Tourism leaders are backing a bid to build a chair lift for mountain bikers at a centre near Neath in Wales.
The chair lift would be the very first in Wales and located in the The Afan Valley which was recently voted one of the top ten destinations in the world by mountain bike enthusiasts.
The idea is nothing new as ski lifts in Europe are already used during summer months to help people avoid pedaling uphill so they are able to cover more routes in a day. This is just one benefit that is helping to gain support to build the chair lift.
If the lift is ever completed it will take its passengers up the 2,000ft valley allowing them far more time to enjoy the tracks.
The Afan Valley is home to a network of mountain bike routes and attracts visitors from across the UK and beyond.
Two elevators carrying 31 miners plunged after brake failure. 26 people were killed in a mine accident at the tin-ore mine in Lengshuijiang city, central Hunan Province.
The accident occurred on the Oct 8th when brake failure on 2 elevators caused the elevators to plunge back down the mine. The elevator cars were carrying 31 passengers in total, 26 of which perished in the accident.
In total 3,215 people died in China’s coal mines last year which is actually a 15 percent drop on the figures from the year before. The problem is mainly due to 80 percent of the country’s 16,000 mines being illegal and therefore not monitored for safety. Mine accidents are very common in China.
Three coal miners were rescued from a northwest China coal mine after being trapped underground for eight days, state media reports.
A local newspaper reported three men were taken to hospital and were said to be in a stable state.
The men had been tapped in the mine shaft in Shanxi province since an accident on the site eight days earlier. 27 workers were in the shaft at the time of the incident, 24 escaped – leaving the three unfortunate workers trapped.
A cross border tunnel used to smuggle contraband into the United States from South America was discovered last Wednesday just west of the Otay Mesa Point of Entry, complete with its own elevator and lighting system.
Acting on a tip received from a U.S agency, Mexican authorities located the tunnel and detained up to 12 people inside.
The tunnel was around 1,000 feet long, 860 feet of which were in the United States although did not have an opening on the U.S side. Amazingly the tunnel was about 90 to 100 feet deep in some areas and its thought that the tunnel has been in construction for at least two years.
Smugglers have been digging under the border to the U.S for years to avoid detection at border crossings. Officials on both sides say they have seen a rise in tunnel discoveries since 9/11 when heightened security has seen drug smugglers come up with more elaborate ways to move contraband.
The tunnels have also become increasingly sophisticated, with elevators to move large amounts of contraband and ventilation systems so people can long amounts of time underground.
An elevator service company has been named in a $30 million wrongful death lawsuit in San Francisco. The lawsuit has been filed by the mother of a man who mysteriously fell to his death last year in a San Francisco elevator shaft.
Ian Zimmerman, the attorney for Dan Kliman’s mother, Edith, said “As far as I can tell, with the very limited information I have in front of me, I believe the evidence is pointing in the direction of a negligently maintained and serviced elevator.”
Intriguingly the attorneys pending lawsuit named Scott and Elisa Stephens the owner of the buildings. The management company is called Coast Counties Management, Inc and the elevators in the building are maintained by Kone Elevator Company.
Dr. Dan Kliman was found on Thanksgiving of last year dead at the bottom of the elevator shaft. There were originally suspicions from his fellow pro-Israel activists that he had been murdered and this is a possibility that Zimmerman refuses to abandon.
Zimmerman says there are only two probable answers to what occurred: Foul play or a faulty elevator. And without investigating a massive amount of documents that may prove the one, he cannot disprove the other.
Companies trading mobility aids for people with disabilities, such as stairlifts, mobility scooters and bath lifts tend to pressurize and bulldoze people into purchasing costly and inappropriate equipment without reviewing the user’s needs or situation, according to top reviewing organization Which?.
The mobility market is flushed with pressured sales tactics and obscure pricing such as “discounts” and “free gifts” as well as some companies even falsely using “expert opinion” to sell their products.
There seems to be more cases like these appearing all the time. With companies looking to save and cut back on spending some of these companies are turning to more and more high pressured sales tactics to get people to sign up for items they do not need.
It’s very important to have a full review to see if you need a mobility aid or you may be wasting your money. Don’t by anything from salesmen that turn up at your door.
