin, and passengers waited aboard for nearly 10 hours before the trip was canceled early Sunday.
Flight 44 from Minneapolis landed without incident just before 9:50 p.m. Saturday at Duluth International Airport, as airport firetrucks stood by. Passengers remained aboard until about 7:30 a.m. Sunday.
No injuries were reported among the 255 passengers and 10 crew members.
Northwest’s manager in Duluth, Doug Wood, said it appears the smoke was electrical in nature. Mechanics fixed the problem, but because the flight crew was running out of its allowed time, the flight was canceled.
The passengers returned to Minneapolis and were put up in hotels.
LONDON
Detectives search Islamic school
Detectives searched an Islamic school among other sites across London on Sunday following raids to round up suspects accused of running terrorist training camps in Britain, police said.
Forensic specialists were sweeping buildings and woodlands of the Jameah Islameah School 40 miles south of London and planned to search a lake on the grounds, police said.
Charles Hendry, a lawmaker representing the area where the school is located, said the jailed radical cleric Abu Hamza al- Masri had visited the school with a group of followers. Al-Masri is serving a seven-year prison sentence for inciting his followers to kill non-Muslims.
ANKARA, Turkey
Tea garden bomb kills two, including a cop
A remote-controlled bomb exploded Sunday in a tea garden in southeastern Turkey, killing two people and wounding seven, a local government official said.
The blast in the town of Catak, near the border with Iran, occurred as police arrived at the scene to investigate a suspicious package at the outdoor cafe, where people drink tea, eat snacks and play backgammon.
Autonomy-seeking Kurdish rebels were suspected of being behind the bombing, a police official said.
Two people, including a police officer, died of injuries in the hospital, the official said.
Last week, a Kurdish militant group believed to be linked to the main guerrilla group, the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, claimed responsibility for a wave of bombings in tourist resorts and in Istanbul that left three people dead and dozens injured, including 10 Britons and other tourists.
