Police in Bangladesh have killed nine suspected Islamist militants after a gun battle in Dhaka, officials said.

Police were searching the residential area of Kallyanpur when they were attacked by handmade bombs.
Bangladesh has seen a string of deadly attacks on secular writers, bloggers, and member of religious minorities.
Earlier this month 20 people, mostly foreigners, were killed in a bloody attack on an upmarket cafe in Dhaka.
It was not immediately clear which group the suspected militants killed on Tuesday were part of. One suspect was taken into custody by police.
On 1 July, five armed men entered the Holey Artisan Bakery in the diplomatic area and held people hostage for several hours. At least 20 people died in an attack claimed by Islamic State.
Since the attack, police have been conducting planned "block raids" in suspected militant hideouts.
It was during one of these regular searches that the police came under attack on Tuesday, according to Deputy Police Commissioner Masud Ahmed, and retaliated with gun fire.
This is the first time several suspected Islamist militants have been killed in an operation since the Holey Artisan bakery siege. It is not yet clear which group they belonged to.
Police believe that dozens of extremists are still in hiding and may be planning further attacks. The security forces have been under intense criticism for failing to prevent recent attacks and the targeted killings in the past three years.
The Bangladeshi government says home-grown extremists are responsible for the violence. But the so-called Islamic State and Al-Qaeda in South Asia have claimed to have carried out some of these attacks.


An air ambulance regularly piloted by the Duke of Cambridge "narrowly avoided" a mid-air crash with a drone, a report said.

UK Airprox Board investigators said the Eurocopter 145, used by the East Anglian Air Ambulance, missed the remote-controlled machine "by chance".
The incident happened 1,900ft (579m) above London in August.
There had been "high risk" of a crash, "endangering the EC145 and its crew" over a busy area, the report said.
Prince William was not in the aircraft at the time but the East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA) said it had been flown repeatedly by the royal during his work for the service.
The UK Airprox Board, which probes such incidents to improve air safety, said the drone had passed within 98ft (30m) of the air ambulance, which was carrying medics.
The drone was flying above its permitted altitude and the near-miss was the highest category of risk, the report stated.
It said: "This was a situation where a collision had only been narrowly avoided and chance had played a major part."
The near-miss happened at 19:45 BST on 26 August.
The ambulance control room was contacted by the pilot telling them to inform the police, the report said.
The drone pilot was never found.
An EAAA spokeswoman added: "There are strict rules that drone operators must follow and it is important they are aware of their responsibilities for safe operations at all times."
In January, Prince William said he would be leaving his role as a pilot for the air ambulance charity to spend more time in London, where his children will be schooled.


Staff at an ambulance trust which has missed response time targets five months in a row are being "pushed to the limit every day", its boss says.

National standards dictate ambulances should reach the most serious 999 calls within eight minutes, 75% of the time.
South Central Ambulance Service has not achieved this target since May.
Director of operations Mark Ainsworth blamed a high demand and high turnover of staff. Unison said members were "exhausted" and "leaving in droves".
"We are concerned our staff are being pushed to the limit every day with the demand on our service," he said.
"We are doing all we can to try and improve that," he added.
In October, 70% of ambulances on "red one" calls arrived within eight minutes.
Since the same month last year, South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust has hit the target of 75% in four out of 12 months.
Mr Ainsworth said: "One of the issues is the level of staff we have. We have seen quite high attrition rates of our staff.
"We are seeing demand increase year on year."
He said about 40 red one calls were received each day over Hampshire, Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire.
Red one calls mean the patient has stopped breathing while red two calls mean the patient is in a life-threatening condition.
The target for red two is also eight minutes and the service received an average of 440 of these calls each day last year.
Mr Ainsworth said private ambulance companies were being used over the winter months to cope with demand.
New employees to fill the trust's 200 vacancies are being recruited from UK universities and from Poland and Australia.
Gavin Bashford, a paramedic and branch secretary for the Unison union, said staff were "exhausted and leaving the service in droves".
He blamed late finishes with shifts running up to 14 hours and paramedics' frustration at being sent to relatively minor cases.
"It's to do with the demands placed on staff - happy staff don't look for other jobs," he added.


The jury in the trial of a nurse accused of murdering three patients and poisoning 18 others has retired to consider its verdict.

The alleged offences against 21 patients are said to have taken place at Stepping Hill hospital in Stockport between June 2011 and January 2012.
Victorino Chua, 49, originally from the Philippines, denies all the charges.
He is accused of secretly injecting insulin into saline bags and altering prescribed dosages on medical notes.
Mr Chua denies killing Tracey Arden, 44, Arnold Lancaster, 71, and 83-year-old Alfred Weaver.
The nurse has pleaded not guilty to 37 charges in all, including 25 counts of attempted grievous bodily harm with intent, eight counts of attempting to administer poison and one count of administering poison.
The trial at Manchester Crown Court began in January.


Almost £250m worth of damage to roads, bridges, public rights of way and drainage systems was caused by this winter's floods, a survey has found.

The Local Government Association's analysis warns of the cost to councils in England and Wales after Storms Desmond and Eva.
It called for more financial help from the government as the cost was likely to be "much higher".
The government says it has announced an extra £130m to repair infrastructure.
It said it stands full square behind flood-damaged communities.
Widespread flooding and damage was caused by the storms across the UK in December, with Yorkshire, Lancashire, Cumbria in England and central and north-east Scotland among the worst affected.
The government said 16,000 homes were flooded.
Earlier this year, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) said insurance claims for damage caused by floods this winter will reach £1.3bn.
The LGA said the worst-hit council was Cumbria, which saw about £175m worth of damages to infrastructure.
Its research revealed that Calderdale has a bill of £33m, Northumberland £24m and Lancashire £5m.
Peter Box, chairman of the LGA's environment, economy, housing and transport board, said: "Councils are still literally counting the cost and the final bill is likely to be much higher.
"Government has gone a long way to helping hard-hit communities get back on their feet. But it is clear more financial support will be needed for councils."
He called for new flood defence funding to be devolved to local areas and suggested that councils should be allowed to keep landfill tax.
The LGA, which represents more than 370 councils in England and Wales, also said local authorities are facing a landfill tax bill of more than £2.25m as a result of the amount of flood-ruined furniture, belongings and white goods which cannot be recycled and have to be dumped in the ground.
But a government spokesman said the LGA's request "fails to take into account the £130m announced at the Budget to repair roads and bridges damaged by December's floods, with councils able to decide themselves which projects this is spent on".
"Nor does it take account of the £700m additional investment in flood defences, taking total investment to a record £3bn to protect more households from future events," he added.
"This is part of wider measures we're taking to stand squarely behind flood-affected communities for the long-haul."


Politicians in Northern Ireland have been paying tribute to Ian Paisley, whose funeral has taken place.

Mr Paisley was buried in County Down, following a private funeral service at his family home in east Belfast.
As a mark of respect, assembly business was suspended as MLAs remembered the former first minister and DUP leader.
Mr Paisley, who stepped down from politics in 2008, died on Friday, aged 88.
His successor as first minister and DUP leader, Peter Robinson, told MLAs: "Ian Paisley was a remarkable man, whose long career in public life has left an indelible mark upon all of us who knew him.
"Like so many, I was drawn towards politics by the clarity, the certainty, the strength and the conviction of his message."
The first minister said Mr Paisley had "taken his place in the chronicles of Ulster history, alongside the greats of unionism".
Mr Robinson added that since his death, politics seemed "a little less colourful and exciting".
"Ulster will never see the like of him again, he was an exceptional human being," he said.
Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness told the assembly that sharing power with Mr Paisley during his first year in office was an "incredible experience" and one of the "most memorable"  of his life.
The Sinn FÃ©in MLA said that as a teenager, he remembered being "in fear" of Mr Paisley, because of his "huge stature, his booming voice, his politics that we didn't share or like".
However, he said that after they went into government together they "genuinely grew to like each other and in doing so, we confounded the world".
Mr McGuinness said: "From the word go, for some reason, we hit it off. Not alone did we develop a positive and constructive working relationship, we actually became friends."
He added that both he and the Northern Ireland peace process had "lost a great friend" as a result of Mr Paisley's death.
After the tributes, MLAs signed a book of condolence in Stormont's Great Hall - members of the public have also been invited to do so.
A book of condolence opened at Belfast City Hall on Monday, where the union flag was flown at half-mast.
A spokeswoman for Belfast City Council said the flag had been displayed under the College of Arms policy.
The policy states the flag should fly at half-mast to mark the the funerals of first ministers and ex-first ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
All DUP constituency offices closed on Monday, as a mark of respect to the party's founder and former leader.
Several books of condolence for Mr Paisley were opened in towns and cities in Northern Ireland on Saturday.
Mr Paisley moved from a political "never man" to Northern Ireland's first minister.
He ended up leading a power-sharing executive at Stormont - although he had supported the strike to bring one down 30 years earlier.
Mr Paisley was a founder of the Free Presbyterian Church in 1951 after a split with the Presbyterian Church - he resigned as as moderator of the Free Presbyterian Church in 2008.
In 2011, he told the congregation at Martyrs Memorial Free Presbyterian Church in south Belfast that he was stepping down from ministry.


Indian stocks rose as votes from India's general election indicated the  leader of the opposition Baratiya Janata Party (BJP), Narendra Modi, would be the next prime minister.

The Sensex index rose 6% to a record 25375.63, before falling back to stand up 1.29% at 24121.74.
Both foreign and local investors are buying in the hope that BJP reforms will revive the Indian economy.
Mr Modi plans to revive economic growth in India by boosting investment.
By mid afternoon, local time, the BJP and its allies had gained 339 parliamentary seats of the 543-seat parliament, suggesting the most resounding victory by any party for thirty years.
Congress, which has been the dominant party in India since independence in 1947, is likely to be left with fewer than 50 seats.
India's stock market has hit repeated highs this week as foreign investors placed their bets on a win by Mr Modi.
Asia's third-largest economy has struggled with rising price pressures and problems with bureaucracy and corruption.
Desmond Chua from CMC Markets says investors are excited by the prospect of reforms.
"India's Sensex has been on a relentless rally due to build in expectations of a positive election outcome, with opinion polls pointing towards a single coalition led by BJP's Narendra Modi," he said.
"In the event that we see anything else, especially in the case of a hung parliament, we can expect to see a deep correction after such a huge rally."


The largest US banks have passed the second part of a tough annual stress test.

The approval by the Federal Reserve could give momentum to White House plans to loosen financial rules.
The Fed signed off on the firms' plans to distribute money to shareholders and use it for purposes other than being a buffer against another meltdown.
It said the proposals would not hinder the banks' ability to operate in a severe downturn.
This is the first time in seven years all 34 firms under review have passed the second part of an annual stress test brought in after the financial crisis.
Bank stocks jumped on the news.
Citigroup shares rose more than 2% in after hours trading. The firm said on Wednesday that it would increase its dividend and authorize up to $15.6bn in share buybacks in coming months.
Shares of JP Morgan Chase spiked almost 2%, while Bank of America climbed 1.3% and Goldman Sachs increased 1.2%.
The Federal Reserve last week cleared all 34 financial firms in the first part of the review, which looked at whether the firms had enough of a financial cushion to absorb losses in a severe downturn.
In the second part of the review, the bank said the companies' capital plans, which include share buybacks and dividend increases, would not harm their ability to operate in a crisis.
"I'm pleased that the... process has motivated all of the largest banks to achieve healthy capital levels and most to substantially improve their capital planning processes," said Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell.
The Federal Reserve asked one company, Capital One Financial, to submit a new plan within six months that addresses weaknesses in its capital planning process.
Regulators said the firm did not "appropriately take into account the potential impact of the risks in one of its most material businesses."


Eugene Laverty won the Open class for the first time at the Aragon MotoGP in Spain, collecting two points for finishing in 14th place in the race.

The Toomebridge rider beat Aspar Honda team-mate Nicky Hayden by 0.093 seconds and has now accumulated 14 points in his first season in the class.
Jorge Lorenzo took victory and cut his gap to series leader Valentino Rossi by nine points to 14.
Rossi lost out to Dani Pedrosa in a titanic battle for second place.
Marc Marquez crashed out on lap two while trying to keep up with the early hot pace set by Lorenzo.
Laverty's best finish of the season remains a 12th position in Spain earlier in the year.


Police are investigating cases of possible fraudulent voting at a number of Scottish election counts.

In Glasgow, officers said they were looking into one case of "personation".
A similar allegation involving a vote cast at a polling station in the Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East constituency was also being probed.
Claims of personation in two Edinburgh constituencies - South and South West - have also been reported.
The Glasgow case was believed to have involved someone entering a polling station in the Glasgow East constituency and crossing a ballot paper under another person's name.
The presiding officer informed authorities earlier and counting staff were asked to be on the lookout for the paper when the box arrived at the Emirates Arena count.
Glasgow City Council said count staff would wear blue gloves to locate the paper, which will be counted and sealed in a bag before being handed to police.
At the North Lanarkshire count in Motherwell, a statement from the returning officer Gavin Whitefield said: "Following an allegation of personation at a polling station in the Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East constituency, the police are investigating.
"We will verify the ballot box in question in isolation to help to provide evidence for the police inquiry. No other polling stations or ballot boxes are affected."
At the Edinburgh count, candidates from Edinburgh South and Edinburgh South West constituencies were summoned to a meeting.
An Edinburgh City Council spokesman said: "Polling staff raised concern over two possible cases of voter personation. This was immediately reported to Police Scotland who are now investigating."
It is understood cases refer to one ballot paper in Gorgie Dalry parish church in Edinburgh South West, and one ballot paper in Edinburgh South neighbourhood office in Edinburgh South.


A judicial review of the decision to merge two Conservative-run local authorities in Somerset has been rejected in full.

West Somerset Council agreed to merge with neighbouring Taunton Deane Borough Council in September to save money.
However, a group of 15 Taunton Deane councillors opposed the merger and launched a legal challenge against the move.
But a High Court judge has ruled the challenge as "premature and academic".
In his ruling Mr Justice Lewis said the Secretary of State "wishes consultation" to take place before he makes the final decision on the new council proposal under legislation.
Taunton Deane Borough Council leader John Williams said: "This judgement is a vindication our approach so far.
"It's also a testament to all the hard work and commitment of our officer team who have ensured we have acted properly and correctly at all times."


A man accused of kidnapping his partner allegedly drove at a police officer who tried to save her, a court has heard.

Matthew Gillard, of Connsbrook Avenue in east Belfast, pleaded not guilty to charges including kidnapping and false imprisonment.
The defendant, 25, also denied charges of common assault, assaulting a police officer and driving dangerously.
The charges relate to incidents in east Belfast and Comber on Saturday 4 April.
Newtownards Magistrates Court heard that the defendant and the woman were in his car in east Belfast when he began questioning her about who she was seeing.
A detective giving evidence in court said the woman tried to get out of the Seat Toledo car but the defendant allegedly drove off at speed, through a red light on Bloomfield Avenue.
When the car stopped on the Belfast Road in Comber, the woman escaped along a lane but was carried back to the car by the defendant, the court heard.
An off-duty police sergeant saw this and went to help the woman.
When the sergeant tried to intervene, the defendant allegedly drove his car at the officer, forcing him to get out of the way.
The sergeant was able to pull the keys from the ignition through the car's open window, but the defendant wrenched them from his grasp.
He then drove to the Grand Parade area of east Belfast where the woman was released.
He is also alleged to have sent the woman a message threatening that if she went to police about the incident he would "ruin her life in every possible way".
The court heard that the defendant handed himself over to police on Wednesday, despite being aware since Saturday that he was wanted by the PSNI.
But during police interviews he refused to answer questions put to him.
An application for bail was made but this was refused.
Mr Gillard will appear again in court on 1 May.


Jersey has named an 18-strong shooting team for this summer's Island Games.

Reigning smallbore 100-yard prone champion Andy Chapman is part of five smallbore shooters.
Veteran air rifle shooter David Turner is picked alongside Jonathan Bouchard while 2015 fullbore team gold medallist Bruce Horwood is also going to Gotland.
2015 pistol gold medallist James Daly is joined by experienced pistol veterans Mick Radcliffe, Mary Norman and Michael Quenault.
Jersey's shooters won 20 gold medals at the last Island Games - 40% of all of the golds won by the island.
Jersey team: Steve Bouchard, Andy Chapman, Sarah Campion, Sue de Gruchy, Craig Marett, David Turner, Jonathan Bouchard, Debbie Thompson, Bruce Horwood, Gregory Guida, Amy Hall, Michael Quenault, Mary Norman, Mick Radcliffe, Alain Cabaret, Tobias Cabaret, James Daly, Mike Nolan.


Astronomers have proved that they can accurately tell the age of a star from how fast it is spinning.

We know that stars slow down over time, but until recently there was little data to support exact calculations.
For the first time, a US team has now measured the spin speed of stars that are more than one billion years old - and it matches what they predicted.
The finding resolves a long-standing challenge, allowing astronomers to estimate a star's age to within 10%.
The work was presented in Seattle at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society and also appears in the journal Nature.
Establishing the age of stars is a central question in astronomy - much like dating fossils is crucial to studying evolution.
This method applies to "cool stars" - suns about the size of our own, or smaller. These are the most common stars in our galaxy and they also last for a long time.
"They act as lamp posts, lighting up even the oldest parts of our galaxy," said senior author Dr Soren Meibom from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
Cool stars also host the vast majority of earth-like planets that we have spotted in the distance.
Most properties of a star like ours - like its size, mass, brightness and temperature - stay about the same throughout most of its life.
This makes figuring out a star's age decidedly tricky.
The solution of measuring spin was first proposed in the 1970s and was dubbed "gyrochronology" in 2003.
"A cool star spins very fast when it's young, but just like a top on a table it gets slower and slower as the star grows older," Dr Meibom said.
But it is difficult to see a star spinning. Astronomers use sun spots, travelling across the surface, and these only dim its brightness by much less than 1%.
Old stars are particularly problematic, because they have fewer and smaller spots.
Dr Meibom's team used images from the very sensitive Kepler space telescope, which has been trailing Earth around the Sun since 2009.
They managed to measure spin speeds for 30 stars in a specific cluster known to be 2.5 billion years old.
This cluster, known as NGC 6819, plugs what Dr Meibom called a "four-billion-year gap" in our knowledge of stellar spin.
Before the Kepler mission, we only had data from very cool stars in very young clusters, all less than 0.6 billion years old and all spinning fairly fast (about once a week).
In 2011, Dr Meibom's team used Kepler images to report on a different cluster, the one-billion-year-old NGC 6811. Its cool stars spin about once every 10 days.
But beyond that, the only star we knew both age and spin rate for was our own sun - 4.6 billion years old, with a spin period of 26 days.
"The construction of the cool star clock was on hold," Dr Meibom said.
Now, the clock is looking good. The sun-like stars in the freshly studied cluster sit squarely and satisfyingly in the gap, spinning about every 18 days.
"These new data show, with real observations, that this is on solid ground," Dr Meibom told BBC News.
"We can get age as accurately as about 10% from this method."
He added that this is a big improvement on some other methods for guessing stars' age, where the margin of error for cool stars can reach 100%.
Ruth Angus, a PhD student researching gyrochronology at the University of Oxford, said the results were "a really big deal" for the field.
"More evidence has been slowly accumulating that lots of stars do seem to follow this pattern, but how reliably stars fall onto this relation is a bit of an unknown," Ms Angus told the BBC.
"This cluster will certainly help with our understanding of how good gyrochronology is as a method, and how valid it is.
"It shows that these stars are doing what they're expected to do, and everything's peachy."
Follow Jonathan on Twitter.


One person has died after a crash on the Barvas to Carloway road on the Isle of Lewis.

Emergency services were called to a serious accident on the A858, close to the road's junction to Brue, at about 13:30 on Saturday.
Details of the victim of the crash are yet to be released.
Police Scotland closed the road in both directions for several hours while crash investigations took place. It has now reopened.


Macclesfield's second round FA Cup tie at home to Oxford United will be shown live on the BBC on Friday, 2 December.

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National League side Macclesfield upset League One Walsall in the first round to set up the game against Oxford.
BBC Football Focus on Saturday, 3 December will be broadcast live from Conference Premier side Sutton United, who will play Cheltenham or Crewe.
The FA Cup third-round draw, including Premier League sides, will be live on BBC Two at 19:00 GMT on 5 December.
Ninth-tier Westfields, the lowest-ranked side left in the competition, will host Bury or AFC Wimbledon if they overcome Curzon Ashton in a replay.


A man charged with murdering his wife at a care home has died before his court case could be heard.

Brendon Constant, 87, was accused of smothering his 86-year-old wife Jean with a plastic bag at Poppyfields care home in Eynesbury, near St Neots.
He died in hospital after suffering "catastrophic" head injuries in a fall at home, Cambridge Crown Court heard.
Mr Constant, of Richmond Road, Wisbech, did not enter a plea to the murder charge before his death.
Cambridge Crown Court heard he had attempted to kill himself at the same time as his wife was killed last August but survived and faced court proceedings.
His barrister, Sally Hobson, said he suffered a fall at home on April 27 after celebrating his grandson's birthday and that there was "no suggestion he took his own life".
She said: "When he retired to bed, he spoke briefly to his great-granddaughter, then went upstairs and fell and suffered catastrophic head injuries."
Mr Constant was taken to Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge and his family agreed to switch off his life support machine the following day.
"He had hoped to end his life together with his wife in August last year in circumstances they hoped would cause the least distress and discomfort," Mrs Hobson said.
Judge David Farrell voiced concerns over the fact Mr Constant had been granted bail and fell at home.
He said: "Everyone thought he was in a safe environment so I'm concerned all proper care was given to him."
A post-mortem examination concluded that Mrs Constant died of asphyxia in association with heart disease.
Her body was discovered by police who were called to Poppyfields care home in Chapman Way, Eynesbury, near St Neots, on August 22.


League One side Peterborough United have parted company with manager Graham Westley following Saturday's 2-0 defeat by Scunthorpe United.

The 48-year-old took had been in charge of Posh since replacing Dave Robertson in September and lifted the club as high as the play-off places in January.
But they have since fallen to 14th in the table and have lost four of their last five matches.
Assistant Grant McCann will take charge for the final two games of the season.
Westley was asked by BBC Radio Cambridgeshire if he felt increased pressure following Saturday's defeat and said: "I come to work every day and feel pressure, I put pressure on myself.
"I don't like losing football matches, but I know the job here. The job is to build long-term winning.
"Right now the job is to get our young players on the pitch, to give them a chance to succeed and to grow, and that's what we've done (against Scunthorpe).
"There'll be lessons learned by all of the players, and if we're going to be a successful club next year, then we need the young players to step up to the plate and the experience now will be useful for them."
The former Stevenage and Preston boss began his career at the ABAX Stadium with 10 wins from his first 14 matches in all competitions.
However, after losing to West Brom in a FA Cup fourth-round replay on penalties and the January sale of forward Conor Washington, still the club's top scorer this season with 15, Posh lost six of their next seven league matches.
After a brief run of three straight victories, the club's form dipped again, leading chairman Darragh MacAnthony to say "I employ over 300 people at Peterborough United, not one of those employees right now has a job in the summer".
Earlier this week, Westley also bemoaned his side's poor discipline - the worst record in the Football League with 104 yellow cards and seven reds - saying it was costing them games.
A brief statement on the Peterborough website read: "The club would like to thank Graham for his efforts on behalf of the football club.
"Chairman Darragh MacAnthony will take time to speak to prospective candidates for the vacant manager position."


Australian airlines say it is not safe to fly to and from Bali, despite its airport reopening after volcanic ash grounded flights for three days.

Denpasar airport was closed on Tuesday after Mount Rinjani on Lombok island began erupting.
Two airports on Lombok and Java have also been closed because of the risk posed by the drifting ash plume.
Officials said Denpasar airport reopened at 14:30 (06:30 GMT) after a favourable wind change.
"The wind is heading to the south and south-west, which means the volcanic ash is no longer heading to Bali," chief official Yulfriadi Gona told AFP.
Virgin Australia and Jetstar have told the BBC they are monitoring the situation and will give an update on Saturday's flights on Friday afternoon.
"Our team of meteorologists and the Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre have advised that conditions in the vicinity of Denpasar Airport remain unsafe for flying," Virgin also said in a statement.
Meanwhile Jetstar said it regretted the frustration caused by the cancellations, but said the safety of its customers and crew was its top priority.
"We operate to a set of strict safety standards and make decisions independent of the airport and other airlines," it said in a statement.
Hundreds of flights - including the Indian Vice President Hamid Ansari's and the transfer of one of Interpol's most wanted men - have been affected by the ash cloud.
Debris from Mount Rinjani has spewed 3,500m (11,480 ft) into the air, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency said.
Nearby towns have been blanketed in grey ash, but locals are not in danger, spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said Thursday.
Chris Davies from the Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre in Darwin in Australia's north told the BBC earlier this year that it does not take much ash to interfere with flights.
"The most dangerous aspect for aviation is that modern jet engines pull in so much air and the ash concentrates in engines and turns into a kind of molten glass," Mr Davies said.
"The ash melts, coats inside of the engine and affects fuel flow, so in the worst case scenario it can cause engines to shut off."


Arsenal have been drawn in the same group as BATE Borisov, Cologne and Red Star Belgrade in the Europa League.

It is the first time in 20 years that the Gunners, who finished fifth in the Premier League last season, have started a season in Europe's second-tier competition.
Everton are in the same group as Lyon, who host the final on 16 May 2018.
The Toffees will also face Italian Serie A side Atalanta and Apollon Limassol of Cyprus.
Everton, who completed their play-off victory over Croatian side Hajduk Split on Thursday, are in Europe for the first time since 2014-15.
The 48-team draw for this season's competition included Sweden's Ostersund, managed by Englishman Graham Potter, the former Stoke City and West Brom full-back.
Ostersund will play Spain's Athletic Bilbao, Germany's Hertha Berlin and Zorya Luhansk of Ukraine.
The group stage begins on 14 September.
Group A: Villarreal, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Astana, Slavia Prague.
Group B: Dynamo Kiev, Young Boys, Partizan Belgrade, Skenderbeu.
Group C: Sporting Braga, Ludogorets, Hoffenheim, Istanbul Basaksehir.
Group D: AC Milan, Austria Vienna , Rijeka, AEK Athens.
Group E: Lyon, Everton, Atalanta, Apollon Limassol.
Group F: FC Copenhagen, Lokomotiv Moscow, Sheriff Tiraspol, FC Zlin.
Group G: Vitoria Plzen, Steaua Bucarest, Hapoel Beer-Sheva, FC Lugano.
Group H: Arsenal, BATE Borisov, Cologne, Red Star Belgrade.
Group I: Salzburg, Marseille, Vitoria Guimaraes, Konyaspor.
Group J: Athletic Bilbao, Hertha Berlin, Zorya Luhansk, Ostersund.
Group K: Lazio, Nice, Zulte Waregem, Vitesse Arnhem.
Group L: Zenit St Petersburg, Real Sociedad, Rosenborg, Vardar.


Sean Penn has said he has "absolutely no apologies" to make over his controversial green card Oscars quip.

Before announcing the best picture winner at last month's Academy Awards, the actor joked: "Who gave this son of a bitch his green card?"
Penn was referring to Birdman's Mexican director, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu.
Inarritu, a long-time friend of the actor who directed him in 21 Grams, said he found it "hilarious". But some pundits were less impressed.
Entertainment Weekly's Nina Terrero tweeted she would never see a Penn film again, saying she was "shocked, angry [and] upset" at his "disgusting" comment.
The Washington Post's Elahe Izadi accused Penn of insensitivity: "Hey congrats on winning the award of your life here's a green card joke to announce it."
"Green card" refers to the document that gives immigrants permanent residency in the US.
"I'm always surprised by flagrant stupidity. I keep having more hope,'' said Penn on Saturday in Los Angeles during a promotional tour for his new film The Gunman.
"I have absolutely no apologies. In fact, I have a big [expletive] you for anybody who is so stupid not to have gotten the irony when you've got a country that is so xenophobic.
"If they had their way, you wouldn't have great film-makers like Alejandro working in this country. Thank God we do."
The 54-year-old went on to explain that his comment had been intentional.
"There's a little inside humour with he and I where I know, and wanted to know, that he would be the first person in that room to know that his film won," he said.
Speaking backstage after the 22 February ceremony, Inarritu said he and Penn have "that kind of brutal relationship where only true friendship can survive".


As scores of young men march out of the medieval Castilian town of Tordesillas on 15 September, their iron-tipped lances glinting in the late summer sunshine before they do battle with a 640kg (100st) prize bull, you would be forgiven for thinking it was 1520 and not 2015.

Even for Spain, where the man-against-beast concept dominates the popular festival scene, the Toro de la Vega saga seems especially crude, not to mention dangerous or cruel, depending on your point of view.
The Toro de la Vega festival is unique in that after the bull is run through the town, chasing daredevil participants through the streets in a similar fashion to Pamplona's famous San Fermin event, the beast is not fought by professional matadors in a ring.
Instead, all comers battle for the honour of killing the animal out in the open plain, some on horseback, others on foot. The winner of the tournament trophy is the one who lands the mortal wound on the bull, bringing it to its knees before an accredited expert deals a coup de grace to the animal's neck.
Supporters of the nearly 500-year-old tradition say it is the purest of battles between man and bull, pointing to strict rules against wounding the animal from the side or attacking in numbers rather than one by one.
But in recent years the annual festival at Tordesillas has become a focus of anti-bullfighting protests by animal rights campaigners, and tensions ran high last September with claims of assaults on both sides - on top of the four participants badly wounded by the bull.
Last year's winner, Alvaro Martin, said he had received threats on social networks in the days after the festival, and a major security operation will be in force this week to keep hundreds of activists and some 30,000 bullfight supporters apart.
While not supporting violent forms of protest against the event, Pacma, Spain's biggest animal rights organisation, wants the Toro de la Vega tradition to be stopped.
"It's an icon of the mistreatment of animals in this country. The image it conveys belongs to the Middle Ages and it in no way reflects today's society in Spain," says Silvia Barquero, Pacma's president.
Ms Barquero's organisation has presented a 120,000-strong petition to Pedro Sanchez, leader of the opposition socialist PSOE party, asking him to prevent any socialist mayor from authorising such an event.
After last year's spearing was done outside Tordesillas, Pedro Sanchez pledged on live television to end the Toro de la Vega, theatrically phoning a chat show host who had said he would stop voting PSOE if socialist officials such as the mayor of Tordesillas continued to permit such butchery.
A sign of how politically explosive an issue bullfighting has become arose two days later when Mr Sanchez declared that he would "never take from anyone the enjoyment of watching [star bullfighter] Jose Tomas perform".
A year on and Tordesillas's mayor, Jose Antonio Gonzalez Poncela, says he has not heard from his party leader Sanchez, neither to tell him to stop the event nor to offer support in the face of what he considers an intimidation campaign by protesters.
"Tordesillas is a microcosm of Spanish society and there are people who disagree, but locals are united against the threats and attempts to intimidate us," the mayor said at a talk in Madrid, adding that he was not a bullfighting fan and had never ventured on to the plain during the festival.
This year a host of well-known Spanish musicians and actors signed up to an alternative and bloodless event called Rock in Tordesillas, on the condition that the bull be spared.
But Mr Gonzalez Poncela confirmed that the orders had been signed and that "Rompesuelos" (Groundbreaker) would become the latest beast to be fought in a tradition that even dictator Gen Francisco Franco disliked.
In 1964 Franco sent the Civil Guard to Tordesillas in an attempt to halt that year's event, but the bull reached the plain and the two lancers deemed victors that day were reportedly locked up and beaten.
Even this year's champion breeder professes scant enthusiasm for the event.
"There are things I like more and things I like less," said Luis Guillermo Lopez Olea on learning that his bull Rompesuelos had been bought for â‚¬6,000 by the Tordesillas council.
"Everyone has a right to their opinion but my duty is to sell bulls."


England volleyball player Magda Ropiak's international future is on hold because she cannot afford the fee for a British passport.

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Poland-born Ropiak, whose residency qualifies her to apply for British citizenship, had previously represented England but is now deemed ineligble.
"I'm eligible [for a passport] as I've been here for more than five years.
"Unfortunately it's very expensive, it's about £900 which I can't afford," Ropiak told BBC Look North.
"I want to look for sponsors because it's a great opportunity for me.
"I know I can be in the squad, I know I can represent England and the one thing that is stopping me is my nationality."
Ropiak combines her Team Northumbria commitments with studies for a degree in Biomedical Science and it was her student volleyball performances at college and university that brought her to the attention of the England selectors.
Only players holding the citizenship of the country they represent may be registered to participate in FIVB and World competitions, except for the FIVB Club World Championship
She captained the England squad to success at the Novotel Cup in Luxembourg earlier this year but is now no longer under consideration.
"The bosses decided that because I wasn't from England the whole team were not allowed a cup, so I was letting the team down," she said.
This summer's London Olympics brought increased exposure for the sport, including a 850% increase in page visits to the Volleyball England website.
However, Ropiak is still undecided about her own future as she also has the possibility of representing her native Poland.
"I want to be a professional volleyball player, I'm looking to get a contract abroad - that's what I'm thinking about," Ropiak continued.
"It would be great for me to go to Brazil and the next Olympics, but I know it's going to be a long journey, I need to work very hard.
"Poland probably has a higher standard [of volleyball] and a bigger chance to get into the Olympics, whereas Great Britain is still progressing in volleyball.
"We will see where we are in four years time," she added.


Hundreds of nurses and midwives are expected to join a demonstration in London on Saturday calling for a rethink of plans to scrap maintenance grants for students in England.

The Treasury says abolishing the grants, or bursaries, will allow many more nurses to be trained.
But a Royal College of Nursing survey claims two-thirds of nurses wouldn't have studied nursing without them.
They say it would make an existing staff shortage even worse.
Bursaries are a means-tested allowance paid to those healthcare students who qualify, to help with living expenses during their training.
Plans to scrap them were outlined by Chancellor George Osborne, as part of the government's Spending Review in November 2015.
At the time he said the move would free up around Â£800m a year in government spending and create up to 10,000 new training places.
But since then, nurses and other health workers have been campaigning against the axing of bursaries.
Student nurses are also going to have start paying tuition fees for their courses in the same way as other undergraduates - meaning they will have to take out a student loan.
First year student nurse Ellie Archer has told the BBC that the bursary was vital in allowing her to pursue her dream career.
She already has one sizeable student loan from another undergraduate degree and says: "I really wanted to be a nurse and I can say without a doubt that if I had had to take out a loan to study to become a nurse, I would not have done it."
Ellie believes the intensity of a nursing degree means students need extra support.
"Because of the amount of time spent on a placement it is very, very difficult to pick up second jobs, so there isn't really any other way of getting an income other than having the bursary in place."
There is already a model of what a future without bursaries may look like at Chorley Hospital in Lancashire, which is part of the Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
Student nurses there, who are on a course run in conjunction with the University of Bolton, are the first in England to pay their own way and once they have successfully completed the course, they are guaranteed a job.
The trust's director of nursing and midwifery Gail Naylor explains: "We had 800 applicants for 30 places, so I think what that tells us is, there really is the demand out there.
"Students are looking for different ways to train and we've been really successful in that."
The Lancashire course is not alone in being oversubscribed.
In 2014, there were 57,000 applicants for places on nursing degree courses, but the NHS in England could fund only 20,000 places.
The Royal College of Nursing says a survey of 17,000 nurses reveals that two-thirds of them would not have studied nursing if faced with the prospect of taking out a student loan.
RCN chief executive Janet Davies says: "We're concerned that perhaps we won't get the same diversity of people coming into nursing that we have currently, that having to take out a loan will put people off, particularly those people who are more mature, who may have had a career previously and who are coming into nursing as a second career."
However, many of those who run nursing training courses believe there is a case for change.
Dame Jessica Corner, chairwoman of the Councils of Deans of Health which represents the universities that train nurses, says: "This change actually enables universities to open up training places.
"At the moment they are capped, really on the basis of affordability and estimates of what the NHS might need, which have clearly been wrong over many years.
"So over time we think training places will be expanded and that will be good news for the NHS with more nurses and allied health professionals graduating."
There is a shortage of qualified NHS nurses right across the UK.
So far these changes are only being proposed in England.
But faced with similar problems, politicians in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will be watching very carefully to see what impact these changes will have.


Olympic champion Lizzy Yarnold won bronze at the Skeleton World Championships in Germany.

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The 28-year-old Briton was fastest in the first of Saturday's two runs to climb from fourth to third and she held her position in the final run.
Gold went to World Cup leader Jacqueline Lolling, with fellow German Tina Hermann finishing second.
Yarnold's overall time of two minutes 36.08 seconds was 0.73secs behind Lolling.
She returned to competition in December after taking a year out and will attempt to retain her Olympic title in South Korea next year.
"This is where I want and need to be - and is a major stepping stone," Yarnold told BBC Sport.
"It shows I've made the right decisions over the past couple of years and means more than I could ever explain.
"I've had a few head and back issues recently and I physically wouldn't be here without the help of my physio and my family.
"I am still dealing with some stuff but I am lucky with the team I have and that helps make me a stronger person and a better athlete."
Yarnold's Great Britain team-mate Laura Deas finished 10th, with Donna Creighton 22nd.
Nick Hope, BBC Olympic sports reporter:
Despite all of Lizzy Yarnold's previous gold medals, World Championships bronze is a huge result both for her at the British skeleton team.
She seemed to ease to Olympic, World Championship, European and World Cup titles between 2013 and 2015 - but, in truth, those successes left her exhausted.
Although a year sabbatical has seen her return refreshed, younger rivals have emerged and the reappearance of dizzy spells - which first emerged in late 2014 - as well as the appearance of a new serious back problem, has made her comeback challenging than expected.
However, despite just one World Cup podium finish this season Yarnold states she's now a "better slider" than before her break - and she has proved that when the big occasion arises she can still deliver.
That is a crucial confidence boost for the British team, because with Laura Deas yet to rediscover the form that led to World Cup podiums last season and the GB men some way off he pace, Yarnold remains their only realistic hope of an Olympic skeleton medal in 2018.


A man has admitted decapitating his wife at their home in west London.

Naveed Ahmed, 41, pleaded guilty to the murder of mother-of-two Tahira Ahmed, 38, at the Old Bailey.
Ms Ahmed was found by police at the property in Merton Avenue, in Northolt, on 27 May after neighbours heard an argument.
A post-mortem examination found both her arms had been broken and she had been stabbed and decapitated. Ahmed is due to be sentenced on 28 January.
He was remanded in custody.
Judge Christopher Moss QC warned him he would face a life sentence for the murder.
Ahmed initially denied the murder of Ms Ahmed during a hearing at the Old Bailey in October.
His lawyer Mark Kelly QC told the court the issue at the previous hearing had been determining Ahmed's state of mind at the time of the killing.


Leigh Halfpenny's Toulon contract could be terminated because of the Wales and Lions star's injury problems, says club president Mourad Boudjellal.

The full-back has not played since moving to France from Cardiff Blues on a two-year contract in the summer.
The 25-year-old had surgery on a dislocated shoulder in March, but has since developed a groin injury.
French newspaper Varmatin quotes Boudjellal saying: "We haven't excluded denouncing [terminating] his contract."
Halfpenny has won 52 Wales caps and three for the British and Irish Lions during the 2013 tour to Australia, where he was named man of the series.
But the Gorseinon product has not played any rugby since dislocating a shoulder during Wales' 28-19 Six Nations defeat by England on 9 March.
Boudjellal also claimed there is a thought that Halfpenny might have been injured when he signed for Toulon.
"Today, we must address this issue because we do need a world-class goal-kicker," he is quoted as saying.
"We are awaiting the medical update. The problem that we have now is that we think he may have arrived at Toulon with that injury.
"We are conducting an investigation."
Toulon's goal-kicking problems were underlined in their Top 14 home defeat against Stade Francais and the club this week announced the signing of star Argentina back Juan Martin Hernandez.
If the contract is terminated, it would raise the possibility of Halfpenny returning to Wales on a dual contract partly-funded by the Welsh Rugby Union.
Cardiff Blues and the Ospreys have both confirmed they are monitoring the situation.
Blues chief executive Richard Holland said: "Cardiff Blues offered Leigh Halfpenny a contract prior to his departure to Toulon and, of course, we would be interested if he became available, be that on a dual contract or a regional deal.
"We will be speaking to his representatives to find out the state of play regarding his contract situation and we will take things from there.
"We would be extremely keen to have back a player of Leigh's calibre and I am sure it would excite our supporters.
"If the reports are true, we are keen to explore this."
Ospreys head coach Steve Tandy also said they would be interested in bringing Halfpenny, who played youth rugby for them, to the Liberty Stadium if his situation changed.
"We'd always be interested in the quality of Halfpenny, but it's paper talk," Tandy said. "We'll keep our ear to the ground.
"We've got our recruitment that goes on, but it's something we're pretty comfortable with at the moment with Dan [Evans] and Fuss [Richard Fussell]."


A Kurt Schwitters exhibition is being unveiled at a gallery close to where the artist was interned during World War II.

Responses to Place features work made by the German-born artist while he was held on the Isle of Man.
As a German national living in the UK, Schwitters was arrested by the British in 1940 as an "enemy alien".
A Sayle Gallery spokesman described the artist's time in the camp in Douglas as "fertile and stimulating".
Painter, sculptor, typographer and writer, Schwitters once said in a letter dated August 1940 that "art cannot live behind barbed wire".
However, in the Isle of Man he was given an attic studio where he worked every day for almost 18 months.
The gallery spokesman said: "It was in fact a fertile and stimulating time and this extraordinary exhibition reflects this in both Schwitters' own work and in that of other Hutchinson Square internee artists also included in the exhibition."
Schwitters was interned, with more than 1,000 others, from 17 July 1940 until 21 November 1941 at the camp, which consisted of about 40 boarding houses enclosed with barbed wire.
The Isle of Man camps enabled the UK Government to imprison people thought to be dangerous to national security, without charge, trial or set term.
Schwitters, who was at the cutting edge of German art in the 1920s and 1930s, was ridiculed by the Nazi government, which deemed his unconventional work "degenerate".
Lumped together with other "degenerate artists" such as van Gogh, Matisse and Picasso, he fled with his son to Norway in 1937. Upon the German invasion in 1940, he moved to Scotland.
On arrival, he was arrested, interned as an enemy alien and shipped to Douglas, to be housed in Camp P in Hutchinson Square.
With his one-man art movement Merz, Schwitters is said to have influenced artists from Robert Rauschenberg to Damien Hirst and Sir Peter Blake.
Earlier this year his work was the subject of a major exhibition at Tate Britain.
After being released from the Isle of Man camp, Schwitters moved to London and later to the Lake District where he spent the final three years of his life.
The artist was working on his final creation, the Merz Barn near Ambleside, Cumbria, when he died in 1948.
Kurt Schwitters: Responses to Place will be on display at the Sayle Gallery for one month, from 27 September.


A huge methane gas fireball ignited by a lightning strike at a food waste plant has caused £250,000 of damage, the site's management has said.

The Agrivert site at Benson, near Wallingford, Oxfordshire, was struck at about 17:20 BST on Thursday.
Commercial manager Harry Waters said lightning ignited gas stored in a waste digester, causing a fire which burned for 20 minutes and destroyed the roof.
He said staff were "very surprised" by the explosion but no one was injured.
Emma Shepperd captured a video of the fireball from her home, while trying to film the storm.
Mr Waters said he hoped to have a replacement roof installed before the end of the month.
He said: "[Staff] are well trained, did exactly what they were supposed to do, and isolated the plant and made it safe.
"We were back up and running within an hour. It looks quite dramatic in the video but caused a surprisingly small amount of damage."
Mr Waters said the storm overwhelmed the lightning protection systems at the site, which processes local food waste into energy from methane gas.


Thousands of amateur and professional cyclists have hit the roads of London and Surrey for the third day of the Prudential RideLondon festival.

Sunday's event saw 25,000 riders tackle either a 100-mile or 46-mile course beginning at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and ending at The Mall.
They were then followed by 150 of the world's top pro cyclists who raced the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Classic.
Thousands of spectators lined the streets to cheer on the riders.
Friday and Saturday saw other cycling events take place including a family-friendly mass bike ride through central London.
Saturday also saw US cyclist Coryn Rivera win the Prudential RideLondon Classique women's race.


Plans to regenerate a run-down part of Swansea city centre and turn it into a business district have taken a first step forward.

The former Oceana nightclub building is set to be demolished and replaced with a new office block.
Swansea council has exchanged contracts on the site which used to be at the heart of the city's nightlife.
Council leader Rob Stewart said the move was a "statement of intent" about the plans to transform the Kingsway.


The NHS is to begin funding the specialist nurses who care for motor neurone disease (MND) patients in Scotland.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will also pledge to double the number of specialist nurses, who are currently paid for through charity donations.
She made the decision within weeks of meeting MND campaigner Gordon Aikman.
Mr Aikman, 29, was diagnosed with the incurable condition last year, when he was working for Better Together.
He has since raised more than £100,000 for MND charities through his Gordon's Fightback campaign, which is also calling for improvements in care for patients.
When he met Ms Sturgeon before Christmas, he called for the number of specialist MND nurses to be increased from seven to 14 and for them to be paid for from public funds rather than charitable donations.
Ms Sturgeon announced the cash to pay for these changes as part of a £2.5m-a-year plan to improve specialist nursing care for those with MND and other rare conditions.
She told BBC Scotland: "We are establishing a £2.5m fund to expand specialist nursing care for people with very rare conditions.
"The first allocation of this fund will be for people with motor neurone disease and an amount of £700,000 will fund the existing motor neurone disease specialist nurses and  double their number.
"It was one of the specific objectives that Gordon Aikman set out in his campaign and I'm delighted the government is able to do it."
The money will come from extra resources earmarked for the Scottish budget in the Chancellor's autumn statement.
Responding to Ms Sturgeon's announcement, Mr Aikman said: "I am delighted. This will transform the lives of Scottish MND patients, including me.
"Today, Scotland is leading the way with motor neurone disease care. But now it is up to the UK parties to commit to double MND research funding so we can find a cure to this horrific disease.
"This is a victory for the thousands of supporters who demanded action through GordonsFightback.com, MSPs from across the political spectrum, and the first minister who answered the call for change."
The MND Scotland charity also welcomed Ms Sturgeon's announcement, which it said would give patients greater contact with nurses as they will not have such huge geographical areas to cover.
Currently MND Scotland meets 80% of the nurses' costs, despite repeatedly asking NHS boards which do not contribute to do so.
The charity said Ms Sturgeon's announcement would save it more than £300,000 per year, which would be used to introduce new services aimed at improving the lives of those affected by MND.
Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy said he would double the number of MND nurses in Scotland as part of his plan to deliver 1,000 more nurses in Scotland if the party wins the general election in May.
MND is a rare, progressive and debilitating disease that attacks the brain and spinal cord. It leads to weakness and muscle wasting and can affect walking, talking, eating and breathing.
There are said to 426 people in Scotland living with MND.


Swindon's five remaining children centres will close and council tax will rise by 4% after councillors voted to make £20m of savings.

Library funding will also be cut by £300,000 after Swindon Borough Council approved the 2016/7 budget on Thursday.
In 2013 Swindon had 14 centres, set up under the last Labour government, but they have been closed to save money.
The council said vulnerable children will now be prioritised through health visitors.
Children centres hold parenting classes and support groups.
Those due to be "deregistered" are Penhill and Pinehurst, Drove, Moredon, Gorse Hill and Parks and Walcot East - saving £600,000 in 2016-17.
The buildings, some of which house nurseries and other children's services, will remain open.
Labour councillor Jim Grant told the Conservative-led administration it was "ignoring" protesters.
But council leader David Renard told BBC Wiltshire: "We took the view that, given that there's less money available, that we would put the money into health visitors.
"We think that supporting people in their own homes is the best use of that money, rather than putting it into buildings. That was the choice we felt we had to make, as difficult as it was," said Mr Renard.
Swindon Borough Council said it has to make between £70m and £80m of savings by 2020.
Half of the council tax rise, which will come into force in April, will go towards adult social care, generating £6.5m over the next four years.
The overall rise will increase the council's portion of the average Band D council tax bill by £45.73 a year.


A Red Devil parachutist has said he owes his colleague a pint of beer after the pair got tangled in mid-air but safely reached the ground.

Cpl Mike French, 34, was performing at the Whitehaven Air Show in Cumbria on Friday when the accident happened.
His parachute wrapped around Cpl Wayne Shorthouse but they managed to land in the harbour.
Cpl Shorthouse, 32, said he was no hero and both men had been trained for such a scenario.
Cpl French said the plan had been for his parachute to be caught by Cpl Shorthouse as the first stage of building a formation.
"As soon as I had made contact with Wayne from the back, I looked up and saw the parachute was a little bit wrapped around," said Cpl French.
"It was pretty much straight away you realise it's not exactly how we planned to do it but then training kicks in and members of the Parachute Regiment, the British Army, we always train for every eventuality.
"Display parachuting and especially canopy formation within display parachuting is a very difficult and dangerous aspect of sky diving so constant training is one of the things that kept us [safe], the communication and Wayne having a good parachute above his head."
Asked if he could repay his colleague, Cpl French said: "A pint of beer maybe."
Cpl Shorthouse, however, said he was "just doing his job".
Both men said they were looking forward to the next display.
Onlookers at the display said the dramatic scenes had caused panic among the crowd with one describing the event as "frightening".
Lucy Milne, who was watching the display, said: "It seemed to go on for ages and it's just seeing the panic of everyone around you and seeing it on the parachute guys as well  - the panic.
"And then all of a sudden he just started to go really quick and everyone was holding their breath and then all of a sudden they were in the water.
"Everyone was staring at the water for ages waiting for them both to pop up and then when eventually they did everyone clapped."
The Red Devils formed in 1963 and carries out more than 60 displays every year.
It currently comprises 12 serving soldiers from the three battalions of the Parachute Regiment, all of whom have to have at least three years experience.


The Sea Watch Foundation's National Whale and Dolphin Watch has recorded hundreds of marine mammals off Scotland's coast.

The charity said notable sightings included 100 white-beaked dolphins from Holborn Head in Caithness, and 12 killer whales off Unst in Shetland.
Marine biologists and volunteers who took part in the survey captured images of some of the whales, dolphins and porpoises spotted.
Colin Speedie photographed killer whales, including a male nicknamed John Coe that can be indentified by a notch on its dorsal fin.
The whale is a member of a small, west coast community of orcas.
In recent years, the group of whales have been seen off the Isle of Eigg, also from John O'Groats and even off the east coast from Peterhead and Girdleness.
White-beaked dolphins were recorded in large numbers on several occasions during the survey.
Chanonry Point in the Black Isle, near Inverness, is a hot spot for sightings of bottlenose dolphins.
A Risso's dolphin with its young was another notable sighting during the national, annual survey.
More than 400 harbour porpoises were recorded off the shores of the Hebrides, including Canna, north east mainland Scotland and Orkney.


A 52-year-old man has denied murdering father-of-two Darren Adie by repeatedly stabbing him on the body in Fife.

Gordon Coventry is accused of killing 42-year-old Mr Adie in Spey Avenue, Kirkcaldy, on 28 May.
Mr Coventry is further charged with assaulting Mr Adie by throwing stones and having scissors in his possession on 7 May at Overton Mains, Kirkcaldy.
He is also accused of being concerned in the supply of cannabis and cannabis resin between 1 January and 13 June.
At the High Court in Glasgow, Mr Coventry offered to plead guilty to the drugs charge, but this was not accepted by prosecutor Bernard Ablett.
The accused, who is on remand at Saughton Prison in Edinburgh, was making his first appearance at the court.
Judge Lord Boyd set a trial date for 3 April 2017 at the High Court at Dunfermline.


League of Ireland Premier Division leaders Cork City came from a goal behind to beat Derry City 2-1 at Maginn Park despite being reduced to 10 men.

Barry McNamee's left-foot shot took a slight deflection over Mark McNulty's head for the opener after 17 minutes.
Sean Maguire provided the pass for Karl Sheppard to finish with aplomb into the left-hand corner on the half hour.
Gearoid Morrissey fired home a 35-yard right-foot piledriver on 36 but Jimmy Keoghan was sent-off after the break.
Midfielder Keoghan received two yellow cards in the space of a couple of minutes midway through the second half.
Derry started the game brightly and almost took the lead through Ronan Curtis's low drive but McNulty saved with his fingertips, after which the ball hit the post and rolled across the line, before being cleared.
McNamee broke the deadlock with his seventh goal of the season, but Sheppard equalised and Morrissey struck home the spectacular winner.
In the second half, Ger Doherty saved from Stephen Dooley, while Aaron McEneff and Conor McDermott were off-target with efforts.
The Candystripes put the pressure on late on as they went in search of an equaliser but substitute Mark Timlin side-footed the ball straight at McNulty, who also denied Rory Patterson.
Derry remain fifth in the table despite a second successive defeat, with Cork runaway leaders at the top, 18 points ahead of Dundalk.


An illegal dog breeder from Ceredigion who left puppies languishing "close to death" has been banned from keeping animals for four years.

Richard Jones, 31, from Llanwnnen, near Lampeter, was convicted of two counts of illegal dog breeding and 21 counts of causing unnecessary suffering to dogs following two raids last June.
He was given a nine-week suspended sentence at Aberystwyth Justice Centre.
The prosecution was brought by Ceredigion council.
The court heard that Jones did not have a licence for breeding and, following a visit from officers, some of the dogs in his care were found in complete darkness with advanced chronic skin conditions.
One young puppy was so thin that it was close to death, the court heard.
Jones had been running a licensed premises known as "The Shed" near Lampeter with over 70 dogs from 2010.
Its license was renewed yearly until 2015 when the local authority decided not to renew it because of concerns.
The application was for 70 dogs to breed 40 litters a year.
In 2016, an application was not made by Jones, but he carried on breeding.
Searches of both his premises was carried out with 56 dogs found at "The Shed" and 38 puppies and 19 dogs found at Moelfre farm.
In all, 113 dogs were found suffering.
The animals were described by the vet who examined them as mentally stressed with no exercise or social contact, with many dogs homed on their own.
Many of the animals were described as dangerously thin, with one suffering from gangrene and septicaemia and close to death.
Jones' defence claimed he was devastated by the refusal for a licence in 2015 after making considerable investments at "The Shed" and felt he had been dealt with disproportionally by the local authority.
The court said all dogs should be removed from his premises by 2 March.


A man from Ceredigion has successfully sued Apple after his watch broke - forcing the company to change its product description.

Gareth Cross, 32, from Aberystwyth, paid Â£339 last July for his Apple Watch Sport, but spotted a crack in the glass face 10 days later.
The technology giant said work to fix the watch was not covered by warranty, despite its official claim it was scratch-resistant.
Apple has been asked to comment.
Mr Cross took the company to the small claims court in Aberystwyth for breach of the Sale of Goods Act, and has won the case after a six-month fight.
The company was ordered to refund the cost of the watch and pay Â£429 costs.
Apple has now changed the description of the watch, removing the claim it was resistant to impact.
Mr Cross said: "I went for the sport version because I am prone to knocking things about a bit and it said it was impact resistant.
"I hadn't even been doing anything strenuous, just sitting around watching TV. When I got to work the hairline crack had got bigger and bigger so I called Apple up to get it repaired."
Mr Cross told the BBC the case did begin to become stressful.
"I couldn't understand why they would want to go to court over the issue, but ultimately I wanted [to] stand by my consumer rights," he said.
"The case did start to become a little stressful, especially toward the end with the prospect of having to attend court to defend my claim against what was the most valuable company in the world."
Mr Cross added he had been relieved when the judge ruled Apple had breached the contract of sale by refusing to fix the watch.
"I plan to buy another Apple Watch, as for the 10 days I had it, I really liked it," said Mr Cross, "but I may wait until the next model is out."


Sussex have announced that veteran batsman Murray Goodwin will leave the club at the end of the season.

The 39-year-old Zimbabwean has scored over 24,000 runs in all competitions during a 12-year stay with the county, winning seven trophies along the way.
He said: "It deeply saddens me that I have to leave at the end of the season. I have thoroughly enjoyed my 12 years.
"My family have loved every year here, and we feel so privileged to have been associated with this wonderful club."
Goodwin has scored 48 centuries and averages 49.24 for Sussex in first-class competition.
Source: Sussex CCC. Figures correct as of 4 September 2012
In total, he has racked up almost 14,500 runs in 190 matches.
He has hit two triple centuries and holds the record for the county's highest innings, a score of 344 not out against Somerset in 2009.
Goodwin said it had been "a privilege" to be a part of the Sussex side which won the County Championship three times in the space of five seasons, secured back-to-back Pro40 triumphs and lifted the Twenty20 Cup in 2009.
He scored the winning runs which won the county's first Championship in 2003 and hit a six off the final ball of the match to win the Pro40 title in 2008.
"To the coaches, support staff and most of all, my wonderful team mates that I have been blessed to play alongside over the years, it has been an honour to have had so much success in winning trophies for ourselves and the club," Goodwin continued.
"I feel so humbled to be a part of such a wonderful team, club and ethos and offer huge thanks to so many wonderful sponsors and supporters."
Sussex cricket manager Mark Robinson paid tribute to the batsman, who played 17 Test matches for Zimbabwe.
"Murray is arguably the best ever batsman Sussex have had and he will be greatly missed," Robinson said
"Not only on the pitch, but [also] in the dressing room as well by all those he has helped and supported in his time at the club.
"I would like to thank Murray for the help he has given me, and the great service he has given to this club. I wish him and his family all the very best for the future."
Despite his previous achievements, Goodwin has struggled for form in the County Championship this year.
He has scored 267 runs in 21 innings in Division One this season, leaving him with an average of 13.35 in the four-day game in 2012.


David Cameron and Ed Miliband have clashed at Prime Minister's Questions over the proposed takeover of AstraZeneca by its US rival Pfizer.

The Labour leader challenged the prime minister to intervene in the proposed deal.
He said if Mr Cameron did not "everyone will know he was acting as a cheerleader" for the deal.
Mr Cameron said the government would "back British jobs, British research and development and British science".
Referring to the Kraft takeover of Cadbury's under the last Labour government, Mr Cameron said ministers were actively engaging with both Pfizer and AstraZeneca, "because we know what happens when you stand back, just say you're opposed to everything - what you get is abject surrender and no guarantees for Britain".
Mr Miliband said Labour would back the government if it chose to widen the public interest test to include science and research and development (R&D).
He asked Mr Cameron: "Is he ruling out or ruling in the public interest test on this matter? We could make it happen. If he does not do it now everyone will know he was a cheerleader for the deal."
"I think it's deeply sad that he makes accusations about cheerleading when the government was getting stuck in protecting British jobs," the Prime Minister responded.
"They wrote the rules. They sold the gold, they saw manufacturing in our country decline by one half and we will never take lectures from the people who wrecked our economy."
The current public interest powers available to ministers allow them to intervene in takeover deals and mergers in a limited number of instances.
These include national security concerns, media company mergers and banks.
They do not give the government scope to address concerns about jobs or investment in research and development raised by the potential Pfizer takeover.
Earlier, Swedish finance minister Anders Borg told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that his country's experience of pledges from Pfizer had led him to be sceptical of the US firm.
"Our experience shows that their track record is not very convincing and I think one should take these kind of promises not only with a pinch of salt but a sack full of salt," he said.
"They are giving short-term commitments, but in the long term I think they are heavily orientated toward profitability, and not profitability through new research but profitability from cost cutting."
Mr Borg added: "I'm more worried that the Pfizer bid for AstraZeneca is much more driven by tax concerns.
"And we know when you see mergers and acquisitions you see a lot of failures and those that have been driven by tax logic, rather than business logic, tend to be even worse."
"So I think the proof here is really on Pfizer they must really show that this is really good for Swedish and British society.
"Society is investing heavily in life sciences. Therefore I think there is an obligation on Pfizer to show that they are ready to develop this," Mr Borg said.
Pfizer offered Â£63bn for the UK pharmaceutical giant on Friday.
If the deal were to go ahead, it would be the biggest takeover in UK corporate history.
The offer - the second Pfizer has made for AstraZeneca - was immediately rejected by the board of the UK pharmaceutical firm, which said Pfizer continued to "significantly undervalue" the company.
MPs are preparing to investigate the proposed takeover deal.
Two parliamentary select committees - the Business Select Committee and the Science and Technology committee - have said they intend to summon the bosses of both companies to answer questions.
AstraZeneca employs more than 51,000 staff worldwide, with 6,700 in the UK. Pfizer has a global workforce of more than 70,000, with 2,500 in the UK.


Ipswich Town goalkeeper Bartosz Bialkowski has signed a new contract with the Championship side until the summer of 2018, with a 12-month option.

The 28-year-old, whose previous deal ran out in the summer, has made 45 appearances since joining Town in 2014.
He fell behind Dean Gerken in the pecking order, but reclaimed his place after Gerken injured his shoulder in the defeat at Birmingham last month.
"I've been pleased with my performances since I returned to the team," he said.
"I have felt very confident and made some good saves but then that is my job really."


Trainer John Gosden issued an upbeat bulletin on Cracksman after the Derby contender galloped at Epsom.

The son of Frankel, ridden by Frankie Dettori, was one of a handful of horses to work on the track at the annual Breakfast with the Stars event.
Gosden said the Derby trip should suit Cracksman, who was added to the field last month as a supplementary entry.
"I think the mile and half will be right up his alley and we didn't supplement him for fun," he said.
"He goes there a fit, happy horse - a touch light on experience, but he is not the only one."
Cracksman beat subsequent Dante Stakes winner Periman in the Derby Trial at Epsom in April and is joint 4-1 favourite for the Classic on 3 June with Cliffs Of Moher, trained by Aidan O'Brien.
Surrey Police said security would be stepped up for the event, which attracts an estimated crowd of more than 100,000 people, following the Manchester Arena attack.
"People attending will notice tighter security measures and firearms officers in and around the Derby grounds which we feel people have a right to expect and are commonly seen at large events of this type," said Chief Superintendent Jerry Westerman.


X Factor judge Sharon Osbourne has revealed that she went into hospital in Los Angeles after suffering from a secret "breakdown" last year.

Osbourne told US TV show The Talk, which she co-hosts, that her family "put me into a facility".
"It's very weird when you suffer from a bad depression... I had a complete and utter breakdown," the star said.
"I woke up in Cedars-Sinai hospital and for probably three days I knew nothing. I couldn't think."
She added: "I couldn't talk. I could do nothing. My brain just shut down on me.
"It's hard enough surviving in this world anyway... I was doing too much of everything, thinking I'm a superwoman, 'I'm so strong. I can handle this, I can handle that'. My brain just totally fused.
"I found, for me, that group therapy was the best thing that I could do. People out there, I want you to realise there is so much help out there.
"It's nothing to be ashamed about."
Osbourne and Black Sabbath star Ozzy got back together earlier this year after splitting due to an alleged affair.
Ozzy Osbourne revealed last month he was undergoing "intense therapy" for a "sex addiction" that was putting his marriage at risk.
The Black Sabbath singer said he was "mortified" at the effect his behaviour had had on his family.
Osbourne made the statement following an interview given by his hair stylist Michelle Pugh.
Ms Pugh told People magazine she had had a "very real relationship" with the rock star which had lasted four years.
The singer and TV star Sharon have been married since 1982.
Their family life with two of their three children, Jack and Kelly, was the focus of a hit fly-on-the-wall MTV series from 2002 to 2005.
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Jeremy Corbyn has hit back at a report in the Sun newspaper claiming Labour mayors Andy Burnham and Sadiq Khan will be "frozen out" of Labour's conference.

The story - which originally appeared in the Huffington Post - says the mayors will be left off the speakers list at the event in September.
It says the Labour leader and four shadow cabinet members will be given prime speaking slots in Brighton.
Mr Corbyn said the conference agenda had not been drawn up yet.
Asked about the story on a campaigning visit to Morecambe, the Labour leader said he had "no idea" why The Sun was reporting it.
He said: "The Sun seem to be trying to run the Labour Party. Well I have news for The Sun - they don't."
On Wednesday, Labour's shadow equalities minister Sarah Champion quit her role over an article she wrote for the Sun about grooming gangs.
The Rotherham MP told the newspaper a week ago that "Britain has a problem with British Pakistani men raping and exploiting white girls".
She apologised for her "extremely poor choice of words," after earlier suggesting the Sun had altered what she had written, something denied by the newspaper.
According to Huffington Post political editor Paul Waugh, Mr Corbyn and four shadow cabinet members - John McDonnell, Emily Thornberry, Diane Abbott and Keir Starmer - will be pushed as the face of the party and given prime speaking slots at the conference.
This means there will be less time for other leading figures, suggests Waugh, adding that some in the party fear the leadership want "revenge" on Mr Burnham and Mr Khan for being critical of Mr Corbyn in the past.


A man has been arrested after climbing to the top of Sydney Harbour Bridge.

The man reportedly began his climb after getting out of a taxi on the bridge at around 9:00 local time (0:00 GMT).
Traffic in central Sydney came to a standstill as several lanes of the bridge were closed.
New South Wales police told local media that after initially refusing to come down, the man descended and was arrested at around 10:50.
He was examined by paramedics at the scene and taken to the city's Royal North Shore Hospital for assessment.
Local media reports said he climbed about 75m to reach the top of one of the bridge's arches.


Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says the Premier League has the best attacking players in the world, as his side prepares for an "intense" north London derby at home to Tottenham on Saturday.

The Gunners, third highest scorers this season with 10 goals, are fourth in the table, two points clear of Spurs.
"We have all the best attacking players in the Premier League," Wenger said.
"The clubs here have huge financial potential and offensive power. All the best players play here."
Premier League clubs spent a record £835m this summer as Alexis Sanchez arrived at Arsenal, Manchester United signed Radamel Falcao on loan and Angel Di Maria in a British record £59.7m deal, Chelsea acquired Diego Costa and Liverpool purchased Mario Balotelli as replacement for Luis Suarez, last season's top scorer with 31 goals.
Danny Welbeck also arrived at Arsenal in a £16m deal from Manchester United, and his first goal for the club helped secure a 3-0 victory over Aston Villa last Saturday.
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Both Sanchez and Welbeck could figure for Arsenal against Spurs in Saturday's late kick-off.
"North London derbies are always very intense and the players from both sides know each other so well," added Wenger.
"Over the years Tottenham have always had a good team and for us to be on top of them means we can fight for the top of the league.
"These games are important moments in the season."
Despite suffering their second defeat of the season against West Bromwich Albion last Sunday, three points for ninth-placed Tottenham would see them leapfrog Arsenal, whose win at Villa is their only victory in five matches across all competitions.
Mauricio Pochettino, who led Southampton to an eighth-place finish in his first full season as a Premier League manager last year, acknowledged the importance of what will be his first game against the Gunners as Spurs manager.
The Argentine, 42, also paid tribute to Wenger, whose 18 years at Arsenal makes him the current longest-serving manager in English football.
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"Tottenham for me is a big job, it's a dream to stay here and have the time Arsene had in Arsenal," he said.
"For this, I need to show my skill, I need to work hard, I need to get the results.
"We arrived three months ago and we need to make our way but we are focused on the game and know the history. But it is also important to write the history, starting now.
"It's a derby. So you need to show all that you have inside."


A powerful typhoon has brought chaos to parts of south-eastern China, with thousands evacuated and millions of homes left without power.

Typhoon Soudelor struck Fujian province late on Saturday night, bringing rains and gale force winds, state media said.
The typhoon earlier swept across Taiwan, leaving at least five people dead.
Although it has weakened, the typhoon is expected to continue moving across the region in the coming hours.
Fujian raised its typhoon alert to the highest level in anticipation of the storm, with at least 163,000 people evacuated to higher ground. There are reports of more evacuations in neighbouring Zhejiang.
Rail services and flights have been cancelled in the path of the storm, and schools and offices closed.
Taiwan earlier on Saturday saw winds of more than 230km/h (142mph), when Soudelor made landfall.
It ripped up trees and tore down billboards, and triggered a landslide in at least one village.
Among the victims were an eight-year-old girl and her mother who were swept out to sea.
A firefighter was reportedly killed after being hit by a drunk driver as he tried to move a fallen tree.
"I've never seen such a powerful typhoon in my 60 years," one resident in the eastern Taitung county told Taiwan's Formosa TV.
The typhoon gradually lost its strength as it crossed the island, but was still packing winds of up to 144km/h (89mph) over the strait between Taiwan and China.


The London market finished down from Wednesday's record high as shares in outsourcing group Capita slumped 9%.

The share fall came after the company revealed that annual pre-tax profits had fallen 33% to £74.8m and said its chief executive, Andy Parker, would step down later this year.
Capita was the biggest faller in the FTSE 100, which slipped 0.55 points to 7382.35 at the close.
Merlin Entertainments fell 3% despite it reporting a rise in profits.
Merlin - which operates theme parks such as Legoland and Alton Towers - reported pre-tax profits of £277m for 2016, up from £250m a year earlier.
The weak pound had led to more European tourists visiting its UK sites, which also include Madame Tussauds.
In the FTSE 250, shares in Travis Perkins fell 6% after the building materials company said full-year profits had fallen by two-thirds.
Profits last year sank to £73m from £224m in 2015 after the company wrote down the value of its plumbing, heating and tile businesses by £235m.
But shares in aerospace and defence firm Cobham rose 13% despite it announcing plans for a £500m rights issue.
The news came as the company reported pre-tax losses of £847.9m, compared with £39.8m the year before, after a series of hefty asset writedowns.
On the currency markets, the pound fell 0.2% against the US dollar to $1.227 but rose 0.09% against the euro to 1.1666 euros.


A man was appointed the head coach of a major British basketball team without his professional credentials being checked, it has emerged.

Australian Johnny White was appointed by Plymouth Raiders following the recommendation of one of their players.
The club also received an unsolicited letter of support from a former club. He has since left Raiders.
Raiders owner Bob Widdecombe, a former chairman at Crimestoppers, admitted they did not make any further checks.
Mr White was appointed in July last year with the club stating on its website he had a lot of experience coaching "at a high level in Australia".
The website statement mentioned he had spent five seasons as an assistant coach in the Australian top division with the Melbourne Tigers.
However, after being approached by the BBC, Raiders admitted this was not the case and removed the statement from their website but insisted he had been a coach at the Melbourne Tigers in 2016.
But Basketball Australia told the BBC he was not a registered coach during that year and Nigel Purchase, Melbourne Tigers' general manager, said Mr White fulfilled "advisory and scouting roles" at the club but would not say whether he was a paid employee.
Mr White left Plymouth Raiders shortly after the BBC contacted the club.
To get a UK visa Mr White must have been either a head coach or assistant coach in the past two seasons in a senior professional league.
The Home Office would not say if it would investigate, stating they do not comment on individual cases.
A Plymouth Raiders statement said: "Our background checks on Mr White included a letter from the Chief Executive of the Melbourne Tigers, clearly stating that he was employed in an assistant coach role with the club last summer."
The club said it had "stuck rigidly" to the criteria laid down by Basketball England in order to obtain a Governing Body Endorsement, which is required to get a visa.
Mark Quinn, spokesman for Basketball Australia, said the organisation did "not endorse or validate any players' or coaches' visas".
He added: "Johnny White was not a registered coach with Melbourne Tigers."
Mr White was contacted by the BBC but declined to comment.


More than £30,000 has been raised for a boxer's family following his death, as his partner revealed the last picture taken of him and his young son.

Mike Towell died in hospital on Friday night after being knocked down twice during his bout with Welsh fighter Dale Evans in Glasgow on Thursday.
The Dundee boxer's partner, Chloe Ross, put the "last picture of Rocco and his daddy" on her Facebook page.
Boxer Evans has said he is "absolutely heartbroken" by Towell's death.
"I feel like I am responsible," Evans, 24, told BBC Wales Sport. "It has been awful. All I can think of is his two-year-old kid and his girlfriend and family who won't have him around any more.
"I feel like I am responsible because we are the ones punching each other - and this is something I have to live with now."
Towell, 25, died at Glasgow's Queen Elizabeth University Hospital at about 23:00 on Friday with his family at his bedside.
In her Facebook post, Ms Ross thanked everyone for their messages and fundraising.
"Thank you all so so much for all the kind messages and the fundraising," she said. "I'm in shock. Everyone is so kind," "And i have loved seeing everyone's pictures of him. I cant believe how loved that boy is!!!!!!!! He will be so happy all his boxing heroes know who he is, just the wrong circumstances. The last picture of Rocco and his daddy which he sent me on Wednesday..So glad Michael has his dad up there with him ❤❤ xxxxxx"
A Just Giving Page was set up by former world champion boxer Ricky Hatton.
Ms Ross earlier revealed that Towell, 25, had been suffering migraines for weeks but had dismissed them as pre-match stress.
And gym owner and promoter Alex Morrison told the Scottish Sun on Sunday that the boxer had stopped a sparring session because of headaches just weeks before the fight which led to his death.
Mr Morrison said Towell was advised not to box on because "he wasn't feeling too good".
Towell's management team said it was not aware of any headache problems leading up to the fight.
Spencer Oliver, the former European Super Bantamweight champion, said Towell would not have been allowed to fight if there had been doubts about his health.
Towell, who had been undefeated going in to the fight, was knocked down in the first round of the fight at Glasgow's Radisson Blu Hotel but recovered to continue.
Referee Victor Loughlin stopped the contest in the fifth round after Towell was knocked down for a second time.
He received treatment in the ring and was given oxygen before being taken to an ambulance on a stretcher.
His died 12 hours after his life support machine was switched off.


Former Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) president Pat Hickey is sharing a prison cell with THG director Kevin Mallon, who is also being detained over the alleged illegal sale of tickets.

Mr Mallon was arrested in Rio over a week ago in possession of hundreds of tickets earmarked for the Olympic Council of Ireland.
Mr Hickey, 71, was detained by Brazilian police on Wednesday.
The pair are being held together in the notorious Bangu 10 Rio prison.
On Saturday, a Brazilian judge said that Mr Hickey was remanded in custody on Friday because he was a flight risk.
The OCI board is due to meet on Sunday evening to discuss the issue.
A spokeswoman for the OCI said it is awaiting the return of some board members from Rio.
Irish broadcaster RTÃ‰ reports that former Olympic silver medal winner Sonia O'Sullivan, the Football Association of Ireland chief executive John Delaney, and head of Swim Ireland Sarah Keane are among the board members due to attend the meeting.
Mr Hickey denies the allegations against him but has stepped down from all his posts temporarily.
He served as head of the Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) as well as the European Olympic body, and also sat on the executive board of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
On Friday, Irish Sports Minister Shane Ross announced an inquiry into the ticketing claims, following a meeting with Attorney General MÃ¡ire Whelan.
The inquiry would be chaired by a retired judge who would be appointed next week, said Mr Ross, adding that he hoped it would complete its work in 12 weeks.
Who is Pat Hickey?
Mr Hickey left hospital in a wheelchair on Thursday night and was taken to a police station in Rio where he gave a statement to investigators, reports say.
He was then denied bail by the Court of Justice, and transferred to prison.
Bangu penitentiary complex houses some of Brazil's most dangerous inmates and is famous for its bloody gang violence.
It has been the scene of murders and riots and several of its officials have been killed.
In December 2005, a security chief became the fifth official from the jail to be murdered in five years.
In 2013, 27 inmates escaped from the sprawling complex by crawling through the sewage system.
However, a women's jail in the complex hosts an annual beauty contest.
Mr Hickey's colleagues at the Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) have said they will fully cooperate with any Irish state inquiry into the sale of tickets for Rio 2016.
In a statement on Friday it said Mr Hickey was "receiving his own legal advice and is entitled to natural justice and due process".
It said independent legal advisers had been appointed to advise the council's board.
It added that it "would cooperate fully with a state inquiry and it will now appoint an external independent firm to carry out a review".
The council said its board regretted that "recent events in Brazil have overshadowed the many great performances of Team Ireland at the Rio Olympic Games".
The OCI said it would also commission its own independent inquiry into the ticketing scandal.
Mr Hickey was dramatically arrested on Wednesday in his hotel room over his alleged role in a scheme to sell Olympic tickets for a higher price than their face value.
He was escorted off the premises wearing his dressing gown to face questions.
But he complained of heart problems and spent time in Samaritano Hospital in Rio de Janeiro before being taken to a police station for questioning on Thursday night.
William O'Brien, who has temporarily taken over as president of the OCI, said on Thursday that the organisation would "defend ourselves to the hilt".


A six-tonne memorial to the men who died serving with Bomber Command has been airlifted to Beachy Head by an RAF Chinook helicopter.

More than 55,000 men from Bomber Command were lost during World War II.
The granite monument is being installed on the headland which would have been one of the last sights many airmen saw as they flew out over East Sussex.
The project has been organised by 90-year-old Joseph Williams, a gunner on a Lancaster bomber which was shot down.
Mr Williams, who joined the RAF in 1944 aged 21, started the campaign for the memorial in 2008. Eastbourne Borough Council granted planning permission in February 2011.
He said: "When you fly with people in danger you are very proud to be one of them.
"We saw them die, we saw them make their sacrifice and they died terrible deaths.
"You don't treat that lightly - you remember it all your life."
Thousands of people signed a petition in support of the monument, including the broadcaster David Dimbleby, whose father was a war correspondent.
The helicopter, which left RAF Odiham in Hampshire, airlifted the two-piece memorial and a crane being used to erect the monument.


Former world number one golfer Tiger Woods and his girlfriend, US Olympic skiing champion Lindsey Vonn, say they have ended their relationship.

Both blamed the pressure of their busy schedules for the split.
Ms Vonn said on Facebook that the decision was mutual. In a statement on his website, Mr Woods said he would "always cherish our time together".
The sports stars first publicly announced they were an item in March 2013 following weeks of speculation.
"After nearly three years together, Tiger and I have mutually decided to end our relationship," Ms Vonn, 30, said on her Facebook page.
"I will always cherish the memories that we've created together. Unfortunately, we both lead incredibly hectic lives that force us to spend a majority of our time apart.
"He and his beautiful family will always hold a special place in my heart.''
The couple were last seen together in public at last month's Masters golf tournament, where Ms Vonn was with Mr Woods's seven-year-old daughter Sam and six-year-old son Charlie.
Mr Woods, 39, said in his statement: "I have great admiration, respect and love for Lindsey and I'll always cherish our time together. She has been amazing with Sam and Charlie and my entire family.
"Unfortunately, we lead very hectic lives and are both competing in demanding sports. It's difficult to spend time together."
Mr Woods was previously married to Swedish model Elin Nordegren, but they divorced in 2010 after he revealed a series of extramarital affairs.


Snow and ice have continued to cause problems for commuters across the north east of Scotland.

A 29-year-old gritter driver died after his vehicle overturned on the A90 at the Bogindollo junction between Forfar and Brechin.
Several buses got stuck on Scotstown Road in Aberdeen, causing serious delays.
Transport to several Aberdeenshire schools was affected, and some were closed.