PARIS: A 19-year-old French woman committed suicide by throwing herself in front of a suburban train in Paris and streamed the act live on Periscope, a judicial source said Wednesday.
The unnamed woman “spoke of a rape and named the aggressor” during the filming, the judicial source said, adding that the claims were being treated with caution at this stage.
The actual death, which took place at a station in Egly to the south of Paris, was removed by Periscope but some of the video leading up to the suicide was still available on YouTube.
At one point the victim is seen on a couch, saying the video is “not designed to create a buzz... but to make people react, to open their minds, and nothing else.”
The video then cuts to a black screen, and what appear to be the voices of emergency personnel can be faintly heard. Many messages of concern from Periscope users are seen flashing up on the screen.
Periscope is a smartphone application that allows users to stream live video via their Twitter account. The video remains accessible for 24 hours.
An investigation has been opened into the circumstances of the suicide.
“Analysis of the telephone and recovery of the video are ongoing,” said the source.
Police said they were informed by someone watching the Periscope stream.
French 19-year-old commits suicide live on Periscope
French 19-year-old commits suicide live on Periscope
India fines IndiGo record $2.45 million over mass flight cancellations
- India’s largest airline scrapped about 4,500 flights in the first weeks of December
- India’s largest airline scrapped about 4,500 flights in the first weeks of December
NEW DELHI: India’s aviation regulator on Saturday fined IndiGo a record $2.45 million, issued warnings to senior executives and directed the airline to remove the head of its operations control from his duties after mass flight cancelations last month.
India’s largest airline scrapped about 4,500 flights in the first weeks of December, stranding tens of thousands of passengers nationwide and highlighting concerns over limited competition in the world’s fastest-growing aviation market.
The airline has acknowledged that poor pilot roster planning was the main cause of the disruption. A probe by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) found several deficiencies at the airline after stricter pilot rest and duty rules came into effect last year, the regulator said in a statement.
IndiGo, which holds 65 percent of India’s domestic market, failed to properly identify planning gaps or maintain adequate operational buffers, the DGCA said, adding that the airline had an “overriding focus” on maximizing the use of crew, aircraft, and network resources.
“(IndiGo’s) approach compromised roster integrity and adversely impacted operational resilience,” the DGCA said.
A government source said that the fine was the largest imposed by the authority to date, though it amounted to just 0.31 percent of IndiGo’s annual profit for fiscal 2024/25.
IndiGo said in a statement that its board and management were “committed to taking full cognizance of the orders and will, in a thoughtful and timely manner, take appropriate measures.”
The DGCA issued warnings to several senior executives, including Chief Operating Officer Isidre Porqueras and Jason Herter, senior vice president of the operations control center. It directed IndiGo to relieve Herter of his operational duties.
CEO Pieter Elbers received a “caution” for “inadequate overall oversight of flight operations and crisis management,” the regulator said.
IndiGo was also ordered to provide a bank guarantee of $5.51 million in favor of the DGCA to ensure “compliance with the directives and long-term systemic correction.”
The DGCA said the aviation ministry had also ordered an internal inquiry into the regulator’s own functioning. The cancelations prompted the government to temporarily relax some rules on night duties for pilots to help stabilize IndiGo’s operations, a move criticized by pilot unions and safety advocates. India’s competition regulator is reviewing allegations of antitrust violations by the two-decade-old airline.
