Tuesday 27 November 2012

5 killed in expressway crash near Slim River

Five people were killed and six injured in a crash involving an MPV and a lorry at the Km372 of the North-South Expressway near Slim River early today.

The dead and injured in the 7.30am incident have not been identified yet, according to a report in The Star Online today. The injured have been sent to the Slim River Hospital.

A 12-year-old girl was among the five who died. They were travelling from Nibong Tebal to Muar when accident occurred.

The victims were trapped in the wreck and firemen had to extricate their bodies, a Fire and Rescue Department spokesman said.

According to the report, the accident was believed to have been caused by a punctured tyre to the MPV, causing it to go out of control and crashing into the lorry.

Tuesday 27 November 2012

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/5-killed-in-expressway-crash-near-slim-river

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An agonising wait outside

“I am going to die… Please pray for me!”

These are Lipi's last words to her husband from the burning factory in Ashulia, where fire killed at least 111 workers Saturday night.

As far as Akram, 30-year-old husband of Lipi, got from the phone conversation that evening, she was trapped on the 5th floor of eight-storey Tazreen Fashions Ltd. Since the call, Akram ceaselessly tried Lipi on her mobile phone until it went dead around 9:00am.

He also ran to the factory soon as he could, but only to find horrible screams and clouds of smoke coming out of the burning building.

Started on the ground floor, which was used for storing goods, the flame lasted till dawn.

The whole night Akram ran from one hospital to another with a hope to find his wife among the wounded and rescued. But Lipi was nowhere.

Akram finally got to get into the factory Sunday afternoon. He found ashes, charred flesh, broken tiles, burnt sewing machines, electric wires and unused fire extinguishers, but no trace of his wife.

Still determined to find her, he looked for his wife among scattered sandals, scarves, shirts and lunch boxes uttering, “Oh God, where do I look for her now.”

Akram, however, found an attendance card of one Ms Zaida near a broken window on the third floor. Panicked workers had broken the grills of the window trying to escape the fire.

A total of 59 bodies, which could not be identified and remained unclaimed, were handed over to voluntary organisation Anjuman-E-Mafiudul Islam for funeral.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) announced Tk 1 lakh as compensation for each deceased's family.

But that was no news to Akram. “It is not possible for me to claim a random body as my wife only for money. What good is money if I don't get her back,” he said.

Like Akram, Saidur Rahman, Mohammad Hanif and many others returned home disappointed after a bitter search in the burnt facility.

“There is no dead body, no one's here,” Mohammad Hanif told the waiting crowd at the main entrance of the factory. He had also come looking for his two relatives who used to work there.

Hanif's wife is one of the fortunate workers who had escaped the inferno by jumping from the third floor window and survived. She broke a leg and a few ribs, and injured the head. She is now resting at home after medical attention.

Another worker Mamata escaped the fire with the help of one male colleague. “When the fire alarm went crazy, our manager told that nothing had happened,” she said.

Although the building had three staircases inside, it had no fire or emergency exit. So rushing down the stairs had not helped the panicked workers as flame was dancing up from the ground floor, added Mamata.

The workers on the first four floors were the worst victims of the fire, said Md Obaidul, a survivor who escaped through a window.

Soon as the fire alarm rang the power went off, said Shiria, another survivor of the fire. “In no time the room got filled with hot smoke and we started scrambling to find a way in the dark,” she said, adding that most of the victims died of suffocation.

Shiria is now worried if the workers would get their salary this month. Like many she had also joined the factory for a wage of around $ 40 per month.

“How about those who lost their identity cards in the incident, would they be paid?” she asked on Sunday evening standing in front of the burnt building.

Meanwhile, expressing solidarity with Tazreen employees workers of other factories in Ashulia and Savar areas brought out a procession in Nischintapur village. The procession ended at the gate of Tazreen Fashions.

Wednesday 29 November 2012

http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=258933

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'Impossible' Tsunami Film Will Bring Memories and Tears

Eight years on from the tsunami, resorts in and around Khao Lak, north of Phuket, are enjoying the benefits of achieving what some people thought might be impossible.

By coincidence, the film, 'The Impossible,' perhaps the most accurate depiction so far of Thailand's biggest natural disaster, is screening for the first time later this week.

Expect tears from many on Phuket and in the surrounding region, tears from those who will never forget Boxing Day 2004.

As Phuket and the Andaman coast learned with not one but two tsunami alerts earlier this year, the 2004 tsunami must always be remembered.

Andrew and Kate Kemp, owners of the muti-award winning Sarojin in Khao Lak, say their resort has been ''oscillationg around 100 percent occupancy'' for the past six weeks.

The next few weeks should improve on that. ''We are looking for a very good high season,'' Mr Kemp said today.

Back in 2004, the Sarojin was destroyed before it opened. Fortunately, the whole staff had been given the day off.

Andrew Kemp, though, found himself at the local hospital in the Andaman township of Takuapa that day, helping out with translations amid the chaos as hundreds of injured and dead were brought in.

'The Impossible' tells the story of one British family of tourists who were separated by the tsunami, and much of their emotional journey unfolds at Takuapa Hospital.

Thousands of visitors and residents were killed.

Popular myth has Phuket as being at the heart of the disaster, but 10 times more people were killed and injured around Khao Lak.

In the days that followed, Kate and Andrew Kemp decided to rebuild the Sarojin as fast as possible, despite the bleak salt-browned landscape. Khao Lak rebuilt along with them.

Today, says Mr Kemp, Khao Lak is flourishing with ''encouraging signs for the wider area.''

There has always been a togetherness about Khao Lak that sprang from the darkness and despair of that December day. Today it gives the region a common purpose, a sense of identity and serenity that is totally lacking on Phuket.

To visit the village of Nam Khem (salt water) for the annual memorial service each December 26 is to understand how this fishing village has regenerated despite 800 deaths there.

We will never forget the year when families brought out framed photographs of the dead to place on a table near the spot where the service was to take place.

Afterwards, some people picked up one photograph. Others picked up one, two, three . . . sometimes many more . . . ''I lost 12 members of my family,'' a woman told us.

And not far away from the village, in a graveyard that is usually overgrown, the bodies of about 280 nameless victims of the tsunami act as a reminder of that day.

Yes, the tears will flow on Phuket and along the Andaman coast during screenings of 'The Impossible.' But the mood will be of impossible hope. The good work continues.

''The Sarojin Khao Lak Community Fund is still very much in existence,'' Mr Kemp said. ''And this weekend Kate will be running a marathon for a local cause.'

Tuesday 27 November 2012

http://phuketwan.com/tourism/impossible-tsunami-film-bring-memories-tears-17128/

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16 killed in bus accident in Udhampur

At least 16 people were killed and 44 others injured when a bus carrying a marriage party rolled down into a deep gorge in Jammu and Kashmir's Udhampur district Saturday evening, police said.

The bus was carrying 60 people to Dudu Basantgarh, about 110 km north of Jammu, when it skidded off the road and rolled down into the gorge.

"The bus rolled down about 300 feet into a deep gorge," said a police officer.

Twelve people were killed on the spot, while four others died of injuries, and 44 others, including the bridegroom, were injured. The police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) units immediately started the rescue operation.

"There are chances of the toll rising," said the officer.

Jammu and Kashmir Governor N.N. Vohra and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah have expressed grief and sorrow over the loss of lives.

Mountainous roads in Jammu region are notorious for road accidents. These are mostly attributed to over-loading of passenger buses, poor maintenance of vehicles, and shabby road conditions coupled with lack of skills to drive in mountainous conditions.

Tuesday 27 November 2012

http://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india/-killed-in-bus-accident-in-udhampur-18772.html

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Train slams into vehicle in southern Italy, killing 6

Six people died after a train slammed into a vehicle early Saturday evening in southern Italy, the nation's official news agency reported, citing investigative and other sources.

Photos taken in Rossano showed the Fiat Multipla impaled against the front of the train -- mangled and largely unrecognizable -- as firefighters walked along the track.

A rescuer described the scene as "appalling," according to the official ANSA news agency.

The crash occurred around 5:15 p.m. (11:15 a.m. ET) near Rossano, which is about 300 kilometers (185 miles) southeast of Naples and 280 kilometers northeast of Reggio Calabria.

The Fiat was struck and dragged 600 meters before it and the train finally came to a stop, ANSA reported.

All those killed had been inside the vehicle, with ANSA citing reports that at least some of them were Romanian migrant workers who had been picking clementine oranges in the region.

The area near the crash scene has been cordoned off, as the investigation continues to determine what happened.

Tuesday 27 November 2012

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/11/24/world/europe/italy-train-deaths/

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Bus-Truck Crash Kills 8, Injures 25 in Venezuela

Eight people were killed and 25 others injured in a crash involving a cargo truck and a bus carrying about 50 people on a highway in northeastern Venezuela, emergency services officials said Sunday.

The accident occurred Saturday night at kilometer 90 of the Anaco-Barcelona highway, Anzoategui state fire department chief Benjamin Apaez told the official AVN news agency.

The cause of the accident has not been determined, Apaez said.

The bus was carrying members of an evangelical church from Anaco who were returning home after taking part in a “baptism of new believers” in the nearby city of Puerto La Cruz, the private Globovision network reported.

Monday 26 November 2013

http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=648325&CategoryId=10717

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