Friday 29 August 2014

Experts identify 173 MH17 victims


Forensics teams from the Netherlands say they have so far positively identified 173 victims of flight MH17, which was shot down over Ukraine.

They say they are unable to use dental records or fingerprints to identify more than 100 remaining victims and will have to rely solely on DNA.

All 298 people on board, most of them from the Netherlands, died in the crash in eastern Ukraine on 17 July.

Fighting near the crash site hampered efforts to collect the victims' bodies.

More than 200 international forensic detectives have spent weeks working to identify remains taken from the scene and flown back to the Netherlands.

Wim Heijnen, of the Dutch Forensic Institute (NFI), said the task of identifying the victims was now becoming more difficult and could take several more weeks or months.

Many of the DNA samples gathered at the site, Mr Heijnen said, do not correspond to the victims and could be from rescue workers.

Some remains were badly burned, he added, making it harder to get positive samples.

"I think that the fact we have gotten DNA profiles in quite a short time from three-quarters of the remains is good. But I am, of course, not satisfied," he told reporters in The Hague.

"We want more DNA profiles from remains and we will carry on to get them. It becomes, understandably, more difficult and sadly more time consuming to do that but taking care is paramount."

He said he was not sure if all those on board will be identified, but added: "As long as there is material and there is hope for more identifications, we will continue our work".

Seventy-three of the 173 victims positively identified have been returned to the next of kin, officials say.

Scientists have so far identified 283 different DNA profiles among the victims of Malaysian Airways flight MH17. Some of the DNA may belong to people involved in the rescue work and the recovery of body parts, Nos television reported.

But police said many families are waiting for more complete sets of remains, or until families and friends who were travelling together have all been identified, before collecting their loved ones.

The Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it crashed between Krasni Luch in Luhansk region and Shakhtarsk in the region of Donetsk.

Ukraine's government and several Western leaders say there is strong evidence that pro-Russian separatists shot down the plane with an anti-aircraft system known as Buk.

Russia has consistently denied allegations that it had supplied such missiles or "any other weapons" to the rebels.

The Netherlands has opened an investigation into the disaster, which killed 193 Dutch nationals.

Friday 29 August 2014

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-28956790

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15 killed, 8 missing in landslide in China


At least 15 people have been killed and eight others remain missing after a landslide destroyed a village in China’s southwestern Guizhou Province.

The landslide struck Yingping Village in Fuquan City on Wednesday night, injuring 22 people and toppling 77 houses in addition to those killed or missing.

Those injured have been sent to local hospitals and are in stable condition.

Efforts are on to rescue survivors from the debris as half of a 600-meter-high knoll broke free and wiped out a majority of the village at the foot of the hill, state-run Xinhua news agency reported today.

The local government has relocated other villagers to safer sites.

Residents said the village was occupied mainly by children and elderly when the landslide struck, as many villagers had moved to the city for work.

Relief materials, including tents, water and food, have been sent to local villagers.

Friday 29 August 2014

http://www.tehelka.com/15-killed-8-missing-in-landslide-in-china/

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Thursday 28 August 2014

More than 300 die in boat tragedies on Mediterranean


The past few days have been the deadliest this year for people making irregular crossings on the Mediterranean from North Africa to Europe, with the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reporting that at least 300 people have died in successive boat tragedies.

“In all, we now believe 1,889 people have perished this year while making such journeys, 1,600 of these since the start of June,” said Melissa Fleming, UNHCR spokesperson,telling reporters in Geneva today that over the past few days, at least three vessels having overturned or sunk.

The first and largest of these incidents occurred on Friday when a boat reportedly carrying at least 270 people overturned near Garibouli to the east of Tripoli. Nineteen people, one of them a woman, survived.

“The Libyan coastguard has since recovered the bodies of 100 others, including five children under the age of five and seven women, but the remaining passengers are feared drowned,” said Fleming.

According to survivors’ reports, the boat was packed full and more people were pushed on board before they departed. The boat suddenly flipped trapping the people on the lower deck. To support the search and recovery operation, the Libyan coastguard has requested body bags, equipment, medical help and manpower.

In a second incident on the evening of Saturday, 23 August, a damaged rubber dinghy was recovered by the Italian Navy 20 miles from Libyan territorial waters. Seventy-three people were rescued, and 18 bodies recovered. Ten people are believed still missing. The passengers were mainly from Mali, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea and Sudan.

In a third incident, on Sunday evening, 24 August, a fishing boat carrying roughly 400 people capsized north of the Libyan coast in bad weather conditions. The Italian navy and coastguard, in a joint operation with a nearby merchant ship, rescued 364 people. So far 24 bodies have been recovered and more are feared dead.

The main departure country for Europe is Libya, where the worsening security situation has fostered the growth of people smuggling operations, but also prompted refugees and migrants living there to risk the sea rather than remain in a zone of conflict.

“UNHCR’s Tripoli office receives daily calls from refugees, asylum-seekers and other vulnerable people expressing fear for their lives and making desperate requests for food, water, medicine and relocation. Those who choose to leave for Italy are taking longer and riskier journeys through new ports of departure such as Benghazi,” said Ms. Fleming.

This situation demands urgent and concerted European action including strengthened search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean, ensuring that rescue measures are safe and incur minimum risks for those being rescued, Ms. Fleming added. As more refugees and migrants risk their lives at sea to reach Europe, mostly Eritreans, Syrians, and Somalis, urgent action is needed including in finding legal alternatives to these dangerous journeys.

In 2011 around 1,500 people died trying to cross into Europe; in 2012 around 500; in 2013 over 600 and so far in 2014 over 1,880, according to UNHCR. In 2011 an estimated 69,000 people arrived in Europe; in 2012 some 22,500; in 2013 some 60,000; so far, in 2014 124,380. As of 24 August, the majority of them – 108,172 people – arrived in Italy.

“It is of vital importance that survivors of these tragedies, who often have lost family and friends, be given immediate access to psychological support once they are disembarked. UNHCR has also called for procedures to be put in place to allow for identification of the bodies recovered at sea, providing quick and clear information so that families are not subjected to unnecessary additional suffering,” Ms. Fleming added.

Thursday 28 August 2014

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO1408/S00333/more-than-300-die-in-boat-tragedies-on-mediterranean.htm

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Death toll after landslides reaches 72 in Hiroshima


The death toll from last week’s landslides in Hiroshima rose to 72 on Thursday, while 10 people remained unaccounted for, local police said.

A total of eight bodies remained unidentified, the Hiroshima prefectural police department said.

About 3,400 workers, including Self-Defense Forces personnel, continued search activities on the ninth day after the northern part of the city was hit by the first of the rain-induced landslides.

The city government is considering lifting its evacuation order and advisory, which have been in place for about 150,000 residents of Asa-Minami and Asa-Kita wards.

The situation is improving, Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui said, noting that the amount of rainfall is expected to drop.

More than 1,200 people were still staying at local evacuation centers.

Thursday 28 August 2014

http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0001528662

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Wednesday 20 August 2014

The night the Marchioness went down


A huge party of friends and relatives took an emotional trip on London’s river this week to pay tribute to those who died in one of Britain’s worst peacetime disasters. Many of them had been on the party boat Marchioness 25 years before.

Fifty-one roses were floated on the murky river waters to pay tribute to those who lost their lives in the tragedy exactly a quarter-century ago. The party was going strong in the early hours of August 20 1989 after a balmy evening on the Thames Tideway.

There were 131 people on the Marchioness. She had been built 66 years before in 1923 and in 1940 she had become one of the hero little ships that brought a defeated army back from Dunkirk.

Suddenly out of the darkness, at 1.46am, near Cannon Street railway bridge, the huge bows of the dredger Bowbelle loomed above the Marchioness, dwarfing the pleasure boat. Fifty-one of the Marchioness’s passengers would die that night.

In the first seconds of collision the anchor of the dredger cut through the side of the Marchioness, which rolled over and was pushed under by the dredger. She quickly filled with water, capsized and her superstructure became detached.

It took less than half a minute for the Marchioness to go down. Witnesses described the Bowbelle as hitting the pleasure craft and then riding up on it, pushing it under the water like a toy boat.

Two dozen bodies were recovered from the sunken hull. The majority of the survivors had been on the upper decks at the time of the collision. The party was organised by photographer agent Jonathan Phang to celebrate the 26th birthday of his merchant banker friend Antonio de Vasconcellos.

Many of those on board were also in their twenties. Some were students, many others models and workers in the fashion industry. The dead included Francesca Dallaglio, older sister of future England national rugby team captain Lawrence Dallaglio.

The disaster was found by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch to have been caused by the poor visibility from each ship’s wheelhouse, the fact that both vessels were using the centre of the river and the lack of clear instructions to the lookout at the bow of the Bowbelle.

In 1991, the Bowbelle’s skipper Douglas Henderson was tried for failing to keep a proper lookout but, after two juries were deadlocked, he was formally acquitted.

A coroner’s inquest on April 7 1995 found the victims had been unlawfully killed.

Following pressure from the Marchioness Action Group, John Prescott as secretary of state for the environment, transport and the regions ordered a formal investigation into the circumstances of the collision, to be chaired by Lord Justice Clarke.

Lord Clarke’s report blamed poor lookouts on both vessels for the collision and criticised the owners and managers of both vessels for failing to instruct and monitor their crews in proper fashion.

Clarke also criticised the authorities’ decision to cut off a hand from each body pulled from the river to make identification easier. In 2001 an inquiry by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency into the competence and behaviour of Captain Henderson of the Bowbelle concluded that he should be allowed to keep his master’s certificate.

However, it “strongly deprecated” his conduct in drinking five pints of lager in the afternoon prior to the accident and for his admission that he had forged some signatures on certificates and testimonials in order to obtain his master mariner certificate of competency in 1988.

The government asked the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, the Port of London Authority and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) to work together to set up a dedicated search and rescue service for the tidal river Thames. Today there are four RNLI lifeboat stations, at Gravesend, Tower pier, Chiswick pier and Teddington.

Seven years after the disaster, the Bowbelle was also lost. She broke in half and sank off Madeira.

The Princess Alice disaster

In 1878, 111 years before the Marchioness disaster, another tragic collision happened on the Thames.

Some of the similarities with the Marchioness incident give you an unnerving sense of deja vu.

SS Princess Alice was a passenger paddle steamer that collided with the collier Bywell Castle off Tripcock Point.

Over 650 lives were lost, making this the greatest loss of life in any Thames shipping disaster before or since.

On September 3 1878, the Princess Alice was making a moonlight trip from Swan Pier near London Bridge to Gravesend and back.

By 7.40pm, the Princess Alice was on her return journey and within sight of the North Woolwich pier — where many passengers would get off.

Here her crew spotted the much larger Bywell Castle. She usually carried coal to Africa but had just had a refit and repaint on the Thames. Captain Harrison was at the helm of the collier, accompanied by an experienced Thames river pilot. The collier was coming down the river with the tide at half speed.

On the bridge of the Bywell Castle, Harrison saw the port light of the Princess Alice. He set a course to pass her.

However, the master of Princess Alice, 47-year-old Captain William RH Grinstead, fighting the tide upriver, followed the normal watermen’s practice of seeking the slack water on the south side and altered Princess Alice’s course to port, bringing her into the path of the Bywell Castle.

Harrison ordered his ship’s engines reversed, but it was too late. Princess Alice was struck on the starboard side. She split in two and sank within four minutes.

To add to the disaster, just one hour before the collision huge amounts of raw London sewage had been pumped into the river. Those who managed to swim clear of the wreck had this to deal with.

Between 69 and 170 people were rescued. Over 650 died.

One-hundred and twenty victims were buried in a mass grave at Woolwich Old Cemetery in Plumstead.

A memorial cross there tells you it was “paid for by a national sixpenny subscription to which more than 23,000 persons contributed.”

The subsequent Board of Trade inquiry blamed Captain Grinstead — who died in the disaster — finding that “the Princess Alice was not properly and efficiently manned; also, that the numbers of persons aboard were more than was prudent and that the means of saving life onboard the paddle steamer was inadequate for a vessel of her class.”

At this time there was no official body responsible for marine safety in the Thames.

The subsequent inquiry resolved that the Marine Police Force, based at Wapping, be equipped with steam launches to replace its rowing boats and make it better able to perform rescues.

A new plan for dumping sewage far out at sea by ship was also formulated.

The most unlucky survivor of the Princess Alice disaster was London prostitute Elizabeth Stride.

Ten years after escaping drowning she was plying her trade in Whitechapel when she fell victim to Jack the Ripper.

Wednesday 20 August 2014

http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/a-e2c1-The-night-the-Marchioness-went-down

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Behind the High Tech Forensics of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17

Dutch officials expect precise accuracy from DNA-matching software that will be used to identify many of the 298 Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 victims. But it is unknown whether there will be enough genetic evidence from the remains and relatives of the missing to ID everyone.

As of Friday, 171 people who died after the July 17 crash had not been recovered.

Shortly after the disaster, the Netherlands Forensic Institute, a nonprofit, government-owned agency, was tasked with the DNA-matching portion of an ID effort led by international experts from the Dutch National Forensic Investigations Team.

“The NFI received DNA samples that were taken from over 600 bodies and body parts,” institute spokeswoman Suzan Demirhan told Nextgov on Tuesday. “We were asked to make a DNA profile of each sample.”

In order to link remains to a last name, automated technology called “Bonaparte,” as in Napoleon, will be used. In 1811, French emperor Bonaparte established a Dutch registry of births, deaths and marriages that required a last name from everyone.

Bonaparte will compare the DNA profiles from body parts against each other, and against DNA samples provided by relatives of the missing, officials said.

The institute’s automaton has a good track record. Bonaparte helped name the 103 passengers killed by a 2001 Afriqiyah Airways crash over Tripoli — in less than three weeks.

When several children in a family are missing, it is possible to identify them by extracting cell material from personal objects, according to a July institute report on identifying victims of large-scale disasters. As many as 80 children were killed when MH17 was downed by an allegedly Russian-made missile.

“The software recognizes patterns of similarity in the DNA profiles,” the July report states. “When the DNA profile of a body (or body part) fits the DNA profiles in a family tree, Bonaparte subsequently calculates the scientific evidentiary value of that resemblance.”

Genetic matches are not always the basis for identification. Often, fingerprints or dental records provide enough forensic evidence to determine someone’s name.

Institute officials said they do not have data on how many of the 127 identifications were derived from DNA matches.

Genetic samples can be taken from the muscle or bone tissue of a victim, as well as a molar or tooth.

But DNA matching is not always perfect, according to experts. A landmark 2009 National Research Council study on the strength of U.S. forensic science found that while “DNA analysis is considered the most reliable forensic tool available today, laboratories nonetheless can make errors,” such as mislabeling samples, losing samples or misinterpreting the data.

Wednesday 20 August 2014

http://www.defenseone.com/technology/2014/08/behind-high-tech-forensics-malaysian-airlines-flight-mh17/91853/

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At least 27 dead and several missing after landslides hit Hiroshima in Japan


Rain-sodden slopes collapsed in torrents of mud, rock and debris Wednesday in the outskirts of Hiroshima, killing at least 36 people and leaving seven missing, police said.

Public broadcaster NHK showed rescue workers suspended by ropes from police helicopters pulling victims from the rubble. Others gingerly climbed into windows as they searched for survivors in crushed homes.

Hillsides caved in or were swept down into residential areas in at least five valleys in the suburbs of the western Japanese city after heavy rains left slopes unstable.

Hiroshima prefectural police said 36 people were confirmed dead and at least seven others were missing as of Wednesday night. The Fire and Disaster Management Agency said 15 people were injured, two seriously.

"A few people were washed away and it is hard to know exactly how many are unaccounted for," said local government official Nakatoshi Okamoto, noting that conditions in the disaster area were hindering rescuers.

Authorities issued warnings that additional rain could trigger more landslides and flooding.

The land collapsed so quickly that evacuation advisories came an hour after the first mudslide, officials acknowledged.

"It's so regrettable," Kyodo News service quoted Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui as saying. "We'll find out what went wrong and take the necessary measures."

"A few people were washed away and it is hard to know exactly how many are unaccounted for," said local government official Nakatoshi Okamoto.

Bad weather conditions in the disaster area were hindering efforts to account for all those affected, he said.

Authorities have issued warnings that further rains could trigger more landslides and flooding.

Landslides are a constant risk in mountainous Japan where many homes in densely populated areas are built on or near steep slopes.

Torrential rains in the early morning apparently caused slopes to collapse in an area where many of the buildings were newly constructed.

Landslides are a constant risk in mountainous, crowded Japan, where many homes are built on or near steep slopes. Torrential rains in the early morning apparently caused slopes to collapse in an area where many of the buildings were newly constructed.

Damage from land and mudslides has increased over the past few decades due to more frequent heavy rains, despite extensive work to stabilise slopes.

In the past decade there have been nearly 1,200 landslides a year, according to the land ministry, up from an average of about 770 a year in the previous decade.

In October last year, multiple mudslides following a typhoon in Izu-Oshima, an island south of Tokyo, killed 35 people, four of whose bodies were never recovered.

Wednesday 20 August 2014

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/at-least-27-dead-and-several-missing-after-landslides-hit-hiroshima-in-japan-9680408.html

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/reports-dead-13-missing-hiroshima-landslide-25045755

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Tuesday 19 August 2014

China's drone-led search for earthquake survivors


Earlier this month, first responders in China used drones to determine the hardest-hit areas following a massive earthquake that killed more than 600 people, in one of the first displays of how drones can be used during emergency situations.

One of the great promises of drones is the technology's inherent ability to be flown above a disaster site, giving first responders a survey of the situation and allowing them to direct where to send aid to. But, until now, that's been more of a theoretical benefit of drones—very few people have actually used them in the immediate aftermath of a disaster. Take, for instance, the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan last year in the Philippines: Tons of search and rescue helicopters, but not a single drone, searched for survivors.



Well, after an earthquake hit Yunnan, China, earlier this month, rescue workers there called up Hong Kong's DJI (the largest commercial drone manufacturer in the world), and asked its pilots for help.

"We sent a team of pilots to assist the China Association for Disaster and Emergency Response Medicine following the earthquake. This was the first time [the country] used [drones] in its relief efforts and as a result many of the cooperating agencies and bodies working on site have approached us for training / using UAS technology in the future," Michael Perry, a spokesperson for the company, told me in an email.

Perry said that the drones were able to relay images back to rescue workers, who used them to determine which roads needed to be cleared first and which areas of the rubble to search for possible survivors.

"Aerial images captured by the team were used by workers in the epicenter area of Longtoushan, where most of the traditional buildings in the area collapsed," the company said. "The dense rubble and vegetation have made ground surveying extremely difficult, so using aerial images has helped identify where relief teams can focus on searching for survivors."

It's not clear if the drones directly helped save any lives (and granted, everything we know about the aerial imaging effort in this case is coming from the company itself), but this is clearly the future of disaster relief.

Drones are cheap, can be flown close to the ground, and are safer to use than helicopters. It's only a matter of time until the very first response by first responders is to toss a drone in the air to get a survey of the situation. After that, they just might toss a drone in the air to help deliver medicine and supplies.

Tuesday 19 August 2014

http://motherboard.vice.com/read/what-chinas-drone-led-search-for-earthquake-survivors-looks-like

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Benin closes all traditional morgues citing Ebola threat


The Beninese government has ordered the closure of all traditional morgues across the country to protect its population against the Ebola virus disease.

The illegal structures that operate under poor hygienic conditions could result in a number of contagious diseases.

Benin has had a long tradition of preserving dead bodies such as using palm wine or coal dust, and some of the methods can help preserve a dead body for almost a week.

The majority of the Beninese rural population uses traditional methods to preserve the bodies of their loved ones in the homes while morgues are only used in the urban centres before burial.

Over the past four months, 2,127 people have been infected with the virus in West Africa, of whom 1,145 have died.

Ebola, which is transmitted through direct contact with blood or body fluids of infected people or animals, causes serious haemorrhaging and can have a 90 percent mortality rate.

This is the first time that the disease has been identified and an epidemic has been confirmed in West Africa, with outbreaks to date having been confined to Central Africa.

Tuesday 19 August 2014

http://www.bignewsnetwork.com/index.php/sid/224855181

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Building collapse kills at least 8 in South Africa


Eight South African workers died on Monday when a building under construction collapsed, and more people were feared trapped under the rubble, emergency workers said.

The labourers were working on a double-storey residential building on a private estate in Meyersdal south of Johannesburg when it collapsed.

"Initially there were five dead bodies recovered from the rubble, the number has now increased to eight," said William Ntladi, the spokesman for the Ekurhuleni Emergency Services.

Nearly ten other workers were taken to hospital, two with serious injuries.

Ntladi said the cause of the accident was not yet known.

"Rescue workers are still busy on site removing concrete rubble, trying to find more people," he said, adding that it was unclear how many people might have been working on the construction site.

Authorities are still trying to make contact with one of the building's contractors as well as the owner of the property.

Two contractors are reportedly working on the site, but only one of the companies has provided details of how many employees were on the scene on Monday afternoon.

The labour department said it had sent out inspectors to investigate the accident.

"The department has dispatched a team of inspectors to investigate after which they will issue a preliminary report on the cause of the accident," a statement said.

Tuesday 19 August 2014

http://zeenews.india.com/news/world/building-collapse-kills-8-in-south-africa_955410.html

http://www.enca.com/meyersdal-house-collapse-search-resume

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Bihar: Train rams autorickshaw at a manned railway crossing, 18 killed


At least eighteen people were killed after Dehradun-Gorakhpur Rapti Ganga Express rams an autorickshaw in Bihar`s Motihari district on Monday. Reports alleged that all who have died in the mishap belong to the same family. The railway authorities have confirmed the death of four people in the accident.

The accident took place at a manned crossing at Semra-Sugauli section numbering 169 C. According to the sources the railway authorities have not reached the accident spot yet, but the bodies are being taken out with the assistance of the local villagers. As the autorickshaw got stuck in the engine of the train, it stopped on the spot. The local people are angry about the accident.

A local mob had then handed out instant street justice, thrashing the train driver and his assistant mercilessly after the August 19, 2013, accident in Khagaria district. Today, people living near the crossing said the gateman, Santosh Kumar, fled immediately after the crash. The train’s driver and the guard couldn’t be found either.

Witnesses said the accident occurred around 3pm, barely 20 minutes after the Muzaffarpur-Dehra Dun Rapti Ganga Express had left Bapudham Motihari station and around the same time the victims, from Chiknauta village, were returning from the annual fair in a temple complex in nearby Semra.

Dharmendra Jha, a local resident who saw the crash, said the auto-rickshaw, packed with villagers, was crossing the tracks as the gates of the level crossing near Chhapra Bahas village had not been closed.

The Dehra Dun-bound train, speeding at around 70kmph, smashed into the three-wheeler. Such was the impact that the train dragged the auto for more than 200m before coming to a halt, Jha said.

The site of the crash is some 180km northwest of Patna and falls on the Semra-Sugauli section of East Central Railway (ECR).

Local people blamed the railway administration as the crossing is “manned”, unlike the thousands across the country that are unmanned, one of the reasons for track deaths.

Samastipur divisional railway manager Malik said the gateman had been put under suspension for alleged negligence. “Under the rules, the assistant station master of the nearest railway station informs the gateman as soon as a train leaves a nearby station. The assistant station master of Semra station had informed the gateman but he (the gateman) didn’t close the gate (less than a kilometre away from Semra station), leading to the accident,” Malik said, adding that a high-level probe had been ordered.

Another ECR official said the traffic inspector of Bapudham Motihari railway station, B.M. Tripathi, and the assistant station master of Semra station, Sunil Kumar, had also been placed under suspension.

Fearing the wrath of the local people, the entire staff of Sugauli railway station disappeared. Police reached the spot at least an hour after the accident but preferred to keep away seeing the anger of the villagers.

For hours, the train stood surrounded by a mob. The passengers had a tense wait but none were harmed.

East Champaran district magistrate Abhay Kumar Singh and superintendent of police Sudhir Kumar Singh reached the spot almost three hours after the accident and were camping near the site. “With co-operation of the local people, we are first trying to pull out the auto-rickshaw and some bodies out of the engine,” Abhay said.

The Railways have announced ex-gratia of Rs. 50,000 to the family members of the families of the deceased. The state government has also announced ex-gratia of Rs. 1.5 lakh to the family of those who died. In addition, those injured will get Rs. 5,000 in the mishap.

It is not the first case reported of train and vehicle collision at manned railway crossing in Bihar. In March, a goods train going to dryport in Nepal from Bihar`s Raxaul district rammed into a tractor. The tractor was dragged to two kilometers with the speeding train engine. The body of the driver was untraceable after the accident.

Another incident in the same month was reported in Begusarai, a manned crossing near Bachwara station train rammed a tempo with students. One student died in the mishap while five others were seriously injured.

On 22 May 2011, in Madhubani district of Bihar 15 died in the collision of Bolero and Garib Rath express at a manned crossing.

Tuesday 19 August 2014

http://daily.bhaskar.com/news/NAT-TOP-train-rams-autorickshaw-at-a-manned-railway-crossing-killing-18-in-bihar-4716707-NOR.html

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1140819/jsp/nation/story_18734688.jsp

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2010 Mangalore air crash: ‘Identification of bodies was a disaster after air crash’


In the early hours of May 22, 2010, Air India Express flight (from Dubai to Mangalore) overshot the runway and exploded into flames as it plummeted down the valley at Bajpe.

The issue of identification of victims of the 2010 air crash at Mangalore International Airport was a “disaster” in itself, said A. Prabhakara Sharma, who was then the in-charge Deputy Commissioner of Dakshina Kannada district.

In the early hours of May 22, 2010, Air India Express flight (from Dubai to Mangalore) overshot the runway and exploded into flames as it plummeted down the valley at Bajpe. As many as 158 passengers and crew members died.

“It took 12 hours to retrieve the bodies, but relatives had started to claim the bodies. We took a collective decision to handover the bodies. In hindsight, it was the wrong decision and a disaster in itself,” said Mr. Sharma at a talk on ‘Disaster management – a case study of the aircraft accident at Mangalore airport’, organised by the Mangalore Management Association here recently.

Mr. Sharma, who is currently the Executive Director of the Dr. Shivarama Karantha Pilikula Nisargadhama, was then the Additional Deputy Commissioner who supervised the operations as the Deputy Commissioner was away.

Though the management of the disaster was “good”, there were insurmountable challenges, especially the identification of the charred bodies in the lack of quick DNA testing, he said.

While relatives were told that DNA testing – a process that takes weeks – was to be conducted, Mr. Sharma says the pressure was mounting. “It was not political pressure. It was through relatives who wanted the body to complete the final rituals. Withholding the bodies was becoming a tragedy in itself. Some had even said they will not consume food or water.”

Eventually, out of 158 bodies, 136 were handed over, while the rest were kept until DNA results come. “Out of 22 bodies, DNA samples of just 10 claims matched. This meant that 12 bodies had been mistakenly claimed by others,” he said.

With the government responsible for the unclaimed bodies, Mr. Sharma recounted the difficulty finding a spot to bury them. “We scouted for locations, but locals objected as they did not want bodies to be buried in their village…Only New Mangalore Port Trust allowed us to use their land,” he said.

Tuesday 19 August 2014

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Mangalore/identification-of-bodies-was-a-disaster-after-air-crash/article6327977.ece?utm_source=Most%20Popular&utm_medium=Mangalore&utm_campaign=Widget%20Promo

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Monday 18 August 2014

Death toll in Nepal floods reaches 142, 243 missing


Death toll in floods and landslides across Nepal touched 142 on Monday with recovery of more bodies. The number of those missing increased to 243 till evening.

Deputy prime minister and home minister Bamdev Gautam told the parliament that 82 others are injured and thousands displaced as landslides and flooding affected nearly two dozen districts.

The government has declared national crisis in the flood-affected districts and formed a high-level mechanism headed by prime minister Sushil Koirala to oversee rescue, relief and rehabilitation.

According to a home ministry release, over 11,500 houses mostly in the plain districts of Banke, Bardiya, Surkhet and Dang in the country’s mid-western region have been inundated and nearly 13,000 families rendered homeless.

The worst affected is Surkhet district where 28 people have been killed in floods and landslides 98 others are missing. Bardiya (17) and Dang (14) are the other districts with high casualty figures.

With the amount of rainfall getting reduced since Saturday and water level in most major rivers and their tributaries flowing below danger levels the situation of expected to get better.

Prime Minister Sushil Koirala has issued an appeal to all Nepalis living in the country and abroad to help in rescue, relief and rehabilitation of those affected by floods and landslides.

“To add to the efforts taken by the government to help those affected by natural disasters I appeal for immediate help from all Nepali brothers and sisters in Nepal and outside,” said Koirala in his appeal.

In a release the home ministry mentioned about rescue and relief work undertaken in the affected areas. Food and shelter is being provided to those displaced and monetary relief given to those who have lost family members.

Efforts are also underway to repair roads and bridges affected by floods and landslides and resume vehicular movement on the east-west highway.

Monday 18 August 2014

http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/nepal-flood-toll-hits-101-fears-of-disease-rise/article1-1253220.aspx

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Sunday 17 August 2014

Forensic experts identify 127 victims of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17


Half of the number of victims of the Malaysia Airlines MH17 plane crash have been identified, the Dutch National Forensic Investigation Team stated through a private forum for relatives, national broadcaster NOS reported on Saturday.

In total, identities of 149 victims is now known for their relatives, which is exactly half the number of the 298 people who were on board flight MH17. Of the crash victims were 196 Dutch nationals.

On July 23, the first aircraft with remains and bodies of the victims arrived at Eindhoven Airport, followed by several other flights. The coffins were brought to the Corporal Van Oudheusden barracks in Hilversum for the identification of the victims.

The flights were part of the recovery and repatriation mission led by the Netherlands. The mission was stopped ten days ago until further notice due to the deteriorating security conditions at the crash site in eastern Ukraine.

On July 17, Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, a Boeing 777 en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, went down in eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board. The cause of the incident remains unknown and the investigation cannot go smoothly due to the armed conflict in the region.

The forensics team of more than 100 specialists, working at a military base in Hilversum, southeast of Amsterdam, have instituted a regime of weekly updates about their own painstaking work aimed at giving names to the human remains collected so far—amid a vacuum of information about the cause of the disaster.

Remains of two more MH17 Malaysian victims identified

The remains of two more Malaysian victims have been identified by the Netherlands authorities, bringing to date 26 Malaysians identified in the Malaysia Airlines (MAS) Flight MH17 tragedy.



Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Dr Wee Ka Siong said this latest development had been relayed by the Netherlands government to the Malaysian Embassy and Malaysia Airlines (MAS).

“I was informed of the matter in a meeting with our ambassador to the Netherlands Datuk Dr Fauziah Mohamad Taib and MAS Services Operation vice-president Datuk Baharom Mohd Yatim on Saturday.

“The families have also been informed. The documentation process is being carried out and will be completed as soon as possible before funeral arrangements are carried out,” Wee told Bernama here late yesterday.

“Also, both governments are working hard to ensure the remains of the two victims can be sent back quickly.”

On Aug 14, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had said the remains of 24 Malaysian victims of the MH17 tragedy had been identified by the authorities in the Netherlands, namely of 14 passengers and 10 crew.

He also said the remains of 16 of these victims, including that of a non-Malaysian, would be sent back to Kuala Lumpur in a special aircraft and expected to arrive at the KL International Airport (KLIA) at 10am Friday.

The date had also been announced as a day of national mourning and a ceremony in honour of the victims would be held on that day at the Bunga Raya Complex at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).

In the meantime, Wee, who prior to this had been appointed to handle the process of managing the remains of Malaysian victims who are Buddhists, said all ashes and remains of those already identified would be collected on Thursday for the process of sending back to Kuala Lumpur.

According to Wee, continuous discussions were being held with the government of the Netherlands and updated to ensure all standard operation procedures and documentation were done correctly and smoothly.

Commenting on the presence of numerous non-Muslim heads of religions who were specially brought from Malaysia to manage the remains in the religious context, Wee said he was satisfied with the good response given to the matter.

“We do not know when the remains of more non-Muslim Malaysian victims would be placed under them after this and as such we will continue to discuss and cooperate to ensure the ceremonies run smoothly.

“We also received very good response from the Buddhist association here to voluntarily hold their own or join in the ceremonies to manage the remains.”

It is reported that the Buddhist religious head Reverend Sing Han, Tao Daozhang religious head Tan Boon Sin, Hindu religious head S. Mohanshan and Sikh religious head Sardar Harcharan Singh were specially flown from Malaysia several days ago for the management of the religious ceremonies for non-Muslim bodies in the Netherlands.

Flight MH17, carrying 298 people, including 15 crew, crashed in the Donetsk region, east of Ukraine and close to the Russian border, on July 17. The plane is believed to have been shot down.

Sunday 17 August 2014

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2014-08/17/c_126880260.htm

http://www.therakyatpost.com/news/2014/08/17/remains-two-mh17-malaysian-victims-identified/

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Looting of Ebola clinic in Liberia sparks fresh infection fears


A quarantine centre for suspected Ebola patients in the Liberian capital Monrovia has been attacked and looted by protesters, police say.

Liberian health officials are worried the deadly Ebola virus will spread after mattresses and sheets with suspected patients’ blood stains were stolen from a quarantine center late Saturday.

The incident happened in the densely populated West Point township on Saturday evening.

At least 20 patients who were being monitored for signs of the illness have left the centre.

Officials said blood-stained bedding looted from the centre posed a serious infection risk.

The protesters were unhappy that patients were being brought in from other parts of the capital, the assistant health minister said.

Other reports suggested the protesters believed Ebola was a hoax and wanted to force the quarantine centre to close.

The centre was set up to observe suspected Ebola patients and then transfer them to a main treatment centre if they prove positive, assistant health minister Tolbert Nyenswah told.

It is not known if those at the centre were infected with the virus, though one report suggested they had proved positive.

A senior police officer said blood-stained mattresses, beddings and medical equipment were taken from the centre.

"This is one of the stupidest things I have ever seen in my life", he said.

He said the looting spree could threaten to spread the virus to the whole of the West Point area.

Described as a slum, there are an estimated 50,000 people in the West Point neighbourhood.

The Ebola epidemic began in Guinea in February and has since spread to Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria.

On Friday, the death toll rose to 1,145 after the WHO said 76 new deaths had been reported in the two days to 13 August. There have been 2,127 cases reported in total.

The attack at the Monrovia centre is seen as a major setback in the struggle to halt the outbreak

Health experts say that the key to ending the Ebola outbreak is to stop it spreading in Liberia, where ignorance about the virus is high and many people are reluctant to cooperate with medical staff.

More than 400 people have already died of Ebola in the country, according to the World Health Organization. The “looting spree,” as one police official described it, has raised concerns about the country’s ability to contain the virus.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the continent, Kenya has barred the entry of passengers traveling from certain countries in West Africa, where the virus has had a recent outbreak. The ban, effective Tuesday at midnight, applies to Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Kenya Airways previously announced it would suspend flights to some of those countries.

Sunday 17 August 2014

http://time.com/3131025/ebola-looting-kenya-flights/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+timeblogs%2Ffashionweek+(TIME%3A+Fashion+Week+)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-28808832

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Nepal flooding and landslides kill scores


Thirty-three more bodies were recovered on Saturday in various districts of the mid-western region.

Mid West was hit hardest by the devastating rainfall, worst in years. Surkhet, Bardiya and Dang were greatly affected by floods and inundation.

According to our Surkhet correspondent, seven more bodies were found across the district, taking the total flood and landslide toll there to 25. As many as 119 people have gone missing.

Inspector Yogendra Hamal at District Police Office, Surkhet, said 14 of the 25 bodies were identified. He said that 2,932 people were displaced and 1,132 houses swept away. While seven school buildings were damaged 165 houses risk being swamped.

District Administration Office, Bardiya, confirmed 17 deaths and said the toll could rise. Fifteen people are out of contact. Chief District Officer Tej Prasad Poudel said more than 12,000 people were displaced and about 8,000 await rescue. He said two helicopters were used for rescue as the water level receded.

In Dang, seven people died and as many went missing while two persons were swept away by a swollen stream in Salyan. Nine and six persons are missing in Salyan and Banke districts, respectively.

The rains have damaged roads across the Himalayan country's western plains bordering India, forcing officials to use helicopters to rescue stranded people and deliver emergency supplies.

"We have found four more bodies today. We are still searching for 109 people missing," said home ministry spokesman Laxmi Prasad Dhakal.

As the weather cleared, improving visibility after three days of rain, army helicopters were able to evacuate about 20,000 people.

"We are concerned about a possible outbreak of cholera because of all the dead bodies and livestock lying underwater," Dhakal said.

Cholera is spread by eating or drinking food or water contaminated by the faeces of people infected with the disease, which can kill within hours if left untreated. It causes severe diarrhoea, vomiting and stomach cramps.

"We are on alert to make sure people don't consume contaminated water, now or after they return to their homes over the coming week," Dhakal said.

National disaster management chief Yadav Prasad Koirala said authorities had "mobilised health workers to set up camps and provide people with clean drinking water and dry food".

As water levels recede, rescuers have started moving people from their damaged homes into temporary shelters, but large areas remain submerged, preventing helicopters from landing to let workers search for those still missing, Koirala said.Villagers in Surkhet, the worst-affected district, described their horror at being awoken by news that the nearby Bheri river was overflowing early on Friday.

"My neighbours woke me up, I gathered my family and we just ran uphill to save ourselves … I didn't even have time to cut my cattle loose so they could flee," said farmer Prem Bahadur Pun.

"By morning, our house was gone, the cattle was gone, my land was gone. I have lost everything," Pun said.

About 150 people from his village managed to escape to safety by running uphill, Pun said, but many others were not as lucky. "So many people are missing … including one of my neighbours, his wife and two grandchildren," he said.

As the anxious villagers waited for help, many were already suffering from fever, though no symptoms of cholera had been observed yet, Pun said. "No one [from the government] has come here yet. Some people are getting sick … We have some medicine, but what will we do when it runs out?"

The deaths come two weeks after the worst landslide in more than a decade smashed into hamlets in the hilly north-east and killed 156 people.

Heavy rain in neighbouring India's Uttarakhand state has killed at least 24 people since Friday, reviving memories of a deluge last year that killed more than 5,000 people in the same region.

Media reports on Sunday said several districts in the northern Indian states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh were also flooded after heavy rain near Himalayan rivers and the release of excess water from barrages in Nepal.

Sunday 17 August 2014

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/17/nepal-flooding-landslides-kill-scores

http://www.ekantipur.com/2014/08/17/top-story/33-more-bodies-found-in-mid-west-toll-63/393684.html

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Monday 11 August 2014

Munshiganj ferry tragedy rescue operation called off: 46 bodies recovered, 61 still missing

Rescuers today called off their search operation for passenger launch Pinak-6 that went down in the Padma waters seven days ago near Mawa Launch Ghat.

Patrolling in different surrounding districts and local efforts will however continue in search for the victims who the authorities assume are no more alive.

Though the rescue operation was called off officially, the authorities decided to keep a rescue vessel, either Nirvik or Rustom, on standby.

"We have decided to call off the operation with considering all situations including bad weather. We could not identify the sunken launch yet," Deputy Commissioner of Munshiganj Saiful Hasan Badal said during a press briefing at Padma Bridge Rest House at Mawa.

"It is difficult for the divers to locate any object or the launch in the river due to the strong current," he added.

The meteorological department asked the maritime ports to hoist signal No. 3 due to the bad weather which is also one of the reasons to call off the operation, DC Hasan said.

According to the official calculations, 46 bodies of the victims have been found so far and 61 were still missing.

Of the recovered bodies, 28 were identified and 18 still remain unidentified, he said.

During the seven-day search, six vessels from the BIWTA, coast guard, the navy and fire service conducted an intensive search in around 50 square kilometres area, but could not find anything, DC Hasan said.

"And there is no possibility of getting anything from the 50 square kilometres area. So we have decided to withdraw the agencies after consulting the shipping minister and experts," he said.

Rescuers found a metallic object in the river that suspected to be of the sunken Pinak-6 but yet to identify whether it was of the sunken launch, he told reporters.

A survey vessel Kandari-2 from its side-scan sonar picked up signals of the "metallic object" on Saturday.

Beside Kandari-2, the Chittagong Port Authority earlier sent another survey vessel Jarip-10 to locate the sunken Pinak-6.

The Pinak-6 sank on August 4 with around 200 passengers onboard in the middle of the Padma river in Lauhajang upazila of Munshiganj.

A group of locals yesterday began searching the doomed launch in the mighty Padma and claimed to have “detected an object" around a kilometre off the capsize site.

They started on two boats from the accident spot around 11:00pm yesterday and moved downstream.

The object was detected around 4:00pm yesterday during a second search.

"This could be Pinak-6," Hasan told The Daily Star yesterday evening.

Around 15 people, who work for a mechanical parts shop at Mawa, tied some weight to the middle of a rope and sank it deep into the river to be dragged with the ends of the rope in two boats.

Asked whether they are doing it on their own, Hasan said the shipping minister and upazila chairman of Lauhajang had directed them to carry out the search following a meeting with the locals at Mawa terminal on Friday. He said they have done this type of work in the past.

Monday 11 August 2014

http://www.thedailystar.net/munshiganj-tragedy-rescue-operation-called-off-36662

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Sunday 10 August 2014

65 bodies from MH17 site identified


Dutch forensic experts have identified a total of 65 victims of downed flight MH17, the Dutch government said as the last of the investigators returned from eastern Ukraine.

Forty-two more victims were identified from remains taken from the crash site of the Malaysia Airlines jet, where an operation to recover body parts has been halted because of rising clashes between the Ukrainian government and pro-Russian separatists.

"Of the victims, 21 were Dutch and the other 21 another nationality," the Justice Ministry said in a statement.

"The specific nationalities of the other victims are not being revealed on the request of their countries' embassies," it added.

Forensics investigation coordinator Arie de Bruijn said on Friday that around 176 "more or less" complete bodies have arrived in The Netherlands as well as 527 other body parts.

"A team of specialists are working around the clock, but again, it could still take months before each victim has been identified," the Dutch government said.

Meanwhile, the last of the Dutch, Australian and Malaysian investigators were returning to The Netherlands, national news agency ANP reported.

The final flight of returning police investigators were expected to land at the southern city of Eindhoven late on Saturday night, including the head of the Dutch police mission in Ukraine, Pieter-Jaap Aalbersberg.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Wednesday that the search for body parts at the crash site was being suspended due to escalating violence in the area.

The Malaysia Airlines 777 exploded over Ukraine on July 17, killing all 298 on board, 193 of them Dutch.

Over 220 coffins have been flown back to the Netherlands, which is tasked with identifying the bodies.

Sunday 10 July 2014

http://www.rte.ie/news/2014/0809/636173-mh17-bodies/

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Iran plane crash near Tehran kills 38 near Mehrabad


At least 38 people were killed but others survived when a small passenger plane crashed near the Iranian capital Tehran, state media reports.

The aircraft, which was heading to the eastern city of Tabas, went down after take-off in a residential area near Mehrabad airport on Sunday morning.

Passengers included at least five children, the aviation authority said.

Iran has suffered a series of plane crashes, blamed on its ageing aircraft and poor maintenance record.

Initial reports said all passengers on board the plane had been killed, but state media later reported that some passengers had been injured and transferred to hospital.

Iran is still flying planes bought before the Islamic Revolution in 1979.

International trade sanctions were imposed after the hostage crisis which followed, during which 52 Americans were held hostage in Tehran for 444 days.

Many Iranian planes are fitted with unofficial spare parts. There have been more than 200 accidents involving Iranian planes in the past 25 years, leading to more than 2,000 deaths.

Initial reports indicate the latest incident involved an Iran-140 plane carrying 48 people, including 40 passengers and eight crew.

An Iranian MP has blamed the aviation authorities for the crash, the state-run news agency Mehr reports.

Mehrdad Bauj-Lahuti, who sits on a parliamentary committee that deals with infrastructure, said officials should not have allowed the plane to fly after it suffered malfunction during test flights.

Sunday 10 July 2014

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-28730582

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Saturday 9 August 2014

Girl presumed dead in tsunami 10 years ago reunites with family


When the Indian Ocean tsunami hit a decade ago, an Indonesian family sifted through bodies believing one might have been their 4-year-old daughter, a search that finally ended this week.

Raudhatul Jannah was torn away from her family during one of the most destructive tsunamis in history and had been in the care of an elderly woman since then, according to DPA International, a German news agency.

The girl's uncle spotted her in June in an area nearly 75 miles from where she was lost.

However, there still remains a hole in the family. Older brother Arif Pratama also went missing and has not been located.

"We looked for them among bodies, of piles of bodies, but we didn't find them," father Septi Rangkuti told DPA. "After one month we resigned ourselves to the thought that they had probably died."

Raudhatul Jannah (she has no surname, common in Indonesian culture) has heard her brother lives in the Banyak Islands off the western coast of Sumatra, near the epicenter of the 9.1 magnitude earthquake that sparked the disaster.

The USGS reports is as the third-largest earthquake ever recorded.

The tsunami that hit on Boxing Day (Dec. 26) in 2004 was estimated to release energy equivalent to 23,000 atomic bombs released on Hiroshima.

It killed about 230,000 people and destroyed homes in 11 countries.

Saturday 09 July 2014

http://www.wafb.com/story/26235105/girl-presumed-dead-in-tsunami-10-years-ago-reunites-with-family

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China earthquake prompts debate on role of volunteers


Five days after an earthquake killed hundreds in southwestern China, a debate is swirling around the mob of volunteers who flooded into the disaster zone, demonstrating how the world's most-populous country continues to grapple with the role charitable groups should play in society.

After the 6.1-magnitude tremor struck the county of Ludian, in northern Yunnan province, on Sunday, thousands of volunteers rushed into affected areas, clogging roads and making it harder for authorities to send in supplies and remove the wounded. That sparked public criticism and led authorities to ramp up restrictions on private cars entering the area.

Yet some better-organized private groups have played an important part in handling unpleasant tasks such as digging survivors and the dead out of the rubble, residents and officials say. That has convinced some officials that civil-society groups and private volunteers—sometimes seen as threatening to the Communist Party, particularly when concentrating on national issues—should be encouraged to play a bigger role in relief efforts.

"Some were there the first night, pulling people out," said one member of China's People's Armed Police, who was among the first to arrive in the quake zone. "They've been a huge help."

There was still much work to be done on Friday, as the death toll rose to 617, with many more injured, according to state media. Aftershocks continued to shake the area as troops and volunteers pushed further into the mountains to help people in distant villages, while authorities began to contemplate longer-term efforts that will be needed to rebuild.

It wasn't clear on Friday exactly how many volunteers had entered Ludian. The local government official in charge of managing volunteers declined to comment.

The debate over how much leeway to give private aid groups is an important one for China. Authorities have long feared that domestic and international charitable groups could morph into political activism or foster more criticism of the government, as they have in other countries.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has led a crackdown on other parts of civil society recently, with authorities detaining or jailing dozens of activists and rights lawyers, while also ordering a nationwide investigation into foreign nongovernmental groups and their local partners which authorities worry could stir up trouble.

"The ambiguity with which Chinese authorities have faced civil society has always been profound and, of late, more evident," said Orville Schell, director of the Asia Society's Center on U.S.-China Relations.

Yet there is also a growing recognition among many Chinese that private groups are needed to help respond to crises that stretch official resources. Although authorities have generally gotten good marks for their work in Ludian so far, experts say they may lack capacity for more-sophisticated relief such as psychological counseling or child protection.

"Our experience is that the government is starting to recognize the value-added that the NGOs can deliver," said Mike Bruce, a regional media and advocacy specialist for Plan International, a children's development group. He said provincial authorities granted Plan permission to send in an emergency response team on Monday morning, just hours after the quake occurred.

Getting official buy-in for programs in China "has been a gradual process, but that is a gradual process that has been getting better," he said.

The emergence of more-active private aid efforts in China dates back to the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, when large numbers of residents spontaneously rushed to affected areas to help. Many volunteers were critical of the government response, and of the shoddy school construction that led to thousands of deaths in the area.

They also occasionally sowed chaos, burdening limited food supplies and getting in the way of rescue efforts.

Since then, private groups have become more sophisticated, with better equipment and logistics, and in some cases have tried working more closely with public officials to smooth over tensions. Some—sporting matching uniforms so that residents will take them more seriously—are now virtually indistinguishable from the troops and police they are helping.

Authorities have also become more organized about bringing volunteers under their wings, setting up check-in centers where officials can track them and disperse information. The result is a growing number of experienced rescue groups that function at times as an extension of the government, while also serving as an outlet for the swelling numbers of Chinese who want to participate.

One such group, from northern China's Hebei province, is managed and funded by Wang Wenzhong, a former soldier who went on to make millions in the clothing business in Beijing before returning to his hometown to serve as the local Communist Party Secretary.

Mr. Wang led a team of 10, all outfitted in army surplus fatigues, into Ludian on Tuesday, bringing with him a van filled with supplies worth 30,000 yuan, or nearly $5,000. Mr. Wang, who's been to seven earthquake zones, said he has modeled his life on Lei Feng, a fictional good Samaritan soldier held up by Mao Zedong as a moral model.

"I was helped by so many others when I was younger, so this is my way of giving back," he said.

On the drive into Ludian, Mr. Wang coordinated with the local state-run TV station and officials in the county seat to determine where the group was most needed, something he said he learned to do after Sichuan. After waiting for approval to enter the quake zone, his team spent three days passing out goods they brought and helping authorities distribute medicine.

Not all volunteers have been so experienced or conscientious. Many are students visiting a disaster area for the first time. Especially in the first few days after the earthquake, a number of them wandered aimlessly around the collapsed houses, snapping selfies in front of the wreckage.

"Authorities are reacting faster and behaving more professionally," so they don't need volunteers to rush in, said Zhang Haitou, a 21-year-old college student in Beijing who called the restrictions on traffic in Ludian "a good thing."

"Some people just want to run up the mountain by themselves to dig out bodies or see what an earthquake looks like," added Liu Yan, the manager of a volunteer service stand set up by the Communist Youth League next to the government's relief headquarters. "We don't have any place for them."

Still, she said, the Communist Youth League had registered more than 3,000 volunteers willing to forgo the glamour for grunt work like bringing supplies to earthquake victims, cleaning, and cooking.

In the first 72-hours—the time when survivors are most likely to be found—volunteers need to step aside and let the government take the lead, said Gu Linsheng, executive director of Sichuan University's Institute for Disaster Management and Reconstruction.

"But in the next stage of after-disaster resettlement, more social force should come in," he said. "In regards to the distribution of goods and mental assistance, only (the) government's efforts are not enough."

Saturday 09 July 2014

http://online.wsj.com/articles/china-earthquake-prompts-debate-on-role-of-volunteers-1407527469?tesla=y&mod=rss_about_china&mg=reno64-wsj&url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304070304580079840340375952.html?mod=rss_about_china

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21 more MH17 crash victims identified,


Dutch forensics experts have identified 21 more victims of flight MH17, the government said on Friday, while their colleagues at the crash site began arriving home from east Ukraine where fighting has stopped the investigation.

Only two bodies had previously been identified. The 21 new victims are made up of 16 Dutch, including a dual British national, two Malaysians, a German, a Canadian and a Briton, the Dutch justice ministry said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Dutch forensics investigation coordinator Arie de Bruijn said around 176 "more-or-less" complete bodies had been recovered from the crash site.

Another 527 body parts have also arrived at the forensic investigators' research facility southwest of Amsterdam, De Bruijn told the ANP news agency.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Wednesday that the search for body parts at the crash site was being suspended due to escalating clashes between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists.

Two military transporters arrived in the southern Dutch city of Eindhoven on Friday, carrying 142 police experts from the Netherlands, Australia and Malaysia plus sniffer dogs.

The Malaysia Airlines 777 exploded over Ukraine on July 17, killing all 298 on board, 193 of them Dutch, with the West accusing Russia-backed separatists of shooting it down.

Over 220 coffins have been flown back to the Netherlands, which is tasked with identifying the bodies.

Saturday 09 July 2014

http://news.yahoo.com/21-more-mh17-crash-victims-identified-experts-fly-172215043.html

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Friday 8 August 2014

123 missing presumed dead in Nepal landslide


The 123 people missing in Saturday’s massive landslide in Sindhupalchok are now considered dead and the search operation has been stopped after Wednesday.

The missing, however, cannot be officially declared dead yet, said the home ministry. The law allows the disappeared to be certified dead only after 12 years from the time of the disappearance.

“The search and rescue team will now focus solely on draining the artificial lake formed by the landslide dam,” said Yadav Prasad Koirala, joint-secretary at the ministry. The team had recovered 33 bodies from the debris before the search was halted. Koirala said that it has become impossible and even dangerous for the team to look for bodies.

“The families of those presumed dead have begun receiving 40,000 Nepalese rupees (US$406.30) per dead,” said chief district officer of Sindhupalchok Gopal Parajuli. A Nepal Army team has been trying to drain the lake for the last five days. But its plan to explode a section of the dam to widen the channel created on Saturday failed for the second consecutive day.

According to the Army, the water has been flowing into the lake at the rate of 190 cubic feet per second and is flowing out at 210 cusec. A reading on Wednesday showed that the water level of the dammed lake has been reduced by 51 cm, said Jagdish Chandra Pokharel, NA spokesperson.

The Army and disaster experts, however, are unsure what the reduction means in terms of a possible outburst. No one has information on the exact depth and volume of the lake and the strength of the dam. “To the naked eye, the volume of water on the lake seems constant,” said Dhruba Devkota, a humanitarian programme coordinator at Save the Children, an international organisation, involved in providing immediate relief to the victims. Devkota was on the site of the disaster on Wednesday.

“The dam looks strong,” he said. “But there is a new danger to upstream localities from back flooding because we can see the landmass on the hill splitting again. Another landslide could occur at the same site.” According to the ministry, the last three months alone have seen landslides and flood affect ten districts, including Sindhupalchok.

Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) evaluation report says that 1.9 kilometer long slope of land percehed 1350 meters above the Sunkoshi River.

The administration evacuated nearly 5000 people living across the banks of the Sunkoshi River. They have been shifted to higher grounds. Sindhupalchowk is 120 km (75 miles) east of Kathmandu.

Landslides are common in Nepal during the June-September monsoon season. These landslides and flooding generally claims life dozens of people die every year. According to government records, since 1967, Nepal has experience over 14 large landslides. The landslide of May 2012 killed at least 26 people when it blocked the Seti River in northwestern Nepal.

Some massive floods and landslides have been experienced by the Sunkoshi Valley in 1982, 1987, and 1996.

Friday 08 July 2014

http://www.jagranjosh.com/current-affairs/massive-landslide-struck-sindhupalchok-district-of-nepal-1407410853-1

http://pakobserver.net/detailnews.asp?id=249060

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Varanasi boat capsize: 5 more bodies recovered, 7 missing


The bodies of five more persons were fished out of the Ganga river while a search was on to trace the seven others who had gone missing after a boat capsized in the river near Shooltankeshwar area.

A total of 12 bodies have been recovered so far since the boat carrying over 42 persons capsized in the Ganga river in the middle of Varanasi and Mirzapur in Betawar ghat near on Tuesday.

23 of them managed to swim to safety while 19 went missing.

"Five bodies have been recovered since last night and search is still on for the missing 7 people. A total of 12 bodies have been recovered till date," said Ashok Kanojia, SDM of Chunar town in Mirzapur.

"The five bodies recovered since last night have been identified as Rahul, Raj Kumar, Bechan, Shivpujan and Parmanand," said Kanojia. A search is still on for the missing people in Mirzapur and Varanasi district.

A team of NDRF, Jal Police and PAC flood platoon along with river divers is carrying out search operations in Varanasi and Mirzapur district. The boat, heading towards Mirzapur from Varanasi, capsized in the river on Tuesday at Betawar ghat near Shooltankeshwar area.

Friday 08 July 2014

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/varanasi-boat-capsize-5-more-bodies-recovered-7-missing/490891-3-242.html

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33 dead, 131 still missing after Bangladesh ferry capsized


The confirmed number of dead in the Bangladesh ferry disaster is climbing steadily as rescuers recover the bodies of more victims far away from the site where the vessel sank four days earlier.

"The death toll of Monday's ferry capsizal has climbed to 33 on Thursday night after more than a dozen bodies were retrieved since morning," said Kaniz Fatema, an assistant superintendent of police in central Bangladesh district Munshiganj.

She said the number of missing persons has increased to 131 as of Thursday night.

The overloaded ferry Pinak-6, with some 250 passengers on board, capsized in Padma, one of the three rivers that form the Ganges Delta, at around 11:15 a.m. local time Monday in high winds and waves amid inclement weather.

After giving up hope of getting their relative back alive, most families of the missing passengers have already started searching for floating bodies in Chandpur, Barisal, Bhola and other areas in the Bay of Bengal on their own.

A very few of the relatives were seen at the Mawa ferry terminal yesterday as the authority concerned is yet to trace the sunken launch, Pinak 6, even four days after the accident.

As over a hundred passengers still remain unaccounted for, their families started searching for missing bodies by hiring trawlers in different areas where most of the bodies were found earlier.

It was alleged that most of the bodies drifted out with the strong current in the Padma. As of yesterday, the rescuers had recovered a total of 33 bodies, mostly from other districts.

The administration yesterday recovered 12 more bodies from rivers in Bhola, Shariatpur, Barisal, Madaripur and Lakshmipur.

Relatives and locals in Mawa told the Dhaka Tribune that most of the relatives are now gathering at the Pachchar Primary School ground in Madaripur where the district administration is keeping the bodies that are recovered by rescuers.

On the school premises, several hundred relatives were seen waiting for news about their dear ones in the evening while some were holding up photos of their missing relatives.

Jahid Matubbar had lost seven of his family members and relatives, but he had found only one body that of his niece Faiza.

“They (rescuers) have recovered the body from Bhola. We do not think that they can find any more bodies. So, I have asked my relatives to go to Bhola, Barisal and Chandpur points and search for others, hiring trawlers,” he told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

He said the families of the ill-fated passengers are now waiting at Pachchar in Madaripur as they have lost their confidence in the authorities working at Mawa ferry terminal.

Ali Jabbar, who lost his wife and daughter in the accident, said: “As like today (Thursday), I used to search Chandpur area with a trawler as the lack of initiatives for rescuing the bodies taken by the authorities concerned is quite clear,” he said.

Along with Jahid and Jabbar, several hundred families were searching for bodies in different areas, including Kawrakandi in Madaripur, Naria in Shariatpur, Haimchar in Chandpur, according to Dhaka Tribune correspondents.

Madaripur Deputy Commissioner GSM Jafarullah confirmed to Dhaka Tribune that relatives were searching for bodies in the Bay of Bengal and also Shibchar area.

“We have received 23 bodies and 12 of them were handed over to their relatives after identification. Meanwhile, three other bodies were received by the relatives mid way while they were coming to Madaripur from different areas including Bhola. Relatives, who were searching for the bodies of their near ones have taken three bodies midway,” he said at 8:00 pm.

When a body was being brought to the Pachchar Primary School ground, all relatives were running to see if the body recovered was of their near and dear ones.

Meanwhile, relatives staged protests in Madaripur with the only demand of- “return the bodies of near ones”.

Shahidul Islam, a survivor of the accident who has been roaming in the area for last four days to get her relative’s body said: “I have lost my pregnant wife, Ayesha Akhter, and daughter, Sarah Moni, in the accident. How I can live without them. Please give their bodies or kill me.”

Friday 08 July 2014

http://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2014/aug/08/victims%E2%80%99-families-search-bodies-their-own

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