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Three people are dead and two are missing after a group of nine people, all believed to be from the same family, went missing after floating down a river on inflatable rings and dropping over the edge of a dam.

Four of the group were rescued and taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries after the tragedy on the Dan River in North Carolina, Rockingham County emergency services director Rodney Cates said.

The nine people were tubing – an activity which involves travelling across water on inflatable rings.

They went over the Duke Energy dam in the city of Eden at around sunset on Wednesday, Mr Cates said.

He added said the dam is approximately 2.5m (8ft) high.

Mr Cates also said that a Duke Energy employee who saw some of the tubers called 911 to report what was happening.

Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page identified those rescued as Reuben Villano, 35 – and children Eric, 14, and Irene, 18.

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The fourth person rescued was Karlos Villano of LaPorte, Indiana.

Rescue workers are seen near the Dan River on Friday
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Rescue workers are seen near the Dan River on Friday

The sheriff’s office named those who died as Bridish Crawford, 27, Antonio Ramon, 30, and Sophie Wilson, 14.

The two missing are Teresa Villano, 35, and Isiah Crawford, 7.

Search teams were combing the Dan River on Friday to try and locate those who have not been found.

The search will resume on Saturday, Mr Cates said.

Boats and helicopters have been used in the search in Rockingham County, north of Greensboro along the Virginia state line.

Mr Cates said the rescued people spent the night floating in the water near the dam before they were found clinging to their tubes.

He said they managed to stay afloat for approximately 19 hours, describing them as “very, very fatigued” when they were found.

Rescue workers are seen near the Dan River on Friday
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Rescue workers are seen near the Dan River on Friday

First responders indicated the survivors were caught in fast-moving water near the dam when they were found, according to recordings of scanner traffic on broadcastify.com.

The emergency workers could be heard over public safety radio ordering boats and other swift water rescue equipment to the area shortly after the 911 call came in at around 3:15pm on Thursday.

“We’re taking a call on the Dan River at the dam near the Duke Energy plant. Caller is advising five tubers … went over the dam,” one person says.

A rescuer says on the recording that some of the tubers were stuck near the dam because of the pull of water flowing over it.

“They’re on that side … at the abutment for the dam. And they’re all caught in the pull. If you can come over … we can probably pull them out pretty good, hopefully,” the rescuer can be heard saying.

Mr Cates told reporters that debris and rocks in the river can puncture tubes or rafts, so it’s important for people to wear life jackets. He said it wasn’t clear if any of the nine were wearing such a jacket.

Mr Cates said it is not unusual for people to float the river on tubes or rafts in the area, but most get out and walk around the dam, which is marked by signs.

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Largest crane on US eastern seaboard drafted in to help clear Baltimore bridge and ship wreckage

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Largest crane on US eastern seaboard drafted in to help clear Baltimore bridge and ship wreckage

The largest crane on the US eastern seaboard has been drafted in to help clear the wreckage of Baltimore’s collapsed highway bridge.

The crane sits on a barge and can lift up to 1,000 tons, Maryland governor Wes Moore said on Friday.

It is one of at least two large cranes that will help clear the metal and concrete remains of the Francis Scott Key Bridge and the cargo ship Dali that hit it earlier this week.

Mr Moore said the “best minds in the world” were working on the issue, but added: “We have a very long road ahead of us.

“This is about the nation’s economy – the port handles more cars and more farm equipment than any other port in America.”

A crane at the collapsed Baltimore bridge. pic: AP
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A crane at the collapsed Baltimore bridge. pic: AP

The cargo ship, almost as long as the Eiffel Tower is tall and carrying nearly 4,700 shipping containers, appears to have lost power before it struck a support pillar early on Tuesday.

Key Bridge collapse - 26 March. Pic: David Adams/US Army Corps of Engineers
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Pic: David Adams/US Army Corps of Engineers

After it hit the pillar it sent out a mayday call and dropped its anchors, buying time for authorities to clear the bridge of vehicles.

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They did not have time, however, to warn a crew of pothole-fixing construction workers, who fell about 56m into 8C water.

On Wednesday, divers pulled the bodies of two crew members from inside a vehicle in the river, but authorities said they must clear some of the wreckage before being able to reach the bodies of four others.

The victims were from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.

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The ship, owned by Grace Ocean Private Ltd and chartered by Danish shipping firm Maersk, was travelling from Baltimore to Sri Lanka. All but one of its 21 crew were from India and, apart from one person with minor injuries, they were unhurt.

Meanwhile, authorities are also concerned about possible environmental fall-out, testing water samples for contamination and monitoring the river for oil and other hazardous spills.

Some 56 of the ship’s containers had hazardous materials but environmental experts are also worried the ship’s fuel container could rupture.

Underwater barriers were built following reports from emergency workers of a sheen in the water near the site, although the Unified Command – which includes state agencies and the Coast Guard – said there was “no immediate threat” to the environment.

The river is vital for marine life and migratory birds moving north at this time of year, especially as it flows into Chesapeake Bay.

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Louis Gossett Jr, the first black man to win an Oscar for best supporting actor, dies at 87

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Louis Gossett Jr, the first black man to win an Oscar for best supporting actor, dies at 87

Louis Gossett Jr, the first black man to win a supporting actor Oscar for his role in An Officer And A Gentleman, has died aged 87.

The actor’s family released a statement confirming he died on Friday morning.

“It is with our heartfelt regret to confirm our beloved father passed away this morning,” the statement said.

“We would like to thank everyone for their condolences at this time. Please respect the family’s privacy during this difficult time.”

Gossett’s nephew told The Associated Press the actor was in Santa Monica, California, at the time.

No cause of death was revealed.

Pic: Everett/Shutterstock
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Gere and Gossett in An Officer And A Gentlemen. Pic: Everett/Shutterstock


Gossett became the third black Oscar nominee in the supporting actor category in 1983.

He won for his performance as the intimidating Marine drill instructor in An Officer And A Gentleman opposite Richard Gere and Debra Winger in 1982.

He also won a Golden Globe for the same role.

“The Oscar gave me the ability of being able to choose good parts in movies like Enemy Mine, Sadat and Iron Eagle,” Gossett said in film expert, Dave Karger’s, 2024 book “50 Oscar Nights”.

He said at the time that his statue was in storage.

FILE - Louis Gossett Jr., poses with the Oscar for best supporting actor for his role in "An Officer and a Gentleman," at the annual Academy Awards presentation in Los Angeles on April 11, 1983. Gossett Jr., the first Black man to win a supporting actor Oscar and an Emmy winner for his role in the seminal TV miniseries ...Roots,... has died. He was 87. (AP Photo, File)
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The star became the third black Oscar nominee in the supporting actor category. Pic: AP

Born on 27 May 1936, in Brooklyn, New York, Gossett later added Junior to his name to honour his father.

He first started acting in school productions and at the age of 16 made his Broadway debut in the play Take A Giant Step.

Having studied at New York University on a basketball and drama scholarship, the actor became friends with Hollywood great James Dean and studied acting alongside Marilyn Monroe, Martin Landau and Steve McQueen.

In 1959 he gained critical acclaim for his role in the Broadway production of A Raisin In The Sun, and in 1961 appeared in the film version of the same production.

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Film and Television
Roots , Louis Gossett Jr

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Gossett in Roots in 1977. Pic: Moviestore/Shutterstock

Gossett’s big break on the small screen was as Fiddler in the 1977 TV miniseries Roots, which depicted the atrocities of slavery.

He later won an Emmy Award for the role.

He also appeared in TV movies including The Story of Satchel Paige, Backstairs at the White House, The Josephine Baker Story – for which he won another Golden Globe – and Roots Revisited.

In 2023, he played patriarch, Ol’ Mister Johnson, in the musical remake of The Colour Purple, alongside Halle Bailey, Danielle Brooks and Colman Dolmingo.

FILE - Louis Gossett Jr. attends a Legacy of Changing Lives Gala on March 13, 2018, in Los Angeles. Gossett Jr., the first Black man to win a supporting actor Oscar and an Emmy winner for his role in the seminal TV miniseries ...Roots,... has died. He was 87. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)
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Gossett was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2010 and hospitalised with COVID in 2020. Pic: AP

Throughout his career, Gossett was subject to racism, including an incident in the late 1990s, when he said he was pulled over by police while driving his restored 1986 Rolls Royce Corniche II.

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An officer told him he looked like someone they were searching for, but the officer recognised Gossett and left.

He later founded the Eracism Foundation to “help create a world where racism does not exist”, according to the foundation’s website.

In the years after his Academy win, Gossett struggled with alcohol and cocaine addiction. He went to rehab, where he was diagnosed with toxic mould syndrome – associated with prolonged exposure to mould which he attributed to his house in Malibu.

Pic: Paramount/Kobal/Shutterstock
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Pic: Paramount/Kobal/Shutterstock


In 2010, Gossett announced he had prostate cancer, which he said was caught in the early stages and in 2020, he went into hospital after contracting COVID-19.

The actor married three times, the third to actor Cyndi James-Reese. The pair divorced in 1992.

He is survived by his two sons – Satie, a producer and director from his second marriage, and Sharron, a chef whom he adopted after seeing the seven-year-old in a TV segment on children in desperate situations.

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P Diddy: Guns found at Sean Combs’ homes during federal raids, sources say

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P Diddy: Guns found at Sean Combs' homes during federal raids, sources say

Firearms have been found by federal agents searching homes belonging to rapper Sean Combs, three sources close to the matter have told Sky News’s US partner network NBC News.

The 54-year-old‘s homes in Los Angeles and Miami were raided by Homeland Security Investigations agents on 25 March, as part of an ongoing sex trafficking investigation by federal authorities in New York, the AP news agency reported.

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Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ homes raided by Homeland security

Several phones were seized from Combs in Miami before he was scheduled to depart on a trip to the Bahamas, NBC News understands.

The rapper – who is also known as P Diddy and Puff Daddy – has been embroiled in a string of serious allegations in recent months.

Three women and a man were interviewed by federal officials in Manhattan in relation to the probe, according to NBC News.

It’s not yet known what kind of firearms were found or whom they belonged to.

Following the raids on his house in late March, Combs’s lawyer Aaron Dyer said there had been a “gross overuse of military-level force as search warrants were executed”.

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“There is no excuse for the excessive show of force and hostility exhibited by authorities or the way his children and employees were treated,” he added.

Mr Dyer said Combs had not been arrested or had his ability to travel restricted, and neither had any of his family members.

“This unprecedented ambush – paired with an advanced, coordinated media presence – leads to a premature rush to judgement of Mr Combs and is nothing more than a witch hunt based on meritless accusations made in civil lawsuits.

“There has been no finding of criminal or civil liability with any of these allegations. Mr Combs is innocent and will continue to fight every single day to clear his name.”

Multiple lawsuits

Combs has also recently faced several lawsuits accusing him of sexual misconduct and other wrongdoing.

In February, a music producer alleged Combs coerced him to solicit prostitutes and pressured him to have sex with them.

Combs’s lawyer responded by saying: “We have overwhelming, indisputable proof that his claims are complete lies”.

Cassie Ventura and Sean 'Diddy' Combs pictured together in 2015
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Cassie Ventura and Combs pictured in 2015. Pic: Reuters

The rapper’s former protege and girlfriend, R&B singer Cassie, also sued him in November alleging she was trafficked, raped, plied with drugs and beaten by Combs over a 10-year period.

Combs rejected the accusations, calling them offensive and outrageous.

The case was settled the day after it was filed.

Since then, three other women have filed lawsuits in the Southern District of New York alleging that Combs sexually assaulted them. Two said they were teenagers at the time.

Combs has denied all the allegations, calling them “sickening” and “awful”.

Combs is among the most influential hip hop producers of the past three decades, building one of hip hop’s biggest empires and founding record label Bad Boy Records in 1993 working with artists including Notorious BIG, Mary J Blige, Usher and Lil Kim.

A three-time Grammy winner, his latest album, The Love Album – Off the Grid, was nominated for best progressive R&B album at February’s Grammy Awards. He neither won nor attended.

Sky News has contacted representatives for Combs for comment.

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