• Air India pilot fails two breathalyser tests.
• Reports for duty while being under influence.
• Airline confirms bringing in alternative pilot.

NEW DELHI: Canada’s transport regulator has asked Air India to investigate an incident of a pilot reporting for duty under the influence of alcohol and failing two breathalyser tests, a person familiar with the matter said.

The tests were conducted by Canadian police at Vancouver International Airport, after the pilot was asked to leave the aircraft, the person said.

The incident was labelled as a “serious matter” by Transport Canada in a letter to Air India and authorities are likely to pursue enforcement action, the person added.

The person requested anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to the media. Transport Canada did not respond to an emailed request for comment outside regular working hours.

In a statement, Air India confirmed the flight from Vancouver to Delhi on December 23 experienced a last-minute delay due to the incident, adding that an alternate pilot was brought in to operate the flight.

“The pilot has been taken off flying duties during the process of enquiry. Air India maintains a zero-tolerance policy towards any violation of applicable rules and regulations,” Air India said.

“Pending the outcome of the investigation, any confirmed violation will attract strict disciplinary action in line with company policy.”

The letter from Transport Canada official Ajit Oommen has asked Air India to provide its findings and details of steps taken to prevent future occurrences by January 26, the person familiar with the matter said.

India has been under intense scrutiny since the June 12 crash of a Boeing Dreamliner killed 260 people. India’s aviation regulator has flagged multiple safety lapses at the airline, which was previously owned by the government until 2022.

Pilots at Air India, owned by Tata Group and Singapore Airlines have also come under scrutiny. This week, India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation sent warning notices to four Air India pilots, flagging “serious safety concerns” related to regulatory compliance and flight crew decision-making.

The DGCA said the pilots accepted an aircraft for operation last year despite prior knowledge of “repeated snags” and “existing systems degradations,” according to warning notices dated December 29 seen by Reuters. The aircraft is a Boeing 787 used for long-haul flights, according to Flightradar24.

• Police say victim identification may take days or weeks.
• Cause unclear; authorities rule out an attack.
• Witnesses point to sparklers on champagne bottles as trigger.

CRANS-MONTANA: Investigators raced on Friday to identify the victims of a fire that ripped through a bar in the Swiss Alps town of Crans-Montana, turning a New Year’s celebration into one of the country’s worst tragedies.

It is not yet clear what set off the blaze at Le Constellation, killing around 40 people and injuring at least 115 others, many seriously.

Bystanders described scenes of panic and chaos as people tried to break the windows to escape and others, covered in burns, poured into the street.

Swiss police warned it could take days or even weeks to identify everyone who perished, leaving an agonising wait for family and friends.

“We’ve tried to reach our friends. We took loads of photos and posted them on Instagram, Facebook, all possible social networks to try to find them,” said Eleonore, 17. “But there’s nothing. No response.”

“Even the parents don’t know,” she added.

The exact number of people who were at the bar when it went up in flames remains unclear, and police have not specified how many are still missing.

Le Constellation had a capacity of 300 people, plus another 40 people on its terrace, according to the Crans-Montana website.

Swiss President Guy Parmelin, who took over on Thursday, called the fire “a calamity of unprecedented, terrifying proportions” and announced that flags would be flown at half mast for five days.

He said authorities were “in close contact with the victims’ families, whom we are informing in real time, as well as with the various embassies involved”.

“Given the international nature of the Crans resort, we can expect foreign nationals to be among the victims,” he told reporters.

The canton’s chief prosecutor, Beatrice Pilloud, said significant resources have been deployed “to identify the victims and return their bodies to the families as quickly as possible”.

‘The apocalypse’

The fire broke out around 1:30am (0030 GMT) Thursday at Le Constellation, a bar popular with young tourists.

“We thought it was just a small fire — but when we got there, it was war,” Mathys, from neighbouring Chermignon-d’en-Bas, told AFP. “That’s the only word I can use to describe it: the apocalypse. It was terrible.”

Authorities have declined to speculate on what caused the tragedy, saying only that it was not an attack.

Several witness accounts, broadcast by Swiss, French and Italian media, meanwhile, pointed to sparklers that were apparently mounted on champagne bottles held aloft by restaurant staff as part of a regular “show” for patrons who made special orders to their tables.

There were “waitresses with champagne bottles and little sparklers. They got too close to the ceiling, and suddenly it all caught fire”, Axel, a witness present at the time of the incident, told the Italian media outlet Local Team.

Pilloud said the investigation would look into whether the bar met safety standards and had the required number of exits.

Red and white caution tape, flowers and candles adorned the street where the tragedy occurred, while police shielded the site with white screens.

After the emergency units at the local hospitals filled up, many of the injured were transported across Switzerland and to neighbouring countries.

The European Union said it has been in contact with Swiss authorities about providing medical assistance, while French President Emmanuel Macron said some of the injured were being cared for in French hospitals.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told Italian broadcaster Rete 4 that around 15 Italians had been injured in the fire, and a similar number remained missing.

The French foreign ministry said nine French citizens figured among the injured, and eight others remained unaccounted for.

Multiple sources told AFP that the bar owners are French nationals: a couple originally from Corsica who, according to a relative, are safe, but have been unreachable since the tragedy.

Doctor Faiqa Aftab Qureshi, 75, was killed in a fatal car accident in the Dinwiddie County of Virginia, United States on Friday.

The authorities are reportedly investigating the single-vehicle crash on northbound Interstate 85.

Virginia State Police reported that troopers were dispatched at approximately 9am on Friday, December 26, to investigate the accident, roughly 2.5 miles north of McKenney Highway in Dinwiddie County.

Authorities said a 2024 Lexus RX 350 operated by a female driver veered off the left side of the highway and subsequently caught fire. Qureshi was declared deceased at the scene.

The incident remains under investigation. The deceased, identified as Dr Faiqa Aftab Qureshi, was a pediatric emergency expert, reportedly working at Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters.

Dr Faiqa was the daughter of late Air Marshal Nur Khan and an alumna and teacher of King Edward Medical University (KEMU), Lahore. She graduated from the university in 1973.