Friday 4 October 2013

Finding the missing


In the wreckage of Nairobi’s Westgate shopping centre the remains of dozens of victims of last month’s terrorist attack await identification. In some cases the damage is so bad that conventional means—faces, fingerprints, teeth—may be of little use. But thanks to Interpol the Kenyan authorities are getting help from an unexpected quarter: a Bosnia-based organisation which uses DNA testing to trace victims of the Yugoslav wars.

The International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) sounds grand but has just 150 people and a core budget of under €7m ($9.5m) a year. Zlatan Bajunovic, whom it has sent to Nairobi, lives close to Srebrenica, where 8,000 Bosniaks were killed in 1995. Their killers dug up and moved bodies from the original mass graves. Many corpses disintegrated.

Thanks to him and his colleagues most of those remains have been identified. Of the 40,000 people who went missing in the wake of the Balkan wars of the 1990s, 70% have been found. The ICMP has helped identify two-thirds of those. Families register their DNA and then look on the ICMP website to see if it matches the remains which have been found. Testing kits, of the kind Mr Bajunovic has taken to Nairobi, are cheap, quick and effective.

Now the ICMP is looking for new work. Though other outfits—in Argentina and South Africa, among other places—do similar jobs, its labs in Sarajevo are the biggest of their kind and its technology is the most advanced. It has already helped identify victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami, Hurricane Katrina and a devastating typhoon in the Philippines in 2008.

It could do more. Up to 1m people are missing in Iraq, 10,000 in Libya, 50,000 in Syria. Hundreds of thousands remain untraced from the Rwandan genocide of 1994. After years of war, even estimating numbers of missing people in the Democratic Republic of Congo is hard. The migrants whose corpses wash up on the Italian island of Lampedusa are buried in anonymous graves. In all these cases DNA, if taken and traced, could restore names to the dead and put an end to miserable uncertainty for their families.

But the ICMP needs more clout. It has neither the authority of a big organisation like Amnesty International, nor the standing enshrined in international law of the Red Cross. It is not part of the UN system. Its biggest political backer was Bill Clinton; later American administrations have been less keen. There are many multilateral bodies. Who needs another?

Now moves are afoot to boost the ICMP’s status. It has already signed a deal with the International Organisation for Migration to begin finding those missing as a result of migration and trafficking. It plans to move its headquarters to the Netherlands, where the government is offering diplomatic immunities and privileges (the labs will stay in Sarajevo). The mayor of The Hague may offer an office and some cash. Britain has promised diplomatic support. Germany is mulling over help too.

The result would be what its director, Kathryne Bomberger, calls a “birth certificate” for the ICMP. For the unknown victims of beastliness and disaster, it would mean more accurate death certificates.

Friday 4 October 2013

http://www.economist.com/news/international/21587246-tracing-missing-people-grim-task-belatedly-gaining-new-oomph-dead-link

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Lebanese delegation to Indonesia starts DNA testing to identify migrant boat victims


The Lebanese delegation tasked with following up on the Australia-bound boat tragedy has started its work on Thursday upon its arrival to Indonesia.

The delegation is in charge of identifying the bodies of the drowned victims, secure their transfer to Lebanon, and deal with the diplomatic procedures necessary to allow the survivors to legally return to Beirut.

"We thank the cabinet of Indonesia for everything it is doing to ease the transfer of the victims' bodies to Lebanon, and for helping in dealing with pending legal matters related to the survivors,” caretaker State Minister Ahmed Karami said.

Lebanese Charge d'Affaires in Indonesia Joanna Qazzi announced that around 42 bodies were retrieved from the sea.

"The bodies belong to 18 men, 5 boys, 14 women and 6 girls,” she detailed, adding that DNA samples taken from the victims' families will be used to identify them.

Qazzi called on the Lebanese migrants, who violated their residency permits in Indonesia, to “benefit from this chance to return to their homeland at the expense of Lebanon's cabinet, who is also going to cover their due fines.”

LBCI television pointed out that the documents of 18 survivors will be ready in the coming hours to allow them to return to Beirut.

Meanwhile, the same source remarked that 6 Lebanese are still detained in an Indonesian prison, after they were arrested before the boat's sailing.

"The Lebanese coroner who traveled to Indonesia with the delegation will head on Friday to the military hospital to start with the DNA testing to identify the bodies,” LBCI added.

Al-Jadeed television, however, noted that reports saying the bodies of the boat's victims will arrive to Lebanon on Monday are just rumors.

"It is impossible to complete this mission by Monday,” it stressed.

Led by Karami, the Lebanese delegation includes International forensic adviser and DNA expert Dr. Fouad Ayoub, High Relief Commission chief Brig. Gen. Ibrahim Bashir, and a number of officials from the Foreign Ministry, a representative of the General Security, and DNA specialists.

The boat, which was estimated to be carrying between 80 and 120 Middle Eastern illegal immigrants, went down on Friday in rough seas off Indonesia's main island of Java. It was headed for Australia's Christmas Island.

Twenty-eight people have escaped alive.

The Lebanese foreign ministry said Sunday there were 68 Lebanese, including children, on board the ill-fated vessel and that 18 survived the ordeal while at least 28 were still missing.

Friday 4 October 2013

http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/100783-lebanese-delegation-to-indonesia-starts-dna-testing-seeks-to-complete-legal-procedures

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Nigeria: Plane Crashes With Agagu's Casket, Kills 13 (update)

Nigeria's aviation industry witnessed another tragedy yesterday, as an Embraer aircraft operated by Associated Airlines with registration number SCD 361, conveying the corpse of former Governor of Ondo State, Chief Olusegun Agagu from Lagos to Akure for burial, crashed shortly after take-off at Murtala Mohammed Airport, Lagos killing 13 persons on board while seven others survived.

The crash which occurred at about 9.30 a.m. had 13 passengers, and seven crew members on board.

President Goodluck Jonathan, in his immediate reaction ordered a thorough investigation into the crash by all relevant agencies with a view to determining the cause and taking further actions, as may be necessary. Embraer, manufacturers of the aircraft has also said it had offered to help authorities investigate the crash of the 30-seater plane.

An engineer, Rasheed Olajide, who witnessed the air crash at the airport told Reuters that "the plane was making a lot of noise and appeared to make a maneuver to avoid a residential area before it came down. A diplomatic source told Reuters the engine was made by Pratt & Whitney Canada, a unit of United Technologies Corp, PW100. According to the airfleets.net website, which keeps a record of passenger aircraft worldwide, the crashed aircraft was more than 23 years old.

The crash happened within Sahara Group tank farm, one of the companies supplying aviation fuel to airlines. The tank farm is situated some 200 metres away from the perimeter fence of the international wing of the MurtalaMhuammedAirport. The aircraft broke into two with its cockpit compartment burnt, while the remaining part that included the luggage compartment, was slightly burnt.

Agagu's casket intact

However, the casket containing the remains of Agagu, kept in the luggage compartment, was intact as it was not burnt when it was finally removed from the wreckage. The casket was conveyed in a NAF Ambulance with registration no AF 054 -Eo1 to the nearby NAF hospital, a few hours after the accident.

All relevant security and emergency agencies comprising Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), members of the Police Force, Federal Road Safety Corps, Red Cross and Lagos State Fire Services, were present at the crash site. Others include the Nigerian Air Force personnel and officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority

Some officials of the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) were seen retrieving personal effects of passengers from the aircraft into their waiting vehicle for identification. Some of the retrieved belongings were a small camera, laptop bags, one iPad, a travelling bag containing personal effects, a torchlight, a walkie-talkie, a wallet and the case of a reading glass.

Many people wanted to catch glimpses of the incident and used their camera phones to snap pictures of the site. However, security agents had to cordon off the area to be able to dismantle the luggage compartment and bring out the casket.

A Commissioner of the Accident Investigation and Prevention Bureau (AIPB), Captain Usman Murktar, who spoke on the air crash confirmed that there were 20 people on board the ill fated plane and that all persons on the aircraft have been accounted for. He also confirmed that search and rescue operations were called off at exactly 11.50am yesterday. This was after the last missing person on board the aircraft was recovered.

Black Box found -- AIPB boss

Captain Murktar said: "We can confirm that there were six survivors on the aircraft. Four are in stable condition while two are critical. All are receiving full medical attention in the hospital. The Accident Investigation and Prevention Bureau (AIPB) has commenced investigation into the probable cause(s) of the crash. The Cockpit Voice Recorder, popularly called the Black Box has been found and is in the custody of AIPB."

In the course of search and rescue, the casket bearing the remains of Late Olusegun Agagu was brought out unscathed while survivors were rushed to hospital. The AIPB commissioner however failed to disclose the names of those aboard the aircraft, saying the bureau has to first officially notify the families of the victims before making their names public.

General Manager, Corporate Communication of FAAN, Mr. Yakubu Datti while speaking on the crash said that the aircraft was heading to Akure with 20 passengers onboard and that immediately the crash occurred, emergency response team rushed to the site of the crash to rescue the victims.

He said: "The propeller aircraft which belongs to Associated Airlines with registration number 5N-BJY crashed around 9:32am with 20 passengers onboard. Rescue operations commenced immediately with all relevant agencies to help and some of the survivors, about six of them have already been rushed to the hospital and they are receiving medical attention. We call on the public to shun unconfirmed reports and avoid speculation, so we will continue to update you every thirty minutes."

Also speaking, Director of Lagos State Fire Service, Mr. Rasaq Idowu Fadipe said that the agency was able to recover 11 passengers who were dead, while four other passengers were rescued alive.

Mr. Fadipe said: "We rescued 11 suspected dead passengers and four were rescued alive. Immediately we heard about the crash, we mobilised a lot of equipment and personnel to the site, so immediately we arrived here, we quickly engaged ourselves on search and rescue operation but before then, we put out the fire because there is no how you can work here without putting out the fire first, so within a few minutes three fire trucks responded, each carrying 10,000 litres of water to enable us quickly put off the fire and after that we engaged on search and rescue operations with other emergencies agencies.

A hospital source gave a total of seven survivors. Five of the injured are receiving treatment at the Surgical Emergency Section, LASUTH, one at the Nigerian Air Force, NAF, base, Ikeja, and another survivor who suffered some degree of burns was being attended to at the Burns and Trauma Unit of Gbagada General Hospital, after being referred from the Federal Medical Centre, Ebute Metta.

Mr Feyi Agagu, son of late former Ondo State Governor, Olusegun Agagu; Akintunde Taiwo, Akinsanya Femi, Mrs Toyin Samson and one unidentified adult male are at Surgical Emergency unit of LASUTH recuperating. Mr Agagu wore a cast on his neck while Mrs Samson is in stable condition.

DNA tests The Lagos State Government Thursday promised to conduct DNA tests to identify 13 bodies, which it said, were charred beyond recognition in the plane crash that occurred at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport.

Orelope-Adefilure, the state’s Deputy Governor, who visited the survivors at the emergency ward of the hospital, called on the relations of the victims in the ill-fated aircraft to come for DNA tests so the identity of the victims could be established.

“The survivors are here in the hospital receiving treatment. The 13 bodies recovered cannot be identified at the moment. But we are still waiting for the manifest of the passengers from the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority. The survivors are receiving treatment here at the emergency surgical ward.

“So what we want to let the public know is that anyone who knows that he or she had anybody among the travelling party to Ondo State, aboard the flight, but not among the survivors, should see the pathologists at the LASUTH,” she said.

Speaking on the DNA tests, the Vice Chancellor of the Lagos State University, Prof. John Obafunwa said the state government had “to carry out a forensic examination aimed at knowing the cause of the death and assisting in the identification of the victims.

“We are going to conduct the investigation this evening, having been given orders by the coroner to do so. Hopefully, within the next 48 to 72 hours, we should have been done with what we have to do. But we have been told that a number of bodies had been burnt beyond recognition and we will have to identify these individuals.”

He urged those whose relations were suspected victims on board the flight to see him.

“Basically, we need to have the children, the siblings, parents, as we are going to take some samples from them. It is not a thing that is difficult,” he explained.

Full manifest still awaited

Identities of all the victims remained unknown at press time as the full manifest was yet to be released, but unconfirmed reports indicated that among the dead were four staff of MIC Funeral Services, Lagos, as well as the Managing Director, Mr Tunji Okusanya and his son. The first son of Agagu who was on the flight was believed to be among the survivors.

Confirming the deaths, LagosState deputy Governor, Princess Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, said all the bodies were burnt beyond recognition. Expressing shock over the incidence, the Deputy Governor consoled families of the victims, assuring that the government would take necessary steps to identify the bodies of the victims and give the best treatment to the survivors. "Accept our condolences. We will support the family members," she stated.

Meanwhile the state government may not release any of the bodies until it has conducted autopsies and forensic tests on the bodies before release to relatives. Already, family members of the deceased have been urged to come forward to submit DNA samples for the forensic tests and proper identification of victims bodies.

It was gathered that the samples for DNA was necessary since the bodies were burnt beyond recognition. Giving the hint, Prof. John Obafunwa, said: "We will take samples from their mouths. We will not push needles into anybody. We will compare this with DNA samples of the victims and this will be done as soon as possible. We will hasten up whatever we have to do because we appreciate the feelings of individuals.

Lagos State Commissioner for Special Duties, Dr Wale Ahmed observed the state has created a Help Desk to provide information to those families that were involved in the crash. The commissioner can be reached through 08022234870 for further information.

Striking LASUTH doctors work on crash victims

Meanwhile, following the crash, members of the Association of Resident Doctors, Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH-ARD has modified its ongoing strike to attend to emergencies. Bodies of victims of the ill-fated aircraft have been evacuated to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH.

President, Association of Resident Doctors, LASUTH chapter, Dr Oluwajimi Shodipo who confirmed the situation said the on going strike was not about wasting lives but saving them.

"We have joined the strike but we have modified ours at LASUTH because of the plane crash in order to save lives. "We are attending to emergencies now. Consultants are also working at the various units. The strike is not about wasting lives but about saving lives.

The Associated Airline involved in the crash has stopped scheduled flights operations since last year after the Dana plane crash. The airline has been operating skeletal chartered services.

Friday 4 October 2013

http://allafrica.com/stories/201310040163.html

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Costa Concordia: DNA testing begins following discovery of remains


The Costa Concordia cruise liner was hauled upright last week and the complicated 19-hour salvage operation led to the discovery of at least two bodies.

Divers recovered the bodies of two victims and what they believe to be more human remains from the tragic accident.

Authorities are already awaiting the results of separate tests on other bones found last week.

"Other [remains] have been found and are being analysed," Franco Gabrielli, the head of the search operation, told Ansa news agency.

''We are awaiting the results of scientific analyses. Before to jumping to any conclusions, we have to wait for the results to confirm whether the remains belong to the missing.''

The first group of remains were found near the fourth deck of the liner, which crashed into a reef, took on water and capsized off the Tusan island of Giglio in January 2012, killing 32 people.

The ship was hauled upright last month in a major salvage operation. The Rebello and Trecarichi families hoped works would lead to the discovery of the missing bodies.

The Costa Concordia capsized on January 13, 2012 when it moved too close to land, struck a group of large rocks, and flipped over. 32 people were killed aboard the ship.

Speaking to reporters this week, Franco Gabrielli said it was almost a miracle that they could pull two bodies from behind a 114,500 tonne vessel after 20 months of submersion.

Rebello, a 33-year-old cruise waiter from India, was last seen making his way to a muster station at the restaurant at the back of the ship after he helped numerous passengers to safety.

Trecarichi was on the cruiser to celebrate her 50th birthday with her 17-year-old daughter Stefania. They had boarded different lifeboats because Trecarichi was cold and had gone below deck to fetch a jacket. Stefania survived.

Costa Concordia Captain Francesco Schettino is on trial over the disaster on charges of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning ship.

Friday 4 October 2013

http://www.inquisitr.com/979383/costa-concordia-shipwreck-dna-testing-begins-following-discovery-of-remains/

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/511118/20131003/costa-concordia-new-remains-found-russel-rebello.htm

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Bodies of all nine victims of boat tragedy found


The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams fished out the bodies from the river near Maujampur village, which is about eight kms away from the site of the tragedy, Sub-divisional officer Madhav Kumar Singh said.

The bodies have been identified. While three of them hailed from Sohara village, the rest six were from New Khawaspur village, he said.

Three of the girls were aged between 8 and 14 and five others between 17 and 19. The ninth victim was a 40 year-old woman.

Singh said the bodies were handed over to their families after autopsy and compensation will be given to them as per the law.

Singh said that the name of 13-year-old boy Om Prakash Bind, who rescued five persons onboard the ill-fated boat, will be recommended to the Centre by the district authorities for bravery award.

A boat carrying 26 people had capsized in the Ganga two days ago. While 17 of the passengers swam to safety, nine others had gone missing.

Friday 4 October 2013

http://zeenews.india.com/news/bihar/bodies-of-all-nine-victims-of-boat-tragedy-found_880906.html

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Italy sinking: Search resumes for missing migrants


The rickety fishing boat was the third of the night to head toward the tiny Italian island of Lampedusa, overloaded with African migrants seeking a better life in Europe. Most never reached shore.

After the boat started taking on water, someone on board set a fire to get the attention of passing ships. The flames spread and panicked passengers surged to one side to avoid the fire. The vessel capsized, and hundreds of men, women and children who didn't know how to swim were flung into the Mediterranean Sea.

At least 113 bodies have now been recovered and some 200 of those on board the 20m (66-ft) fishing boat are still unaccounted for.

Dozens of bodies are thought to remain in the sunken vessel, according to rescue officials.

"We need only caskets, certainly not ambulances," said Pietro Bartolo, chief of Lampedusa health services.

It was one of the deadliest accidents in the perilous crossing thousands make each year, seeking a new life in the prosperous European Union. Smugglers charge thousands of dollars a head for the journey aboard overcrowded, barely seaworthy boats that lack life vests.

Lampedusa, 70 miles (113 kilometres) off Tunisia and closer to Africa than the Italian mainland, has been at the centre of wave after wave of illegal immigration.

Between 450 and 500 people were believed to be on board the boat, which set sail from the Libyan capital, Tripoli, and capsized about a half-mile from Lampedusa; health commissioner Antonio Candela said only 159 were rescued.

Bartolo initially put the death toll at 94 but said it would certainly rise as search operations continued.

The deaths of so many people may have come down to the lack of a cellphone.

The 66-foot (20-meter) boat was carrying migrants from Eritrea, Ghana and Somalia, Italian coast guard spokesman Marco Di Milla told The Associated Press.

It nearly reached its destination, getting as far as nearby Conigli island before it began taking on water, Interior Minister Angelino Alfano told reporters.

Usually, smugglers have mobile or satellite phones to call for help when they near shore or run into trouble. Instead, someone on this boat set fire to a piece of material to attract the attention of passing ships, he said.

Only three of the estimated 100 women on board were rescued -- and none of the 10 children were saved, said Simona Moscarelli, of the International Organization for Migration in Rome. Two of the dead women were pregnant.

"Most of them can't swim," she told the AP. "Only the strongest survived."

Italian coast guard ships, fishing boats and helicopters from across the region searched for survivors. Rescue crews hauled body bags by the dozens at Lampedusa port, lining them up under multicolored tarps on the docks.

Coast guard divers found the wreck on the sea floor, some 130 feet below the surface, Cmdr. Floriana Segreto told the AP.

Survivors packed Lampedusa's detention centre for migrants, along with those aboard the two other smugglers' boats, which reached shore safely. More than 1,000 people were squeezed into a space built for 250, Moscarelli said. Medical workers scrambled to treat the injured.

Migrants who arrive in Lampedusa are processed in centres, screened for asylum and often sent back home. Some slip into the general public and make their way to northern Europe, seeking to blend into larger immigrant communities. In Italy, migrants can work legally only if they have a work permit and a contract before they arrive -- a policy pushed through by Italy's anti-immigrant Northern League party.

Thursday's disaster was the second shipwreck this week off Italy. On Monday, 13 men drowned while trying to reach southern Sicily when their ship ran aground just a few yards from shore.

Hundreds of migrants reach Italy's shores every day, particularly during the summer, when seas are usually calmer. According to the U.N. refugee agency, 8,400 migrants landed in Italy and Malta in the first six months of this year, almost double the 4,500 who arrived during the first half of 2012. The numbers have spiked in recent weeks, particularly from Syria.

Still, they are a far cry from the tens of thousands who flooded to Italy -- many through Lampedusa -- during the Arab Spring exodus of 2011.

Before Thursday's tragedy, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees had recorded 40 deaths in the first half of 2013 for migrants arriving in Italy and Malta.

Last year, that route saw 500 deaths.

Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/migrant-ship-capsizes-off-italian-coast-death-toll-could-surpass-300-1.1481447

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