Monday 4 November 2013

19 Volvo bus accident victims identified


Nineteen of the 45 victims of the Volvo bus tragedy at Palem in Mahabubnagar district were identified with the help of DNA fingerprinting by the experts of Andhra Pradesh Forensic Science Laboratory here on Monday.

Three of the 19 identified bodies were handed over to their respective families at Osmania General Hospital morgue. Officials said 16 more victims would be identified by Tuesday morning. So far, identity of 22 victims was established.

On the day of the accident, three victims were identified. Their bodies were given to their respective families the same day.

Wanparthy DSP B. Srinivas Reddy said all documents required for filing petitions in the court for compensation would be given to the kin of the victims.

Copies of the documents include First Information Report (FIR), inquest report, bus registration certificate, permit, insurance certificate and lease agreement of the transport operator.

Monday 04 November 2013

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/19-volvo-bus-accident-victims-identified/article5314623.ece?homepage=true

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Google Earth captures picture of world's most remote memorial: Incredible picture of 200ft African desert memorial for the 170 victims of a 1989 plane crash


The least accessible memorial in the world, built to remember 170 people who died when a plane blew up over the Sahara desert in 1989, can be seen on Google Earth and Google Maps.

UTA Flight 772 was flying from Brazzaville in the Republic of Congo to Paris CDG Airport in France on September 19, 1989, when a bomb went off in the luggage compartment.

The blast resulted in the plane tearing apart mid-air, killing everyone on board - including Bonnie Barnes Pugh, wife of the U.S. Ambassador to Chad.



Evidence traced the bomb back to Libya.

The Libyan motive was said to be revenge on the French government for supporting Chad in a border dispute with Libya.

Eventually a special court in Paris found six Libyans guilty. They were not in court themselves because Libya refused to hand them over.

Despite 170 people losing their lives, the event became known as the forgotten flight.

But 18-years later, families of those who perished gathered at the crash site where they built a memorial to remember their loved ones.

Due to the remoteness of desert location, pieces of the plane were still at the site when the families arrived.

The memorial itself was created by Les Familles de l’Attentat du DC-10 d’UTA, an association of the victims’ families along with the help of local inhabitants.



Despite being one of the most inaccessible places on the planet, the memorial was built by hand and was created using dark stones which created a 200ft diameter circle.

The stones had to be transported more than 70miles across the desert for the memorial which took two months to build in May and June 2007.

One hundred and seventy broken mirrors were places around the memorial to represent each victim of the crash.

The main part of the memorial is actually held up by the starboard wing of the aircraft which was transported from 10 miles away. It had to be dug up and emptied of sand.

It was partly funded by compensation worth £106million which was paid out by the Libyan government. The memorial can now be seen on Google Earth and Google Maps.

Monday 04 November 2013

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2487064/Incredible-Google-Earth-image-1989-UTA-plane-crash-memorial.html

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Chisumbanje ethanol tanker explosion: DNA tests for 17 unidentified victims


Government has approached a private forensic laboratory to have DNA profiling done on 17 unidentified bodies from the Chisumbanje ethanol tanker explosion. Health and Child Care Minister Dr David Parirenyatwa yesterday said he would meet representatives from the laboratory today. "We have a private DNA forensic outfit in the country and they are going to assist us on this particular case," he said.

"I will be engaging them tomorrow and we hope that they will assist us to identify the bodies," Dr Parirenyatwa said.

National police spokesperson Chief Superintendent Paul Nyathi said the DNA tests would be conducted by a team of local medical experts.

"I can confirm that the DNA tests would be conducted by a team of medical experts in the country," he said.

African Institute of Biomedical Science Technology (AiBST) founder Professor Collen Masimirembwa is leading the experts.

Chipinge District Administrator Mr Edgar Seenza yesterday said relatives had been asked to go back to their homes and would be advised about the developments today.

The remains of the victims were still at Chipinge District Hospital.

Last Friday, relatives of the 17 asked Government for mass burial after they disagreed on the identities of the bodies.

They changed tack over the weekend in the wake of our story on Saturday proposing DNA profiling.

The 25th body belonged to Clifford Muyambo who died on Monday and was being transported to his village for burial when a Mazda T35 truck ferrying mourners collided head-on with the tanker, resulting in the inferno.

Muyambo's body was also burnt in the fire.

Mr Seenza said the other eight bodies had been identified and had been collected for burial.

He said families of the unidentified bodies had approached him demanding that the mass burial be carried out immediately since they were finding it difficult to identify their relatives.

Monday 04 November 2013

http://allafrica.com/stories/201311041951.html

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Dhaka’s killing fields


Following a nine-month-long bloody war, just a day after the victory of Bangladesh on December 16, 1971, hundreds of relatives and well-wishers of abducted intellectuals were searching for their near ones who had been abducted and killed by the Pakistani occupation army and its local collaborators - al-Badr, al-Shams and razakars.

Following information from different sources, they had rushed to all the spots where bodies of the martyred intellectuals and other people were dumped. They discovered the Rayerbazar mass killing field, on the outskirts of Dhaka where bodies of people from all phases, particularly the intellectuals, had been found.

In Rayerbazar, a three kilometre stretch of road was filled with bodies and the air was filled with the smell of decomposing bodies. At the marshland and brickyard, relatives found many blindfolded bodies having signs of handcuff injuries along with gunshot and bayonet wounds in their chests and heads, say news reports and historical books.

The relatives had been busy identifying the persons by checking their clothes, ornaments and other signs in the decayed bodies.

Families of Dr Mohammad Fazle Rabbee, a physician at Dhaka Medical College (need to confirm) who had opened a secret hospital for wounded freedom fighters, identified his body, which bore signs of brutality including bullets in the chest and forehead. The physician, who had been abducted by al-Badr members from his house at 15 Shiddheshwari, was dumped at the spot, reads the book “Ekattorer Bodyhobhumi O Gonokobor,” (killing grounds and mass graves of 1971) written by Shukumar Bishwas.

Dr Rabbee (also spelled Rabbi) was one of the several brainchildren of the country, who had been killed between December 10 and 16, just before the dawn of Bangladesh, by collaborators of the Pakistani occupation army like Chowdhury Mueen Uddin and Ashrafuzzaman, “operation in-charge” and “chief executor” of the para-military force (can we say that now? Let’s wait for the verdict).

During the Liberation War, Mueen Uddin, Ashraf and their fellows played the central role behind the killing of intellectuals of the country, mainly the teachers, doctors, journalists and writers with an intention to cripple the nation intellectually.

Among the victims of their brutality, only a few had been identified while many remain unidentified since the bodies were too decomposed to be traced.

Of the bodies, only those of Prof Munier Chowdhury, journalist Selina Pervin, and Dr Rabbee had been identified by their relatives, according to the book.

Moreover, the bodies of Prof Abul Kalam Azad and Dr Abul Khayer were also identified from the spot later, according to a news report printed in The Observer on December 19, 1971.

There are several hundred mass killing fields across the country, but the Rayerbazar mass killing field and several places in the Mirpur area are the most familiar names in the capital where the noted intellectuals were killed and their bodies left by the Pakistani Army and its collaborators who came from right-wing fanatic parties, particularly the Jamaat-e-Islami.

The Harirampur mass killing field near Mirpur also has signs of murdered intellectuals. Four bodies had been recovered from a hole at the area. They are Dr Serajul Haque Khan and Dr NAM Foyzul Mohiuddin, teachers at Dhaka University’s Institute of Education and Research; history teacher Santosh Bhattacharjee; and university physician Dr Md Mortuza, according to a report published in the daily Dainik Bangla on January 5, 1972.

From another nearby hole, police and families identified three decomposed bodies which belonged ro Dhaka University history teacher Dr M Abul Khayer, English teacher Rashidul Hasan, and noted author Anwar Pasha, says the book “Ekattorer Bodhyobhumi o Gonokobor” quoting news reports.

The bodies of many martyred intellectuals could not be found until date. They are executive editor of Daily Ittefaq Sirajuddin Hossain, joint news editor of daily Sangbad Shahidullah Kaiser; Nijam Uddin Ahmed, former chief (is something missing here???) and Syed Nazmul Huq, chief reporter of PPI, SA Mannan of the daily Observer, ANM Golam Mustafa from the daily Purbadesh, Dhaka University history teacher Prof Gias Uddin Ahmed and Bangla’s Prof Mofazzal Haider Chowdhury, say historical books and media reports.

To hold the memories of martyred intellectuals, two monuments were established in Dhaka so far – at Rayerbazar and Mirpur.

Following a proposal from Projonmo ‘71, an organisation for the children of martyrs of the Liberation War, a temporary foundation was first laid at Rayerbazar in 1991. The complete structure, which was is the result of a number of renovations, has a broken wall with black tombs. (Monument descriptions need to be clear)

The Mirpur Martyred Intellectuals Memorial was first built on December 22, 1972, and it has witnessed many renovations until date. It was constructed on a land of about 100 acres, where a triangular structure of red bricks, erected by an altar made of black granite and a foundation plaque of marble is made as the main structure.

Monday 04 November 2013

http://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2013/nov/04/dhaka%E2%80%99s-killing-fields-where-their-bodies-were-dumped

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Bangladesh factory collapse: 165 still unidentified


Authorities have failed to identify the final 165 victims of Bangladesh's Rana Plaza factory collapse, an official said on Monday, meaning their families still cannot be compensated six months after the disaster.

DNA samples were not properly collected from the bodies after the collapse that killed 1 135 people in one of the world's worst industrial accidents and highlighted appalling safety standards in the industry.

The identity of 322 people could not be immediately confirmed after the crumbling of the complex outside Dhaka, where workers stitched clothes for top Western retailers.

Their bodies were too badly damaged after the nine-storey building came down, trapping many under pancaked floors.

With bodies decomposing and fears of an outbreak of disease, officials buried them in a state graveyard in Dhaka after taking DNA samples for eventual identification.

“Of the 322 people, we have now identified 157 victims by matching their DNA samples with their parents, siblings and children,” said Sharif Akhteruzzaman, head of the National Forensic DNA Profiling Laboratory.

The laboratory has handed over a list to the prime minister's office, making their families eligible for compensation, he told AFP.

The laboratory would now try to re-analyse DNA samples of the remaining 165 victims, but Akhteruzzaman said he was sceptical of success since samples from bones and teeth were not properly taken.

“The quality of their DNA samples is substandard. It's going to be an extremely tough job to re-analyse the remaining 165 people,” he said, adding the lab was now using software supplied by the US government.

Bangladeshi and international labour unions have strongly criticised the government, factory owners and Western retailers for not swiftly and adequately compensating victims and their families.

The government has said it has paid some money to families of around 800 victims, which includes about 40 survivors who lost limbs in the tragedy.

But authorities have held back compensating the rest, citing a lack of identification, a task made more difficult by inadequate payroll lists kept by factory managers.

The government's top labour official said on Monday that families of those now identified would be compensated very soon.

“We'll identify the rightful beneficiaries of these 157 people as soon as possible and then compensate them,” Labour Secretary Mikail Shipar told AFP

Monday 04 November 2013

http://www.iol.co.za/news/world/factory-collapse-165-still-unidentified-1.1601773#.UnfPdndkHt4

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Pattya Ferry update: 6 bodies found so far with more than 10 still missing


A ferry boat by the name of “Koh Lan Travel” sank off Pukhet island while carrying more than 200 passengers back from Koh Lan. Six bodies have reportedly been found so far -- 3 foreigners and 3 Thai nationals-- with 16 injuries.

A survivor recounted that after just 15 minutes departing from Koh Lan, a popular small island off the coast of Pattaya, the ferry boat suddenly stopped moving. Not long after the captain announced that the boat was out of fuel, water started gushing in from the bottom of the hull.

The cause of the incident was suspected to be a malfunction of the water pump on the ferry.

The injured victims have been taken to Pattaya Memorial Hospital. Divers still continue to search the boat and waters for more missing bodies.

Monday 04 November 2013

http://thainews.prd.go.th/centerweb/newsen/NewsDetail?NT01_NewsID=WNECO5611040010002

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