Saturday 12 October 2013

At least 21 dead in Vietnam fireworks factory explosion


At least 21 people have died and scores more have been injured in an explosion at a fireworks factory in a military complex in northern Vietnam, an army official said Saturday.

Plumes of black smoke billowed from the Z121 military facility, around 120 kilometers north of Hanoi, as fireworks exploded uncontrollably for several hours, witnesses said.

“Twenty-one people are dead and 98 others are injured, most of them have sustained burns,” a military rescue official told AFP by phone, requesting anonymity and raising an earlier toll of seven dead.

The explosion prompted the evacuation of some 2,000 people living near the area.

An army official said the blast was at a military-run facility in Phu Tho province which employs around 300 workers, mostly women.

The most critical burns cases were being moved to a specialist burns centre on the outskirts of Hanoi, 120km away.

"I couldn't recognise my daughter, she was burned from her face to the soles of her feet," one woman told state media. "She was pregnant, she couldn't escape the explosion quick enough."

Images posted on Vietnamese blogs showed charred frames of motorcycles, and nearby houses with roofs ripped off and windows blown in by the force of the explosions.

“The fire has now been brought under control,” a police official in Phu Tho province told AFP, adding that an investigation into the cause of the accident had been opened.

The online newspaper VNExpress quoted Major General Le Quang Dai as saying that fewer people than usual were working at the time of the explosion because it was a Saturday.

Authorities had tried to isolate the blast in Thanh Ba district to prevent it from reaching two explosives warehouses nearby, he added.



A police officer said the blast could be heard 10km away and around 2,000 residents living near the factory were evacuated.

“The first blast was at 7:55 a.m., and then there were continuous explosions for some hours,” Phi Xuan Trung, chairman of the local Khai Xuan commune, was told the VNExpress news site.

“There was a strong smell of gunpowder, the ground was shaking many kilometres away,” he added.

Residents in Thanh Ba district, where the complex is located, also said they felt the ground shake during the powerful repeated explosions.

“After the first explosion, my house was shaking and the door smashed open,” eye witness Nguyen Nhu Quynh told VNExpress.

Loudspeakers urged people within 15 kilometers of the military facility to leave the area.

One local resident told AFP that locals have fled to the Viet Tri township, about 40 kilometres away.

“We have received warnings from authorities that there could be further explosions which could be very destructive,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

In 2010, fireworks being prepared at Hanoi’s My Dinh stadium for use in the city’s 1,000th anniversary celebrations exploded, killing three foreigners and one Vietnamese national.

Saturday 12 October 2013

http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/international/at-least-21-dead-in-vietnam-fireworks-factory-explosion/

http://news.sky.com/story/1153580/vietnam-firework-factory-explosion-kills-21

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Rana Plaza building collapse: Family members of those missing still waiting for identification


Travel a year back. And you see in Rajbari a happy family having happy times with Taslima on the Eid day. Being the sole bread earner of the family, the garment worker brought home many gifts and with them big smiles.

This year, the Eid-ul-Azha is around but the family has no happy faces because there is no Taslima. The 20-year-old was among the 1,132 people, mostly garment workers, killed in the April 24 Rana Plaza collapse in Savar. The family has yet to get her body.

“My youngest daughter was the only wage earner of our family. Last year, she bought dresses for all of us. But today I have no one to give me a lungi or a shirt,” her father Ayub Sheikh told The Daily Star.

But it is not Taslima’s body alone that could not be identified and was therefore buried in Jurain graveyard as unidentified bodies. About 329 more bodies still remain unidentified. The government is working to identify the victims through DNA tests, and their families would be compensated only after that.

For Mamataz Begum in the meantime, the Rana Plaza collapse has been a collapse in every sense. It has taken away her son and with him the source of her family income. It has taken away, too, the joy she shared with him on Eid days. “I wish I could get at least my son’s body so I could bury him.”

Asked what this year’s Eid meant to her, she said: “What can a festival mean to a mother who has lost her son?”

She said she did not get any help from the government.

Worse, she cannot open the little tea shop she and her husband ran near the collapsed nine-storey building. The place where the shop had been remains restricted on security grounds.

Mamataz is one of the 15 mothers the correspondents spoke to while visiting Majidpur area, close to Rana Plaza.

At least seven of them are yet to find the bodies of their children or get any government help. Whenever they see a journalist they show the pictures of their sons or daughters with documents to prove their claims.

Among those who shared their heart-breaking stories with The Daily Star was Rasheda, 55. The body of her daughter, Rina Akhter, was pulled out from under the rubble by rescuers two days after the collapse. A few days later, Rasheda’s husband Yunus Akhter, who joined the rescue operation with many other civilians, died of a heart attack, possibly because of the trauma he had gone through.

Last year, Eid meant joy to her because her daughter arranged the celebration with her little savings. But this year, all she feels is desolation.

She is worried too. Worried, because another of her daughter, who used to work at a Rana Plaza garment factory, had her waist badly injured in the collapse.

Rasheda is struggling to manage the treatment cost. And she does not know where the money will come from in the days ahead.

Saturday 12 October 2013

http://www.thedailystar.net/beta2/news/eid-means-nothing/

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Thai flood claims 39 lives


The flood, caused by monsoon and depression, has affected Thailand since mid September, killing 39 people and affecting 26 of 77 provinces, officials said Saturday.

A total of 120 districts of 26 provinces, mostly in the north, northeastern and central are hit by floods, affecting about 990, 000 people, the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department said. More than 7,300 people are evacuated due to the inundation.

The Meteorological Department on Saturday issued a warning for people in northeastern provinces to embrace for Typhoon Nari which was expected to bring heavy rainfall Tuesday and Wednesday.

Deputy Prime Minister Plodprasop Suraswadi said that the flood conditions are easing.

He assured that there would be no great flood in Bangkok as happened in 2011 when flood killed more than 500 people across the country.

Meanwhile, Tourism and Sports Minister Somsak Phurisisak revealed that flooding has cost tourism about 22.6 million US dollars.

Somsak said reports about flooding had discouraged tourists from visiting these provinces despite the fact that most destinations and resorts had not been damaged by floodwaters.

Saturday 12 October 2013

http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/817330.shtml

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Egypt boat capsize: 12 migrants die off Alexandria


At least 12 migrants have drowned and some 116 were rescued after their boat capsized near the Egyptian port of Alexandria, security officials said.

The boat sank early on Friday. The survivors, mostly Palestinians and Syrians, were taken to a naval base.

The incident comes a week after at least 319 migrants died when their boat sank off an Italian island.

Only 155 people survived the disaster near Lampedusa - divers are still searching for bodies there.

Alexandria's security chief, Amin Ezzeddin, told the BBC that the survivors of the latest incident included 40 Syrians, 72 Palestinians and four Egyptians.

They were initially taken to a naval base in the Alexandria district of Ras al-Tin and then to a police station.

The accident follows another capsizing understood to have happened 10 days ago, also involving Syrians and Palestinians off the coast of Alexandria.

More than 3,400 refugees have attempted to make an illegal crossing from Egypt over to Europe since August this year, according to the UNHCR.

Many are Syrian and Palestinians escaping conflict in their countries.

The Lampedusa incident, in which the boat caught fire and capsized less than 1km (half a mile) from the island's shore has prompted an EU pledge 30m euros ($40m; £25m) to help refugees in Italy.

Saturday 12 October 2013

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-24496737

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Nigeria: Living, dying on the Niger


Two weeks ago, Alhaji Garba Mashaya of Tungar Na'illo in Kebbi State, his two wives and granddaughter set out for Malale village in Borgu Local Government Areaof Niger State via a boat on the River Niger. He was going there for business while his wives were going there for wedding.

The boat carrying them was travelling light; it had about 80 passengers, less than the over 100 it used to carry. It had only sheep and goats, but no cows. The best swimmer in the area, Alhaji Garba Maigari, the village head of Tungar Na'illo, was also onboard. Midway into the journey, the boat's engine went off. Efforts to re-start it failed. "The boat said 'gum', then 'ka-ka-kas.' The boat had broken," recalled Khadijatu, Mashaya's wife.

Since she doesn't know how to swim, she decided to stay in the broken boat with the hope that she will be found there. Then she lost her balance and fell into the river. She struggled up and began praying, thinking that she would drown. She saw a plank and held onto it. She moved to a woman who was struggling to stay afloat alone and gave her the plank; and started struggling afresh. She was tired and her hope of safety was fading.

Her granddaughter Aishatu (whom she fondly calls Jamila) swam along calling her, but Khadija told her what she wouldn't be able to tell her under normal circumstances: "Don't hold onto me, Jamila. For God's sake, go your way and let me go my way. Whoever God rescues among us will be saved, let us resign to our fate."

She didn't know where the swimming skills came from. She just saw herself afloat after going under. Then a rescuer came and asked her to hold on to his back and carried her to safety.

Twelve-year-old Aishatu could swim and therefore didn't give up. She met her grandmother's co-wife, Lamishe, and they started swimming together. After a while, however, Lamishe went under and didn't come up again, Aishatu went on until she reached safe grounds.

Meanwhile, Aishatu's grandfather, Mashaya was also swimming for his dear life. "After the boat broke into two," he told Weekly Trust, "I concluded that my two wives were drowned. I had lost hope on Khadijatu, because she doesn't know how to swim. My thinking was that Lamishe, who could swim, would survive, but fate had planned otherwise. Khadijatu, who could not swim, survived, but Lamishe, who could, drowned."

Mashaya went on to say that "I was in the river for more than 40 minutes without help, just swimming my way to safety. At a point, I also I thought I would not survive. When I saw the village head on a pole used to push the boat, I asked whether it could help the two of us. He said it probably wouldn't. As we were going, he just changed course and drowned."

Hajiya Maimuna Ahmadu also of Tungar Na'illo said she thought the boat had hit a tree. "While trying to calm people down, youths started jumping into the river. The next thing I realized was that the river had reached my chest. Some passengers held on to me before I started swimming with them. When the weight became too much for me, I broke loose and swam alone resting on a plank from the broken boat once in a while, even as I look back every now and then, expecting help to come my way. Then a boy came and took me to a tree before the rescue party came to me.

"As we were going, we just heard that the boat, made a sound as if it had hit a stump. Then I heard people saying that this boat had broken. And by the time I looked back, I saw the boat sinking. I said Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi rajiun! (Verily, we are from Allah and to him we shall all return!). I took off my robe and jumper and started shouting. Six of us started for the river bank shouting. We saw some people who held on to trees in the river and others struggling to stay afloat. Then the call for help reached them in the village here, and they went to our rescue."

"By the time we got there, we saw some of the victims holding on to trees while others were going up and below the river," said

Abubakar Adam, a younger brother to the village, Malam Garba Maigari and Alhaji Garba Mashaya's wife, Lamishe, who paddled a canoe towards the broken boat with other rescuers.

"We told those who had held on to trees that we were more concerned with those who were still floating. There is a boy called Sani. He held two women. We put one in the boat and took the other one, who has died, also. We went on and saw another boy called Surajo helping one Fulani woman. We took her and put her on the canoe. Others had gone under. I asked Kabiru, the son of Alhaji Garba, to go and help a woman who was going up and under the river. He eventually rescued her," he said.

The Chief Imam of Tungar Na'illo, Liman Aliyu, said he prayed for over 24 of the bodies recovered from the river. "The body of the staff of the Kainji National Park that who involved was given to their leader and that of the non-Muslim involved was given to his brethren," he said.

The people of Tungar Na'illo said they had never seen such a catastrophe before September 27th. They believe it is the will of God, but they were already preparing for the Friday market in Malale by the time this reporter left them on Thursday.

A river riddled with tree stumps

Alhaji Yahuza Yahaya, a boat driver based in Malale, said their boats are not bad as reported by the media. He said the boats are repaired at least every four years, adding that even if the owner doesn't have the money to do a general overhaul, he can replace the bad section of the boat as the woods that make the boats are put together in sections like mats.

"Our major problems are tree stumps in the river. When one has avoided the visible ones, he will unknowingly hit the invisible ones. We have chopped down some of the trees with axe, but some of them are beyond our capacity. I am calling on the government to help us with engines with which we can cut down the big trees," he said.

He said the hundred life jackets provided by authorities cannot go round as there are 33 boats in the area. He said the jacket almost caused problem for the association of the boat riders as the riders in Kebbi State are already asking for their share. Even if they are given a thousand pieces, he said they will not be enough, adding that they also need fire extinguishers which they hardly get nowadays.

Muhammadu Sarkin Jirgin Malale, 67, Chairman of the Boat riders in Malale, echoed Yahuza's points, adding that if the government wants to help them, it should give the assistance to the boat riders directly. He said boat accident is not a usual occurrence as it happens sometimes after ten years.

He also lamented that telecommunication services are not reliable. "If your boat has a problem in the middle of the Niger, and you are not lucky to have telecom services to call for help, you have to wait for any boat that comes your way by chance.

Another boat rider, Alhaji Muhammadu Dan'iya said the Emir of Borgu, Alhaji Haladu Dantoro, once gave the riders a tree-cutting machine, but the machine has been taken away by local rulers for the past five years now.

He said they don't have money to buy lifejackets for all their passengers as they barely get by in the ferry business. He said sometimes he only makes a N1,000 after a trip to and from a village without settling the boys who help him on the boat.

"I go with two boys who look after the boat. I buy food for and settle them. Even the day before yesterday I only got a N1,000 before settling them. If the government orders us to buy lifejackets for all our passengers, only two out of ten boats will remain in business. By God, we repair our boats at most after every four years, but some big boats require up to a N150,000 for repairs because the body is treated like a vehicle with nuts and bolts."

Responding to the saying that the use of old boats is the cause of the accidents, Atttahiru Ahmad of Malale said though they may look old, the boats ferry unbelievable number of people and goods across the Niger, to and from settlements like Garahuni, Tungar Na'illo and Yawuri.

Mezziah Umoogu, a boat maker at Malale, advised the riders to constantly check the river worthiness of their boats before venturing onto the river as their lives depend on it.

Double boat accident in Ulakami

Alhaji Yakubu Ulakami, the owner of the boat that broke in Ulakami village, Borgu Local Government Area, said the type of planks sold in the market these days are not as durable as the once they used to buy before. He said he just repaired his boat about a year ago. A repair, he said, normally lasts for five years.

Speaking in an emotion-laden voice, he said for the past 40 years he has been in this business; nobody has ever died in his boat. He said the boat had been emptied of the goods (like bags of grains villagers normally take to Kokoli market) it took to Kokoli village and the passengers on board were few compared to the boat's carrying full capacity when the accident occurred.

In what could have been another disaster, the boat in which rescue party went to help the victims of the mishap also broke into two. Luckily, it had already made it to the bank, he said.

He said the tree stumps only become dangerous when the water level in the river goes down, but during periods of high water level like this, tree stumps are not problems.

"Of all those who died in the accident, only one woman is married. The other two boys and 15 girls are children and grand children to me," he said.

In Kebbi State, places like Yauri, Shabanda, Dugu, Gyade, Kawara, Gebe, Kwanji, Sanga, Kwanji and Majigi are among communities of Yauri, Ngaski and Shanga Local Government Areas who rely on the River Niger waterways as major transport routes.

Villagers from these communities, according investigations, have at one time or the other died and lost property in the river from boat mishaps.

Garba Saidu Gebe, a native of Kwanji, said over 50 people mostly Kambari from Niger State had died in a mishap near Kasabo, a short distance to Yauri in 1998.

"They were approaching Yauri from Kasabo when the boat capsized and killed over 50 Kambaris from Niger State," he said.

Gebe, who lectures at the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), Kaduna also said a prominent pastor, Reverend Gado, was among the ten victims who died in the 1990 Shabanda mishap.

"We had another mishap where 25 people died while on a boat from Yauri to Kwandi, while eight Gebe villagers died in the mishap along Shabanda and Kawara in 1982.

"We have not heard of any major incident until these two which happened within an interval of a week in Niger State," he said.

The District Head of Kwanji, Gebe in Shanga Local Government Area Alhaji Haruna Usman could, however, not be reached to ascertain such incidences.

The Galadiman Majigi, Alhaji Tukur Mai Doki in Warra, Ngaski Local Government Area, however, confirmed that the Emir of Yauri has summoned a council meeting to discuss solutions to the problem of boat mishap on the River Niger.

"Our meeting will decide on whether to impose the ban of old boats as was already done by Niger State government.

"We have also identified overloading and poor maintenance of boats as another major causes of mishaps on our waters and we have taken measures to curb it.

"Our people are more exposed to risk when people are crossing to markets on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. These are the periods we experience more traffic and overloads of boats. Only about 35 of the over 80 passengers pay for fare, thereby overloading the boat," he said.

Malam Garba Dangi, a survivor of a recent Kokoli boat mishap, told Weekly Trust in Zamare, said government should provide speed boat to River Niger communities as it is the case of the people Niger Delta communities in Nigeria. He said "government should also enforce the use of live jackets by passengers. It will help to save lives where accidents happened before rescue operation comes to the people."

Similarly, Alhaji Ibrahim Yauri, former Chairman of Kebbi indigenes, called on government to recruit professional life guards and post them to riverine areas to train boat captains on rescue operations.

He said the prices of spare parts of boat engines should also be subsidized to reduce the rate of cutting corners by operators.

"Authorities should also sensitive boat captains to suspend fretting once it is about to rain. This is to avoid strong wind and water waves or water fill-up of the boat that cause mishaps," he said.

The former chairman said journeys on boat from Lofa (the home town of current Kebbi Deputy Governor) to Kokoli in Niger State and Warra to Shagumi that take over two hours on waters should be done with speed boats that are good and carry passengers according to specification.

Also, the Wakilin Sarkin Jirgi, Abdullahi Isah, an expert in constructing small boats in Yauri said the lifespan of boats in the area are above at least eight years.

According to him, most of the boats are 15 years old and above. "The engines of the boats are also of low capacity, while most passengers prefer to enter fully-loaded boats as attachments because of low fare.

Wakili said boats are more exposed to accident in dry season than rainy season when there is high water level and low risk of hitting a rock.

"You see a boat with capacity for 30 people overloaded with up to 100 people coupled with the old age of the boat and over utilization of the engine."

Alhaji Bala, the owner of the boat involved in the last mishap however disagreed with Wakili's assertion.

"I don't know of other boats, but my own boat involved in the last accident was in good working condition and it is not as old as what I heard people saying. Even the passengers who survived the mishap testified that the boat is in good condition and the accident was just destined to happen," he said.

Secretary of Marine Transport Association, Alhaji Abubakar Danjuma, said "the accidents are not caused by any form of recklessness or overload, because we ensure strict compliance with marine guidelines by all our members including those who involved in the last mishap.

"There are Marine police who patrol Warra, Yauri, Zamare and other areas on River Niger to ensure compliance.

"It's over 12 years now since we had any incident in Kebbi. The last one was during Sallah where two people died when the boat carrying passengers from Zamare to Yauri had a mishap. That was when Colonel John Uba was the Military Administrator of the state," he said.

Saturday 12 October 2013

http://allafrica.com/stories/201310120139.html

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439 victims of worst mining disaster in British history finally get fitting memorial after 100 years


At 8.10am on the morning of October 14, 1913, Evan James and Charles Brown were starting their mining shift 2,000ft beneath a green valley in South Wales.

They were hauliers, directing the teams of dray horses that dragged tubs of coal from the face to the mine shaft to be winched up to the surface.

As they bent to their back-breaking task, there was an ear-splitting boom. The spark from an electric bell had ignited a dangerous mix of methane gas and coal dust, known to miners as “firedamp”.

The ensuing fireball ripped through the deep pit in Senghenydd, near Caerphilly. A river of flame engulfed everything in its path.

Evan, 41, and Charles, 31, stood no chance. Their bodies were incinerated within seconds as they became two of the 439 miners who lost their lives in the worst mining disaster in British history.

The explosion 100 years ago this week was so fierce it made the Welsh valleys shudder. Those not burned to death at once were suffocated by the noxious gases left behind.

On Monday, Hilary Barbrook, granddaughter of both Evan and Charles, will join thousands of people at a memorial service to honour the men and boys who died that day.

Of the dead, 63 were teenagers including 23 aged 14-16. Another 162 were in their 20s The disaster left 542 children fatherless and made widows of more than 200 women. Ten members of the town’s rugby team were killed.

One woman had eight coffins in her house with the bodies of her husband, three brothers and four sons.

During the service, at the exact hour of the blast, a horn like the one that called the miners to work will sound across the hills. For locals who lost relatives it will be a moment charged with emotion.

“There were about 1,000 of them down there. Most didn’t stand a chance,” says gran-of-four Hilary, 73.

“The rescuers found the bodies of a father and son still huddled together. It’s impossible to imagine how horrible it must have been.”

Pointing down to the long terraced row of two-bedroom miners’ cottages, she dabs at a tear and adds: “This was only a small village. Not a single house was unaffected.

"Growing up here, all of us had lost a member of our family.” Today nothing remains of the mine that produced endless tonnes of coal to fuel the British empire.

The machinery is long gone, the shaft was filled in. But Senghenydd is a town which has lived in the shadow of the disaster ever since.

“As children we ran about in the ruins,” she adds. “The older children would say that if you look up to the mine at night you would see the dead miners coming down to haunt you. It would scare us.”

The body of Evan, Hilary’s maternal grandfather, was recovered but charred beyond recognition. The body of Charles, her father’s father, was never found.

Miraculously 18 men were rescued from beyond the wall of fire thanks to an air pocket. In all, 489 miners were brought out alive. It was a catastrophe that could have been avoided had the pit’s wealthy owners taken precautions already ordered by Act of Parliament.

Following an earlier fatal explosion the Universal Colliery all mine owners were ordered to control ­electrical equipment to prevent sparking, to water dusty areas, and to have reversible fans so clean air could be provided in emergencies.

None of that happened.

The inaction of mine manager Edward Shaw created the perfect conditions for an inferno. There was not even any water on hand to douse the flames. For his guilty role Shaw was fined just £24 – less than 6p per life lost. Incredibly, the pit owners were fined only £10 on one charge – not having a reversible fan.

Joyce Slade, 75, is the daughter of the young girl holding a baby on a hill above the mine entrance in our main picture. That teenager, Agnes Webber, carried her baby sister Gwyneth wrapped in a blanket and waited helplessly for news.

The iconic image was published all around the world.

“My grandfather used to drive a horse and trap,” says Joyce. “Thankfully he was not down the mine.

"But virtually all the families down the street had men down there. Nearly all died. My mother went up to wait because that is all anyone could do.”

On Monday local schoolchildren will unveil a monument which features stone plaques for each of the men who died. Engraved paving stones pay tribute to the victims of 150 other pit accidents.

Welsh rock band the Manic Street Preachers, who grew up nearby, have made a donation.

Songwriter Nicky Wire says: “We know only too well the devastating impact that mining disasters have had. It is so important that those who lost their lives are remembered.”

“I don’t think there will be a dry eye at the service,” Hilary says. “At last the lives of my grandfathers are being ­properly commemorated.”

For 100 years the catastrophe of Senghenydd has been a forgotten footnote of history, a blip just before the horrors of the First World War. Now its victims will finally get the tribute they deserve.

Saturday 12 October 2013

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/real-life-stories/senghenydd-colliery-disaster-439-victims-2364024

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Indonesia: Identification of Lebanese migrant boat victims underway


Caretaker Minister of State Ahmad Karami said Friday that the bodies of the Lebanese who drowned off the Indonesian coast last month were still awaiting the results of DNA tests to be identified.

“For the bodies of the Lebanese who died in the incident, this issue is waiting on Indonesian authorities to conclude DNA tests for those who were killed,” Karami told reporters.

“I would like to seize this opportunity to reiterate calls to firmly crack down on networks smuggling people out of Lebanon, because they are deceptive and tarnish the reputation of the Lebanese,” Karami added.

He made his remarks to reporters at the Grand Serail after he briefed caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati of the outcome of his official visit to Indonesia last week to follow up on the boat tragedy.

A boat carrying around 80 migrants trying to illegally cross from Indonesia to Australia foundered off the Indonesian coast last month. At least 26 Lebanese were killed and 18 survived. Most of the Lebanese victims hailed from the underdeveloped area of north Lebanon, mainly from the Akkar village of Qabeet.

The 18 survivors returned to Lebanon last week. The delegation came back to Lebanon Tuesday along with six Lebanese who were detained in Indonesia for overstaying their visas and another 10 who were detained for not having legal papers.

In separate comments to The Daily Star, Karami said that forensic expert Fouad Ayoub, a member of the delegation, would head back to Indonesia after the Eid al-Adha holiday to follow up on efforts to identify the bodies of the deceased.

“Indonesian authorities are still taking DNA samples from the bodies that will be compared to the DNA samples sent by the families of the victims,” Karami said, adding that there was unlikely to be progress in the case before the Eid al-Adha holiday.

A written statement from the Indonesian Embassy in Lebanon said the country was facing the threat of human trafficking networks and the boat tragedy marked the first time Lebanese migrants were involved.

“Indonesia is facing a serious problem concerning these smuggling activities,” said the statement, which was sent to The Daily Star in response to an interview request.

“Many illegal immigrants and asylum-seekers from other countries are attempting to enter Australia, and this tragedy involving Lebanese nationals was the first time this happened in Indonesia,” the statement said.

“Noting this tragedy, the embassy is now evaluating its visa issuance procedure. The embassy will be more cautious in processing visa applications, especially in verifying all the required documents of the applicant.”

In response to a question regarding Australian authorities’ assertion that Indonesian authorities “could not respond” to the sinking ship when contacted, the statement said Indonesia was still investigating the incident.

“Indonesian authorities are still conducting relevant inquiries to investigate the tragedy, including distress calls from the boat,” it said, adding that the embassy thought it would be unwise to speculate until the inquiry was finished.

Separately, a Future Movement delegation visited survivors in their Akkar villages Friday.

The delegation was headed by Samer Haddara, a Future Movement official in Akkar, and Mohammad Mrad, a member of the Future Movement politburo.

Haddara said the government failed to fulfill its obligations toward the Lebanese victims.

“The government took action several days after the painful incident,” Haddara said. “From the first moment after the disaster occurred, former Prime Minister Saad Hariri put all his resources at the disposal of the victims’ families and dispatched an envoy to Jakarta to follow up on the situation of the Lebanese for days.”

Haddara held the state responsible for the “humanitarian disaster.”

“The deprivation that Akkar has been suffering from since [Lebanon’s] independence has led the Lebanese to risk their lives to seek a better one elsewhere,” he said.

For his part, Mrad called on the judiciary to punish all members of the human smuggling network involved in the incident:

“We should follow up on this case until members of this network are arrested and punished, particularly senior members who dealt hastily with the lives and dignity of the people.”

Friday 12 October 2013

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-News/2013/Oct-12/234385-identification-of-boat-victims-underway.ashx

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