Tuesday 23 July 2013

Bus, truck collision on busy Thai highway kills 19


A double-decker passenger bus caught fire after colliding with a truck on one of Thailand's busiest highways early Tuesday, killing 19 people and injuring 23, authorities said.

The bus drivers and most of the passengers were stuck in the bus when it caught fire, police Lt. Assavathep Chantanaree said.

The overnight bus had been heading for Bangkok on the Mitraphab highway in Kaeng Khoi district in the central province of Saraburi. It had departed from Roi Et province in Thailand's northeast Monday night.

Several Thai newspapers have reported the truck driver had minor head and leg injuries, but Kaeng Khoi district chief Passakorn Bunyalak told The Associated Press authorities have not identified the driver. He said police believed the driver was dozing off when the accident happened.

After the initial crash, another woman was injured when a pickup truck hit the piled-up vehicles, Assavathep said.

Saraburi is 90 kilometers (60 miles) north of Bangkok.

More than 9,700 people were killed in road accidents in Thailand last year.

Tuesday 23 July 2013

http://news.yahoo.com/bus-truck-collision-busy-thai-highway-kills-19-061702596.html

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40 feared dead as KSRTC bus plunges into lake near Belur


More than 40 people are feared to have died and 35 others escaped with injuries after a Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) bus fell into Vishnusamudra lake near Belur on Tuesday morning.

The bus carrying around 75 passengers, most of them students, was on its way to Belur from Sakaleshpur. The bus fell into the lake when the bus driver tried to negotiate a narrow road alongside the waterbody.

Senior officials, including Superintendent of police Ravi Chennannavar and Deputy Commissioner Anbu Kumar, rushed to the spot to supervise rescue operations.

Mr. Anbu Kumar said seven bodies have been recovered so far. The injured have been taken to Hassan Institute of Medical Sciences (HIMS) for treatment.

Earlier, cranes, fire and emergency service personnel and police pulled the bus out of the lake.

Tuesday 23 July 2013

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/40-feared-dead-as-ksrtc-bus-plunges-into-lake-near-belur/article4944685.ece

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South Korea brightens Libya’s forensic hopes


After a bloody revolution that costs the lives of many rebels, soldiers, and civilians, Libya wants to recover and identify the bodies of those who have died during the campaign. With the help of South Korean experts, Libya wants to improve its expertise in forensics. The Libyan government is looking forward to another year of effective cooperation with South Korea’s forensic experts and will also be getting a new forensic center.

Tripoli has asked the South Korean government for a 12-month extension of the presence of its forensic experts, in order to forge ahead with the recovery and identification process. South Korea has decided to wave a green light to Tripoli’s demand.

A year after the fall of the Gadhafi regime, South Korean forensic experts were sent to help the transitional government in its recovery and identification endeavors. The team of forensic specialists, which also comprises military experts, has since its arrival in August 2012 contributed immensely to the discovery of hundreds of bodies. The killings occurred during the campaign against Gadhafi, who has been accused of ruling the country with an iron fist.

To bring an end to the transportation of DNA tests from Libya to South Korea, a new $2,7 million forensic center will also be constructed in Libya by South Korea. The decision came after an inspection team conducted a feasibility study on the project last month. The center is expected to be ready in early 2015, according to South Korean government officials.

Tuesday 23 July 2013

http://medafricatimes.com/1912-south-korea-brightens-libyas-forensic-hopes.html

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Death toll climbs to 89, 5 still missing in Gansu quake


The death toll has climbed to 89, with 5 others still unaccounted for, in an earthquake that hit northwest China's Gansu Province Monday morning, local authorities said.

As of 6 p.m. on Monday, 87 people in the city of Dingxi and two in the neighboring city of Longnan had been confirmed killed in a 6.6-magnitude quake that jolted the border of Minxian and Zhangxian counties at 7:45 a.m., the Dingxi municipal government said.

Minxian reported the bulk of the casualties, with 87 deaths, 5 missing and 515 injured, including 60 people in serious condition.

As of 6 p.m. Monday, 422 aftershocks had been recorded in the quake-hit region, with the strongest measuring 5.6 in magnitude, Chang Zhengguo, spokesman for the provincial government, said at a press conference held in the provincial capital of Lanzhou.

An initial investigation showed that the quake had caused the collapse of more than 1,200 houses and severely damaged another 21,000 homes, he added.

Two helicopters and about 3,000 armed police, firefighters, local militiamen and local government staff have been sent to the quake-hit region to help with rescue efforts.

Xinhua reporters who arrived at villages in Meichuan Township in Minxian said many rural buildings had been reduced to ruins and others had cracks in the walls.

Zhu Wenqing, a 40-year-old farmer from Meichuan's village of Majiagou, said his house survived the initial quake but eventually collapsed following seven or eight aftershocks.

Villagers said the victims were mainly elderly and children.

In Meichuan's village of Yongguang, the quake toppled wood and earthen structures and unleashed a landslide that buried 12 residents.

Two bodies have been found and one person has been pulled out alive, but rescue efforts have been slow due to a lack of heavy digging machinery, rescuers said.

Chu Xiaoyi, a 20-year-old villager, said the landslide completely destroyed his house. His family of three narrowly escaped by holding on to a utility pole.

"We were sleeping when it happened, so we ran out almost naked. Now we have nothing left and even our clothes are borrowed from neighbors," Chu said.

Many residents in Yongguan said they are concerned about the lack of food, shelter, electricity and unstable mobile phone signals after the quake damaged the county's infrastructure.

Communication in many villages in Meichuan and in 13 townships in Zhangxian has been cut off. Power has been cut off in five towns in the eastern part of Minxian.

The epicenter of the quake was monitored at 34.5 degrees north latitude and 104.2 degrees east longitude, the China Earthquake Networks Center said.

The earthquake happened in a fault zone that has seen 25 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.0 or greater throughout history, the China Earthquake Administration said.

The strongest quake recorded in the fault zone had a magnitude of 8.0 and occurred on July 21, 1654. That quake happened about 121 km from the site of the latest quake, the administration said.

Locals in Minxian said the quake lasted for about one minute. The county government said most of its townships have been affected by the quake.

Wang Sanyun, secretary of the Gansu provincial committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), and Liu Weiping, governor of Gansu, have arrived at Meichuan to oversee rescue efforts.

The Lanzhou Railway Bureau has initiated an emergency response to guarantee the safety of railway bridges and communication facilities in the province.

Light to heavy rain has been forecast in Dingxi, according to the provincial meteorological station. The rain will likely affect rescue efforts.

The earthquake was also felt in Gansu's cities of Tianshui and Lanzhou, as well as the cities of Xi'an, Baoji and Xianyang in neighboring Shaanxi Province.

Tuesday 23 July 2013

http://www.china.org.cn/china/2013-07/23/content_29498341.htm

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Eight killed‚ 10 missing in landslips


At least eight persons were killed and 10 went missing in landslips triggered by incessant rainfall in several districts this morning. Three persons died each in Palpa and Syangja, whereas two others lost their lives in Myagdi.

Five persons each went missing in Nawalparasi and Dolakha districts.

According to Palpa District Police Office, two minors died after a landslide buried Pabisara Darlami’s house at Aamdanda of Khanichhap.

The deceased have all been identified.

Inspector Om Gurung said the police recovered the bodies at 11:00am from the debris.

Tuesday 23 July 2013

http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=Eight+killed%E2%80%9A+10+missing+in+landslips+&NewsID=384760

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Baltic Ace capsize: Two more victims identified


[Translated with Google Translate] Two more crew members of the Baltic Ace car freighter that sank in December on the North Sea, have been identified. It involves two men of 42 and 34 from the Philippines. On the basis of DNA is their identity established, the police said on Monday.

The 42-year-old victim in May washed ashore on the beach near Zeeland Westkapelle. The other victim was found in March in the nets of a Dutch fishing boat. Their DNA was compared with that of family members.

The Baltic Ace sank on December 5 after a collision with a container ship.

That happened about 65 kilometers from the Dutch coast. On board 24 people, of whom 13 had been rescued.

Five others were recovered dead, three were later found and identified. Three crew members are still missing. The crew came from Poland, Bulgaria, Ukraine and the Philippines.

The wreck is located in a busy shipping route to Rotterdam. Therefore it must be salvaged in 2014 or 2015. On board the Baltic Ace, 1400 cars were transported and 540,000 liters of oil.

Tuesday 23 July 2013

http://www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/21752948/__Doden_Baltic_Ace_geidentificeerd__.html

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