Friday 1 March 2013

Chinese families visit Egyptian hospitals to identify victims of balloon explosion


Several families from China's Hong Kong visited hospitals in Egypt's capital of Cairo on Thursday evening to identify victims of a tragic hot balloon explosion in Luxor.

On Tuesday, a hot balloon carrying 21 people caught fire and exploded in Luxor city, about 670 km south of Cairo, killing 19, including nine tourists from China's Hongkong, and injuring the other two.

The Chinese families, accompanied by Chinese embassy officials, Chinese foreign ministry officials and a delegation from Hong Kong, planned to visit several hospitals to identify the victims, starting with Nasser Institute Hospital which hosted three bodies.

"We have three dead bodies here in the hospital, one of whom was identified in the morning to be a Japanese man, another was now identified by the families to be a Chinese man, while the third body is of a female and has not yet been identified but is believed to be a Chinese woman," Osama Saeed, the hospital's deputy director and head of operation department, told Xinhua.

Saeed added that the hospital is currently performing DNA tests with the third body.

The families left Nasser Institute Hospital around midnight, but were scheduled to visit another three hospitals before returning to their hotel in Cairo.

Earlier Thursday, Song Aiguo, Chinese Ambassador to Egypt, said at a press conference that the embassy had urged the Egyptian government for fast procedures to identify the bodies of the victims.

Friday 1 March 2013

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2013-03/01/c_124401457.htm

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Coroner declines Accident Bureau’s request in Dana plane crash inquest


A Lagos coroner, Oyetade Komolafe, on Thursday turned down requests by the Accident Investigation Bureau, AIB, to invite one of its consultants to the ongoing inquest on the victims of the June 3 Dana Air plane crash.

According to the Chief Medical Examiner of Lagos State, John Obafunwa, during his cross examination at the last sitting, AIB consultant, Kunbi Banjo, a professor of Anatomical Pathology, had tried to dissuade the state from conducting postmortem examinations on all the victims of the June 3 Dana Air disaster. Instead, Mrs. Banjo had asked the team of pathologists to restrict their examination to only the bodies of the pilot and co-pilot.

The AIB vehemently denied the claims during Thursday’s inquest.

Chinedu Anene, AIB’s counsel, requested that Mrs. Banjo, a pathologist at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, be invited to state her account of events.

“From Prof. Obafunwa’s testimony, there were assertions of what the AIB did or did not do and what somebody said or did not say,” Mr. Anene, who also represented the Aviation Ministry and Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, said.

“We have not been able to refute, challenge, or corroborate the testimony. And we do not expect her (Mrs. Banjo) to go to the pages of newspapers to defend herself. It will be a contempt of court,” he added.

Obi Okwusogu, counsel to the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, added his weight to the request, stating that the pathologist be invited “in the interest of justice.”

“I hope that the court has not concluded that Prof. Banjo be excluded (from giving witness),” said Mr. Okwusogu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria. “I consider that her evidence will be very important to this court and the country as well.”

Mrs. Banjo’s efforts to dissuade the pathology team earned her an exclusion from the medical team who eventually went ahead to perform postmortem examination on the over 150 corpses.

While he was being cross examined on Thursday, Mr. Obafunwa admitted that the Dana crash investigation was his first shot at a large scale postmortem examination but it wasn’t Mrs. Banjo’s first.

“I was informed she was involved in a helicopter crash up north in which two or three people died,” he said, adding, “I’ve not seen the report. I don’t know exactly what she did.”

Another senior advocate, Bolaji Ayorinde, while supporting Mrs. Banjo’s invitation said that the inquest could benefit from her experience in air accident investigations.

“Unlike the eminent prof. who is doing this for the first time, even though on a large scale. Let her come, she may be able to throw some light,” Mr. Ayorinde said.

Mr. Komolafe, the coroner, turned down the requests.

“I don’t think the witness will add any value to the inquest,” he said.

“We are concluding. The only witnesses remaining are the Dana (Air) witness and Prof. (Obafunwa). We don’t have any intention of extending. Everyone has been given a chance to call their witness, if they have failed to do that, it’s their business,” Mr. Komolafe declared.

The coroner adjourned till April 18 and 19 for the continuation of Mr. Obafunwa’s cross examination.

Oscar Wilson, Dana Air’s Director of Flight Operations, entered the witness box next. He had earlier, repeatedly, failed to attend the inquest for his cross examination.

Mr. Wilson stated that the AIB had admitted making some errors in their interim report on the Dana Air accident.

The AIB report stated that Peter Waxtan, the American pilot of the ill-fated plane, was employed by the airline in March, 2012, began “line operations” in late May and had accrued over 120 hours before the crash.

“That is not correct,” Mr. Wilson said.

According to Mr. Wilson, a commercial airline pilot flies 100 hours in one month, four hours a day, and two compulsory consecutive days off every week.

“He (Mr. Waxtan) started making commercial flights in May. Prior to the incident, he had been flying for about one month on his own,” said Mr. Wilson.

“We brought it up with the AIB and they said they made a mistake in that statement, that there was an error in the figures,” he added.

Friday 1 March 2013

http://premiumtimesng.com/news/122462-coroner-declines-accident-bureaus-request-in-dana-crash-inquest.html

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Japan investigation team joins Luxor hot air balloon crash probe


Investigations into the deadly Luxor hot air balloon crash that claimed 19 lives on Tuesday have revealed that civil aviation officials were present where the hot air balloon was parked on Luxor’s west bank, and permitted it to take off. The pilot’s license and the balloon’s license were both found to be valid.

According to the state-run news agency MENA, the pilot, Mourad Momen is seriously injured, and is currently being treated at a military hospital in Cairo.

State TV reported earlier on Thursday that a Japanese investigation team had arrived in Cairo to support the investigation. Four Japanese nationals were among the dead.

Six bodies had already been identified and transported to embassies in the capital, said Ihsan Kamil Georgy, chief medical examiner on the case, according to the state TV website.

Georgy added that three emergency teams had been formed to examine the bodies. The medical examiner has asked embassies to contact families of the deceased for photos to helpo identify the remaining victims. If that fails, the teams will analyze DNA.

An Egyptian youth was also killed when the hot air balloon burst into fire and crashed into a field after falling 1,000 feet, Georgy said. Her body was returned to her family.

Thursday 28 February 2013

- See more at: http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/update-papers-were-order-pilot-balloon-deadly-luxor-crash-officials-say#sthash.QRhjN1z6.dpuf

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