Sunday 30 June 2013

DNA tests to identify nine who died in chopper crash


Grief-stricken families of nine ITBP/NDRF rescuers who died in an IAF chopper crash in Uttarakhand will have to wait longer before they receive the bodies of their near ones. Unable to identify these bodies, the government on Saturday sent DNA samples of the victims' blood relatives to a central forensic lab in Hyderabad to help find matches. Bodies of seven dead personnel are in a mortuary at the Himalayan Institute Hospital, Jolly Grant, Dehradun, two others are yet to be retrieved from the crash site near Gaurikund. The ITBP has deployed mountaineers to locate them.

"We've requested the Centre for DNA Finger Printing and Diagnostic, Hyderabad, to give its report early so that the bodies can be handed over to the families," ITBP chief Ajay Chadha said. The report could be available within a week. Bodies of 11 of the 20 crash victims have, so far, been handed over to the family members. Five of these belonged to that of the IAF personnel, four to NDRF men and two to ITBP jawans.

Sunday 30 June 2013

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/DNA-tests-to-identify-nine-who-died-in-chopper-crash/articleshow/20837736.cms

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Uttarakhand: Trafficking of unclaimed children and disposal of dead bodies pose fresh post-disaster challenges


With over a lakh been rescued from the flood-ravaged Uttarakhand, the bigger challenge now lies in reconstructing the lives which were shattered during the flashfloods in the state. People in Uttarakhand might have begun to restore their lives, but what about the children?

Several child rights groups have put the spotlight on the possibility of the trafficking of the large number of children left ‘vulnerable’ by the devastation caused by the floods. They claim that this is the time when child traffickers enter the relief and rehabilitation camps posing as relief workers.

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights is planning to send a team that will prepare a report on these vulnerable children. Chairperson of the group Kushal Singh said that they plan to help the government in its efforts to rehabilitate them. It has sent an advisory to the state government asking it to take steps to safeguard unclaimed, unattended and vulnerable children. It has asked the state to question people not related to the kids they’re accompanying.

Relief camps have been the source points of trafficking in the past – whether it is the tsunami in 2004, the Kosi floods in 2008 or the cyclone that hit the Sunderbans a year later. An NGA founder said that the children at relief camps end up in vicious networks of prostitution, begging and organ transplant.

It is being reported that three small children’s homes and eight observation homes will not be able to cop up with the large population of the vulnerable children. Although there is no official data on the number of affected children, activists claim that besides kids of locals and pilgrims, there is a large number of minors who worked at local eateries but weren’t registered.

In a case reported from the flood-hit state, a three-year-old girl, who has suffered fractures in both her legs, was found abandoned at Gaurikund. The hunt is on for the missing parents as the minor is unable to communicate anything to the doctors. Reportedly, the pilgrims left the child at a Rishikesh hospital where she was treated for two days and now the Dehdraun Child Helpline has taken charge of the girl. She is being treating in Dehradun district hospital since eight days now.

Meanwhile, with the majority of pilgrims evacuated from Badrinath, disposal of bodies lying in affected areas and transportation of relief material to locals in flooded villages today posed a fresh challenge to authorities in Uttarakhand.

Disposal of bodies in worst-hit Kedarnath Valley is going on but the process is slow due to frequently changing weather. There was no clarity over the number of people killed in the disaster with Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna saying it may be beyond 1,000 and state Assembly Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal claiming the figure may cross the 10,000 mark.

200 more pilgrims were evacuated from Badrinath to Joshimath on Sunday in five choppers amid government claims of only 500 remaining there with enough food material, medicines and doctors to take care of them.

Sunday 30 June 2013

http://daily.bhaskar.com/article/CHD-uttarakhand-post-disaster-challenge-unclaimed-children-vulnerable-to-trafficking-4306599-NOR.html

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Dozens killed in Uganda fuel tanker explosion


A fuel tanker explosion in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, has killed 29 people and left at least 20 others injured, police have said.

The accident happened on Saturday evening on the outskirts of Kampala after the tanker collided with a car.

According to the semi-independent Daily Monitor newspaper, the fuel spilled all over the tarmac and into the drainage channel.

The newspaper said that relatives of the victims had gathered at Mulago Hospital mortuary to identify bodies.

Visitors were being turned away by police and security officials who said doctors and nurses there had been overwhelmed by the number of casualties from the explosion, according to the Associated Press news agency.

Most of the dead were passenger motorcyclists who had tried to siphon fuel from the tanker.

Police were still looking for bodies Sunday morning in a nearby swamp where many of the victims had run to douse themselves after catching fire.

Musa Ecweru, the Ugandan minister for disaster preparedness, described the incident as an avoidable "calamity," saying it was unfortunate that some people had failed to learn from past mistakes.

"We have always told our people to stay away from trucks that involve inflammable products such as petrol," he said. "We thought they would learn from the lessons of the past."

In 2001, a similar accident happened on a highway from Kampala to the western region, leaving nearly 40 people dead. Nearly all of them were burnt beyond recognition.

Sunday 30 June 2013

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2013/06/20136301173745441.html

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