Nov. 24–29 The Black Sea: A cargo ship carrying 14,600 sheep toward Saudi Arabia overturned on Nov. 24. The 21 crew members were rescued with no serious injuries, and a rescue operation involving over 100 people per day continued until Nov. 29 to search for the sheep. Officials do not know what caused the ship to capsize, but Gabriel Paun of Animals International, a non-governmental organization dedicated to protecting animals, believes the ship was overloaded. Of the 14,600 sheep onboard the cargo ship at the time of the accident, 256 were rescued alive by the end of the search and rescue mission, according to The New York Times.
Nov. 25 Mendoza, Argentina: An Argentine court sentenced two priests and a gardener to prison for the sexual assault of students at the Catholic church-owned Antonio Provolo Institute for Deaf and Hearing Impaired Children. After the allegations surfaced in 2016, the 10 known survivors of the sexual assaults, both men and women who attended the school between 2005 and 2016, testified in court against the priests and the gardener. Reverend Nicola Bruno Corradi Soliman, an Italian priest, will serve 42 years in prison while Reverend Horacio Hugo Corbacho Blanck from Argentina, who had photographs of a naked student on his computer in addition to the sexual assault allegations, will be in prison for 45 years. The gardener, Armando Ramón Gómez Bravo, will serve 18 years for his involvement in the crimes.
Nov. 27 Kingston, Canada: A Piper PA-32 plane crashed and killed all seven passengers on board. It is unknown what caused the plane to crash, but investigators suspect extreme weather conditions were a contributing factor. The plane crashed a few miles from the Kingston airport, according to AP News. Aboard the plane was a family from Texas, including the husband, wife and their three children. A couple living in Toronto at the time also died in the crash. The New York Times reported the plane was registered in the United States, so Canadian authorities are working with the U.S. to determine the cause of the crash.
Nov. 29 The Hague, The Netherlands: A man stabbed three teenagers on Grote Markt Street while they were participating in Black Friday shopping. The teenagers were two 15-year-old girls and one 13-year-old boy; all three received treatment at the hospital and were later released. After the incident, police officers blocked off the surrounding area and discovered the knife used in the stabbing. A 35-year-old man was arrested on Nov. 30 for the crime, but his motive remains unknown.
Nov. 30 Villa Union, Mexico: Police officers and several trucks full of armed gunmen exchanged gunfire on Nov. 30 for over an hour. Among the dead are 10 gunmen and four police officers. An additional six police officers were injured in the incident, according to The New York Times. The gunmen are suspected to be members of the Cartel of the Northeast, which primarily operates in the neighboring state of Tamaulipas. The gunmen drove through the town in pick-up trucks before raiding several public buildings, including the mayor’s office. Officials have reported that several people are missing from the raided public buildings, but have not specified how many.
Dec. 1 Zabaikalsky, Russia: A passenger bus carrying 44 people, including the driver, fell from a bridge into a frozen river after one of the vehicle’s tires popped while it was crossing the bridge. At least 19 people, including two young children, died, and 21 received treatment at the hospital, including a 12-year-old girl. According to Voice of America, a rescue team of over 70 people and two helicopters with medics were involved in the recovery of victims of the accident. Russia’s Investigative Committee announced it would be opening a criminal investigation into the crash, believing traffic safety laws could have been violated by the driver.
