Explosion levels W.Va. gas station, killing 4 people; at least 5 others hurt

By: Associated Press Writer - | Tuesday, January 30, 2007 7:43 PM PST ∞

GHENT, W.Va. -- William Manning stopped at a convenience store near his home Tuesday to buy cigarettes, coffee and gasoline. As he often does, the bartender joked around with a neighbor who worked there before heading home.

Hours later, he returned to the store to carry his neighbor to an ambulance after fumes from a leaking propane tank exploded inside the business, shattering the building into a pile of debris and killing at least four people.

"I barely recognized her. I couldn't believe it was her," said Manning, who cried as he spoke.

Manning, who works at a nearby tavern, heard the blast from his home four miles away. Thinking of his neighbor, he drove to the scene, where the store had been reduced to a heap of debris and twisted metal, with a sign still showing the price of gasoline.

Manning recalled kidding around with his neighbor, whom he declined to identify. "I joke around with those people every day," he said. "They're the best people."

At least five others were seriously hurt in the blast, which blew candy and hot dog wrappers into trees 200 to 300 yards from the store. The explosion was felt at least a mile away at a store selling skiing gear.

"I thought we got struck by lightning. The whole building shook. The power went off," said Ben Monast, manager of the Ski Shop.

Authorities said the explosion happened just as a fire truck was pulling into the station in response to a reported gas leak. The fatalities included a paramedic and a retired firefighter who was also a building inspector.

State Fire Marshal Sterling Lewis said an above-ground tank capable of holding 500 pounds of propane was being worked on at the time of the blast. The gas apparently drifted into the business and exploded.

"It is our initial thought that the fumes entered into the building and had to have an ignition point," Lewis said.

The propane tank and the store's underground gasoline tanks did not explode, he said.

"Imagine putting off an explosion in your home and when you walked up to your home, the only thing you have left is toothpicks," Lewis said.

Keli Akers said she was driving to her house about a mile from the gas station Tuesday when she began to smell propane. When she got home, she saw debris from the store falling into her yard.

Akers said her mother "felt a huge jolt" at the time of the blast.

Akers tried to drive to the scene, but she could get no further than a nearby elementary school because roads were closed. The school was also damaged.

"I know people there," she said. "But it's not just the people who work there. Everyone goes there. Anyone could have been there."

Gov. Joe Manchin met privately with victims' families at the Ghent Volunteer Fire Department. The Washington, D.C.-based U.S. Chemical Safety Board said it was sending a team to assess the site. The board makes safety recommendations to industry, labor groups and regulatory agencies.

The victims' names were not immediately released.

The gas station was about 70 miles southeast of Charleston.

Litvinenko photo used in Russian target practice

MOSCOW (AP) -- The head of a center that trains security personnel and held a competition for Russian special forces confirmed Tuesday that it has used shooting targets showing the photo of a former agent who was fatally poisoned in London last year.

However, Sergei Lysyuk, head of the Vityaz Center, said he had been unaware that the photo target showed the poisoned ex-agent, Alexander Litvinenko.

"The fact that it was Litvinenko, we only found out later from the press," Lysyuk told The Associated Press. "We did not shoot at Litvinenko, we shot at a target."

Russian media this week published photographs of Sergei Mironov, head of the Russian parliament's upper house, visiting the center in early November. His visit, to present awards in a competition for Interior Ministry special forces, came about a week after Litvinenko fell ill; one photo shows the Litvinenko target in the background.

Lysyuk insisted his company held the contest only as a favor to former Interior Ministry colleagues, whose own training ground was being repaired.

A promotional video by Vityaz circulating on the Internet, which first appeared on the Polish news Web site Dziennik.pl, also shows trainees in camouflage shooting at a Litvinenko target, but Lysyuk said the video was made in 2002 and that the trainees were men about to enter the military.

Litvinenko, once an agent in the Federal Security Service, the Soviet KGB's main successor, fled to Britain and was granted asylum after accusing his superiors in 1998 of ordering him to kill Boris Berezovsky, a Russian tycoon and one-time Kremlin insider who also has been granted British citizenship.

In exile, he became a vocal opponent of President Vladimir Putin and accused him in a deathbed statement of masterminding the poisoning. The Kremlin has vehemently denied any involvement in Litvinenko's death.

Dmitry Peskov, a senior Kremlin spokesman, said using a person's face as a shooting range "was ethically incorrect," but stressed it was that company's responsibility and insisted government troops were not involved in the exercises.

-- Associated Press Writer Maria Danilova contributed to this report.

Ice climber falls 200 feet to his death

PROVO, Utah (AP) -- An ice climber fell 200 feet to his death Tuesday near Bridal Veil Falls up Provo Canyon.

The man, who was accompanied by two climbers, apparently fell from the upper tier of an ice formation known as "stairway to heaven," Utah County sheriff's spokesman Dennis Harris said.

The other climbers were able to reach him after the fall, but he had severe head injuries and died at the scene, Harris said.

He said the man, whose identity was not released, was wearing safety gear, including a helmet. It was not immediately known what caused the fall.

The area is popular for ice climbing. The sheriff's office had to use a loudspeaker to tell four other climbers above the scene to stop while the man's body was recovered, Harris said.

"We have people climbing there all times of the night," he said.

67-year-old tricks fertility doctor into helping her have children

LOS ANGELES - Dr. Vicken Sahakian helped 67-year-old retired Spanish department store clerk Carmela Bousada make history by becoming the world's oldest new mother. But he isn't celebrating.

"Congratulations? It was unintentionally successful," Sahakian, who runs a fertility clinic in Westwood Village, told the Los Angeles Times.

He said he was tricked into helping the woman become pregnant.

"She lied to me. She falsified records, knowing my cutoff for single women is 55... I don't think the last chapter has been closed, either. She could die 10 years from now. What will happen to the children?"

Bousada gave birth to twin boys Dec. 29 in Barcelona. Over the weekend, the single mother admitted to European reporters that she had deceived Sahakian in order to become pregnant.

The birth of 3-pound, 7-ounce Pau and 3-pound, 5-ounce Christian -- both premature -- is roiling the world of fertility medicine and raising the question: How old is too old?

Bousada told London's News of the World newspaper in an interview published Sunday that age shouldn't be a barrier to becoming a new mother.

"Everyone has to have children at the right time for them. This was the right time for me," she said. "It was something I've always dreamed of."

Bousada is living with her infant sons in a one-bedroom apartment after selling her home for about $60,000 to pay the cost of traveling to the United States and in-vitro fertilization, according to the British press. Her Pacific Fertility medical costs came to about $10,000 in doctor fees, plus $30,000 for the egg donation, The Times reported.

---- North County Times wire services

Coast Guard aiding drifting vessel

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- The Coast Guard was assisting a disabled cargo ship drifting in 20-foot seas of the North Pacific on Tuesday with two injured crew members on board.

The 938-foot Hyundai Confidence ran into trouble when a crane fell into the engine while the vessel was being tossed in heavy seas, said Lt. Cmdr. Shawn Mauldin. The crew notified the Coast Guard shortly before 1 a.m. Tuesday.

The injuries are not considered life-threatening, Mauldin said. One of the crew members has a broken arm and leg, and the other has a sprained ankle. No medical assistance was requested, according to Mauldin.

Some of the 23-member crew were trying to repair the engine and periodically using an emergency engine to stabilize the vessel in the rough seas, officials said.

A Coast Guard C-130 transport plane was first at the scene, about 880 miles south of Kodiak.

Two Coast Guard cutters also were heading there. One was expected to arrive Thursday and the other on Saturday.

Meanwhile, a civilian vessel was responding to an urgent marine broadcast and expected to arrive Tuesday afternoon.

The Coast Guard also was waiting to hear if a tug had been contracted by Hyundai Merchant Marine, which owns the Panama-flagged Hyundai Confidence.

The Coast Guard didn't know what cargo the ship was carrying to Long Beach, Calif., according to Mauldin.

The ship was on its way from Busan, Korea.

College student jailed for 2 days after reporting rape; police found old warrant

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- A woman who told police she had been raped was jailed for two days after officers found an old warrant accusing her of failing to pay restitution for a 2003 theft arrest.

While she was behind bars, according to the college student's attorney, a jail worker refused to give her a second dose of the morning-after contraceptive pill because of the worker's religious convictions.

The 21-year-old woman was released Monday only after attorney Vic Moore reported her plight to the local media.

"Shocked. Stunned. Outraged. I don't have words to describe it," Moore said. "She is not a victim of any one person. She is a victim of the system. There's just got to be some humanity involved when it's a victim of rape."

Moore said the woman was not allowed to take the second emergency contraceptive pill until Monday afternoon, a day late, after reporters called police and jail officials.

Tampa police said they were changing their policy to give officers more discretion on when to arrest a crime victim who has outstanding warrants.

"Obviously, any policy that allows a sexual battery victim to spend a night in jail is a flawed policy," police spokeswoman Laura McElroy said. "So our city attorney is writing a new policy right now."

The woman is not being identified by The Associated Press because she reported being the victim of a sex crime.

Moore said it was too soon to say if his client would sue. Her first priority was making sure detectives find her attacker.

"She is brave," Moore said. "We are going to work with police to catch this monster."

She was in Tampa on Saturday for Gasparilla, an annual pirate-themed parade that draws thousands of people. She said she was walking alone to her car when a man pulled her behind a building and raped her, McElroy said.

She reported the rape Saturday afternoon, and officers took her to a rape crisis center where she was given the first of two doses of the morning-after pill, McElroy said. The second dose is supposed to be taken within 24 hours.

Later, as she was riding in a patrol car trying to locate the crime scene in the dark, police found the warrant stemming from a 2003 juvenile arrest for grand theft and burglary. It said she owed $4,585.

"They stopped the investigation right there," and put her in handcuffs, Moore said.

Authorities arranged a special bond hearing Monday. "When the chief's office learned we had a rape victim in jail, we began working very aggressively to get her out," McElroy said.

Jennifer Dritt, executive director of the Florida Council Against Sexual Violence, wanted more explanation from the jail, saying the woman's arrest "makes people think law enforcement doesn't have a victim-centered approach."

Moore said his client believes she paid the fine for what he described as a childish mistake. He didn't have details of that arrest, but the woman has no criminal history as an adult, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

The sheriff's office, which runs the jail, said in a statement Tuesday that it is investigating the complaint and declined to comment further.

Skyscraper builders battle San Jose airport over flight clearance

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- Skyscraper developers in America's 10th largest city envision a downtown teeming with condos, retail establishments and office complexes.

But airport safety experts say San Jose's vertical growth endangers pilots and travelers because jets need more clearance when they lift off from Mineta San Jose International Airport, located only minutes from downtown.

San Jose's planning department is considering a proposal that would require at least a dozen skyscrapers planned for downtown San Jose to be shorter. To the annoyance of developers planning luxury penthouses in hotels and condos, an independent consultant recommended late last year that some buildings shrink by several floors.

"We want to have a lot more people living and working in downtown," said Scott Knies, executive director of the San Jose Downtown Association. If the new policy kicks in, "we may not be able to have that."

But airport officials say San Jose would lose potential international flights and even some cross-country flights if buildings were so high that pilots didn't feel comfortable flying over them.

The "skyscraper versus airplane" problem has taken on new urgency in the last two years as San Jose and other fast-growing Western cities seek to have denser population centers with taller buildings. At the same time, airplanes are being designed with fewer engines for greater fuel efficiency, causing them to need more clearance room in engine emergencies.

Sea Launch Co. suffers failure during launch of satellite

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A Sea Launch Co. rocket carrying a commercial communications satellite failed Tuesday during launch operations aboard an oceangoing platform in the equatorial Pacific, the company said.

The Boeing-built NSS-8 satellite was intended for Netherlands-based SES New Skies.

Details of what actually occurred were not immediately released.

"The Sea Launch Zenit-3SL vehicle, carrying the NSS-8 satellite, experienced an anomaly today during launch operations. Sea Launch will establish a Failure Review Oversight Board to determine the root cause of this anomaly," said a statement posted on the Web site of Long Beach, Calif.-based Sea Launch Co.

A Webcast of the launch was halted and replaced with the message: "Anomally on NSS-8 mission. Broadcast concluded."

U.N.'s first women-only peacekeeping contingent arrives in Liberia

MONROVIA, Liberia (AP) -- The United Nation's first women-only peacekeeping contingent -- made up about 100 Indian policewomen -- arrived in Liberia Tuesday, officials said.

Ben Malor, spokesman for the U.N.'s 15,000-strong peacekeeping force in the West African country, said the force will be stationed in the capital.

Women have served in many U.N. peacekeeping forces, but this is the first women-only group. Members of the group have said they hope their unit will be seen as more approachable by women and children in conflict zones.

Last year relief groups in Liberia accused U.N. peacekeepers and aid workers of trading food for sex with girls left homeless by war. The United Nations has since instituted strong policies to prevent sexual exploitation in the country.

About 20 men were accompanying the group of 103 women to provide logistical support, according to a U.N. statement.

About 200,000 Liberians are believed to have been killed in the 1989-2003 civil war, which also displaced half the country's 3 million people. The country -- created to settle freed American slaves in 1847 -- is still struggling to recover.

The U.N. peacekeeping mission has been present in Liberia since a 2003 peace deal ended the fighting.

Former Guantanamo detainee writes memoir after release to Germany

BERLIN (AP) -- A German-born Turkish man who was held for years at Guantanamo Bay has written a memoir about his time at the U.S. prison, a publisher said Tuesday.

The case of Murat Kurnaz, 24, has been at the center of a political furor in recent days, amid allegations that the government of former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder spurned an early U.S. offer to free him.

His 256-page book, titled "Five Years of My Life: A Report from Guantanamo," is scheduled for release April 23, the Rowohlt publishing house said in a statement. It said Kurnaz worked with a writer, Helmut Kuhn, on the memoir.

Kurnaz was detained in Pakistan in 2001, turned over to U.S. authorities and held at Guantanamo as a terror suspect. He was released in 2006 and returned to Germany after a U.S. federal judge found that evidence did not justify his detention and Chancellor Angela Merkel intervened.

Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who was Schroeder's chief of staff, has faced allegations that the chancellery and other departments blocked Kurnaz's early return.

Last week, a report from a European Parliament committee said that, "according to confidential information," Berlin did not accept a U.S. offer in 2002 to release him. Steinmeier, however, has insisted that he knew of no "official offer."