Wednesday 20 November 2013

15 killed, seven injured as vehicle falls into gorge


Fifteen persons were killed and seven seriously injured when the vehicle they were travelling in fell into a deep gorge in Pithoragarh district early this morning.

The mishap occurred at Tauldhar, about 6 km from Dharchula near India-Nepal border in the district at 7.30 AM, killing 15 persons on the spot and leaving seven others injured, Dharchula SDM Pramod Kumar said.

All the bodies have been recovered and the injured have been admitted to a community health centre at Dharchula, he said.

The vehicle carrying milk and vegetable vendors from Ranthi to Dharchula fell into the gorge when the driver lost control near a sharp bend, he said.

The reasons behind the accident is being ascertained but apparently it was caused due to overloading, he said.

Wednesday 20 November 2013

http://freepressjournal.in/15-killed-seven-injured-as-vehicle-falls-into-gorge/

continue reading

Don't resort to rapid mass burials, ICRC says


The international Red Cross released a manual on how to deal with dead bodies on Wednesday, knocking down the notion that corpses are a huge health hazard as the death toll from Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) climbed to more than 4,000.

The storm crashed into the central Philippines on Nov. 8, laying waste to just about everything in its path, and bodies are still being pulled from the debris. Many victims have been buried in mass graves.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said that, contrary to popular belief, there was no public health justification for rapid mass burials.

"The bodies of those who die in a natural disaster do not cause epidemics, and they are a negligible health hazard," it said in a release.

It said it was unlikely the typhoon victims were carrying epidemic-causing diseases such as cholera, typhoid or malaria and that they likely died from drowning, injury or fire.



"There is only a small risk of developing diarrhea by drinking water contaminated by the corpses—a risk smaller than that caused by the living—and that risk can be eliminated by routinely disinfecting and/or boiling water to prevent water-borne disease."

The guide said the rumors about contamination put political pressure on authorities to resort to rapid mass burials and spraying disinfectants.

"The consequences of mismanagement of the dead include mental distress and legal problems for relatives of the victims," it said.

But it added that rapid retrieval of bodies was a priority because it aided identification and reduced the psychological impact on survivors.

In a section on advice for journalists covering disasters, it said they should challenge any call for mass burials or incineration.

"Please do not jump on the bandwagon of alarmists spreading incorrect information," it said. "Be professional."

Wednesday 20 November 2013

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/336308/news/nation/don-t-resort-to-rapid-mass-burials-icrc-says

continue reading

European database of unidentified bodies urged


A Europe-wide database of unidentified bodies should be established, the UK Missing Persons Bureau says.

Joe Apps, who heads up the bureau, told BBC News it would help families who were searching for missing loved ones.

A year ago, the bureau launched a website containing images and distinguishing features of about 500 unidentified bodies found across the UK - a third of the total.

The bodies of four missing people have been identified as a result.

One of the matches followed a call from a man who thought an image on the website was that of his brother, who was last seen in 1994.

Fingerprints proved it was.

But Mr Apps said that, with so many people moving to and from the UK, a wider geographical pool of unidentified remains was needed.

At present, the bureau has records of 1,500 unidentified bodies or body parts from across Britain.

Five new cases are added to the list each month.

"What I'd like to see happen is that families across Europe could go to a single point - a single resource, a single website perhaps - to review all the bodies that are being found across Europe," Mr Apps said.

He estimated the database could carry details of about 7,500 unidentified remains.

"Bearing in mind modern migration patterns and work patterns, it would make it much easier for families to see if they can recognise anybody."

Mr Apps, who served in the police for 33 years before joining the bureau, said he had discussed the plans with agencies including Interpol.

"I believe, and my colleagues believe, it's a good idea - we just need to wait to see how we can make it come true," he added.

One of the cases likely to feature on such a database is that of a woman discovered near Swaffham, Norfolk, in 1974.

Her headless body was found bound and concealed under a dust sheet on heathland.

Nightdress woman was found in Police have released a picture of the nightdress the Swaffham woman was in

Police believe the woman was white, aged between 23 and 35, and possibly from central, eastern or northern Europe.

Five years ago, the woman's remains were exhumed for DNA tests to be carried out.

Since then detectives have been working through a list of 558 women reported missing at the time of her murder to see if there is a match.

Det Insp Andy Guy, who is leading the investigation to identify the victim, said: "She deserves closure and her family deserves closure."

He said a European database was "a fantastic idea".

He pointed out that a number of people who disappeared in coastal areas of Britain were washed out to sea and ended up abroad, so widening the database could make it easier to identify their remains.

He is part of a joint Norfolk and Suffolk police team dedicated to resolving cases of missing persons and unidentified bodies.

Mr Apps said only six other police forces across Britain had set up specialist units for identifying bodies - Police Scotland, British Transport Police, Thames Valley, Sussex, North Yorkshire and North Wales - and he was trying to persuade more to do so.

Wednesday 20 November 2013

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-25012645

continue reading

Mexico mass graves: Dozens of dead found


Two mass graves have been discovered in Mexico - bringing the number of bodies unearthed over the past 10 days to 39.

The remains of eight people - including a child - were found in the graves near the US-Mexico border after authorities in the northern state of Sonora received an anonymous call.

According to an initial assessment, the pits near a dirt road in the Navojoa municipality contain the corpses of six men, a woman and a minor.

Medical experts say the remains could be about a year and a half old, an official statement said.

Last week, seven bodies were discovered near the resort of Acapulco, less than two days after six cadavers were found.

That comes on top of at least 18 other bodies discovered since November 9 in eight clandestine communal graves near the town of La Barca.

The town lies on the border between the western states of Jalisco and Michoacan, which are seen as a bloody battleground for drug cartels.

Dozens of hidden graves containing hundreds of corpses have been found in various parts of Mexico since a rise in violence between drug traffickers and government crackdown operations.

More than 77,000 people have been killed in drug cartel-related violence since 2006.

Wednesday 20 November 2013

http://news.sky.com/story/1170805/mexico-mass-graves-dozens-of-dead-found

continue reading

How to handle corpses during disasters


In the aftermath of Typhoon Yolanda (international codename Haiyan), the streets of badly battered areas were filled not only with fallen trees and collapsed houses and buildings, but also with bodies of the cyclone's casualties.

Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda on Monday, November 11, said both the Department of Public Works and Highways and the engineering brigade of the military were already instructed to start clearing operations.

But there is an urgency to collect and bury corpses lying around for 4 days now since Friday – and this is not because they pose a risk of communicable disease, the World Health Organization (WHO) clarified.

In its technical note “Disposal of dead bodies in emergency conditions,” WHO said disposing dead bodies during disasters like Super Typhoon Yolanda is important mainly because of the pyschological trauma the bodies may cause to those “witnessing death on a large scale.”

But ample time must be given to identify the bodies.

Two different viewing spaces

The international organization said separate viewing locations should be provided during emergencies: one for viewing a body for identification, and another for viewing a body for grieving purposes.

In Tacloban City, where the Philippine Red Cross estimated at least 1,200 to be dead, WHO standards require an area of over 2,000 square meters if it is to be used to display bodies for identification.

Identification of dead bodies is a lengthy and challenging process, especially when they do not carry any personal information, and relatives have to scour numerous bodies to find their loved ones.

“Once identified, a death certificate should be issued, an official record of death prepared, and the body tagged,” WHO added.

Burial and cremation

WHO discouraged burial in common graves and mass cremation, and preferred burial over cremation. The following conditions must be met in identifying a graveyard location:

- should be agreed with the community
- ground conditions must be given attention
- at least a 50-m proximity to groundwater drinking sources
- at least a 500-m proximity to the nearest habitat
- an area of at least 1,500 square meters per 10,000 population
- burial depth of at least 1.5 m above groundwater table, with at least a 1-m soil covering
- Individual graves are preferred, and in the absence of coffins, bodies must be covered by a plastic sheeting to separate it from the soil.
If the community prefers cremation, WHO said a site for this should be located at least 500 meters downwind of dwellings.

Mortuary sites But if burial and cremation is likely to be delayed, a temporary mortuary site may be put up. WHO recommended a field morgue capacity of 10 bodies per 10,000 population. If possible, bodies should be stored at 4ºC.

Equipment for mortuary services in major disasters include:

- stainless steel postmortem tables or heavy duty trestle tables covered with plastic sheeting
- wheeled trolleys for transporting bodies within the mortuary
- tarpaulin or plastic sheeting for the floor, if it is not made of concrete
- heavy-duty black plastic sheeting for temporary screens
- refuse bins and bags
- cleaning materials – mops, buckets, cloths, soap, towels
- disinfectant and deodorizer
- protective clothing and heavy-duty rubber gloves
- translucent plastic body bags 0.1 mm thick and labels (if epidemic circumstances)
- wall charts to record progress or large poster boards if there are no walls
- But at a minimum, the following must be provided in a mortuary site: stretchers, leather gloves, rubber gloves, overalls, boots, caps, soap, disinfectants and cotton cloth. Appropriate cleansing of the site must be done when closing it down.

The Department of Health (DOH) said refrigerated vans or dry ice – and not lime, muriatic acid, or potassium alum (tawas) – should be used to avoid the rapid decay of dead bodies.

Epidemics

In case of a medical epidemic, handling of bodies must be left to experts. Burial or cremation must be done immediately after death, but the size of the gathering in the funeral must be limited to avoid spreading the epidemic.

WHO also provided quick guidelines on how to prevent the spread of an epidemic after being in contact with corpses. To prevent a cholera epidemic, careful washing with soap and water is required once exposed to cholera vibrios present in dead bodies.

Ebola, which easily spreads through bodily secretions like blood and saliva, can also be killed by careful washing, according to WHO.

But DOH noted that infectious microorganisms present in dead bodies is not viable after 48 hours.

Handling of corpses is also crucial. Protective clothing should be worn to avoid fleas and lice that could spread these diseases. WHO also said bodies must be stored in body bags before burial or cremation

Wednesday 20 November 2013

http://www.rappler.com/move-ph/issues/disasters/typhoon-yolanda/43453-who-handling-corpses-disasters

continue reading