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Nation in brief

Old charts may be partly at fault in submarine hit

By wire services
Published January 16, 2005

WASHINGTON - Outdated charts may have been partially at fault for the undersea grounding of a U.S. nuclear submarine last weekend, according to a U.S. agency that analyzes spy satellite imagery and produces maps and charts for the Defense Department.

Officials at the Bethesda, Md.-based National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency said Saturday the main chart likely used by the USS San Francisco didn't reveal any obstacle anywhere near where the boat struck on the floor of the Pacific Ocean during underwater operations last Saturday about 350 miles south of Guam.

One sailor was killed and at least 23 suffered injuries including broken bones, cuts and bruises. The submarine has a crew of 137.

"The charts used today may not reflect the reality of what's actually on the ocean floor," said agency spokesman David Burpee, adding that the charts used today were charted with earlier technology and may not be up-to-date.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - A 92-foot crab boat with six crew members sank in the Bering Sea on Saturday, and the Coast Guard was searching for survivors.

Three crewmen have been recovered, a Coast Guard spokeswoman said, but she would not say whether they survived.

The Coast Guard received an "emergency position-indicating radio beacon" Saturday morning from the Big Valley, a crab boat out of Kodiak.

The signal indicated the vessel was 70 miles west of St. Paul Island, which is one of the Pribilof Islands and about 750 miles west of Anchorage.

WASHINGTON - The United States and India have reached an open-skies aviation agreement that will lead to more flights, lower fares and stronger economic ties between the countries, Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta announced Saturday.

The agreement comes after three days of negotiations between Mineta and India's civil aviation minister, Praful Patel.

Mineta said the agreement will strengthen commercial aviation in a number of ways, including more direct flights to serve the about 2-million passengers a year traveling between the countries.

MANTEO, N.C. - At least 22 pilot whales beached themselves on the coast early Saturday, and at least 17 of them died, officials said.

The whales were stranded along a 5-mile stretch of land near Oregon Inlet in the northern Outer Banks, said Laura Engleby, spokeswoman for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

It is not uncommon for pilot whales to beach themselves, but scientists do not know why. The pilot whale is a protected species but not endangered.

If biologists determine any of the whales are likely to survive, the Coast Guard will help move them back out to sea, said Petty Officer Donnie Brzuska.

Adult pilot whales can reach 20 feet long and weigh up to 3 tons.

UTAH AVALANCHE: Rescue workers spent Saturday digging through a massive snow pile but found no traces of five people feared dead in a 300-yard-wide, 500-yard-long avalanche near Park City, Utah, that cascaded down a Utah mountainside a day earlier. How many skiers were buried in the Friday afternoon snow slide remained unclear late Saturday afternoon. Sheriff's Capt. Alan Siddoway said officials knew of five people who were unaccounted for.

PLANT FIRE: Thousands of people evacuated because of a magnesium fire at an Anderson, Ind., recycling plant were allowed to return home Saturday, but the blaze could take days to burn itself out. The toxic fire erupted at the Advanced Magnesium Alloys Corp. plant Friday afternoon, said police Detective Terry Sollars. No injuries were reported. Authorities evacuated 3,000 to 5,000 people from an area about 1 mile wide and 2 miles long that fell in the path of the smoke, Sollars said. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officials conducted air-quality tests and determined Saturday afternoon that the fire no longer posed a health threat.

TRAIN WRECK: Thousands of residents evacuated from their homes after chlorine gas leaked from a train wreck more than a week ago in Graniteville, S.C., were back in their homes Saturday, but hundreds more waited to return. More than 4,000 of the 5,400 evacuated residents had returned to their homes by Saturday, officials said. Other residents' homes remained off-limits because they were closer to the chemical spill that killed nine people and injured 250 more on Jan. 6.

CALIF. STORMS: Seepage through a dam had stopped Saturday but most residents of Corona, Calif., remained out of their homes in a voluntary, precautionary evacuation. Although a mandatory evacuation was canceled, people were being urged to stay away from homes and a mobile home park until Monday afternoon while the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released millions of gallons of water to relieve pressure on the 64-year-old Prado Dam.

[Last modified January 16, 2005, 00:34:19]