Tuesday 7 January 2014

Why identifying Typhoon Haiyan's dead matters to the living


The authorities in Tacloban City, capital of Leyte Province in central Philippines, have concluded a mass burial of unidentified bodies retrieved from the debris left by Typhoon Haiyan. In a report published on 7 January, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) estimated that the category 5 storm had killed more than 6,100 people, and another 1,700 are registered as missing. Some 5,000 deaths occurred in Leyte Province.

In the days immediately after the typhoon, dead bodies littered the streets. Dogs roamed, gnawing on human flesh. Residents are still chilled by the memory and cover their eyes in horror when they recall it. With most facilities destroyed or damaged, local authorities and survivors struggled to tend to the needs of the living in the devastated region. A government psychiatrist walked and, when roads became passable, cycled 10km daily to meet patients who could get to the Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Centre.

Rainwater has had to be pumped out of burial grounds to prevent the body bags from floating. Two government ministries tried to work out where and what was required to bury more bodies than anyone had expected, Tacloban city's mayor, Alfred Romualdez, told IRIN on 5 January, when burials were taking place for the second day. Some 1,400 bodies have been recovered but not claimed in the city so far.

"Where we expected to recover 20 bodies a day going into Christmas [six weeks after the typhoon hit], we were finding 70 to 80. We are still recovering bodies,” he said.

When bodies were first retrieved, up to one week after the typhoon struck in some places, they were haphazardly buried in mass graves. Some were examined, tagged and logged, some were not.

“We left after five days because we could not endure the stench of the cadavers,” said Maria Portia Garcia, who lives in Anibong village, 12km from Tacloban. Her sister died when a ship slammed into the home where she was sheltering, a few hundred metres from the shore. She was buried in a mass grave in San Isidro, a community on the outskirts of Tacloban, two weeks after the typhoon.

Her body is one of hundreds that have been "processed", as forensics experts call it and laid to rest temporarily in a seven-hectare plot in a nearby cemetery, purchased by the local government in the village of Basper. Processing involves tagging bodies, fingerprinting and photographing them, and collecting DNA samples when possible. The information is analysed after reference samples are gathered from the next of kin, which can take months, depending on the number of cadavers. The bodies will be exhumed later for further identification.

“We did not see her body when it was pulled out [of the debris], but we know she is buried now, which brings us some relief,” said Garcia.

The Department of Health (DOH) implements national policy on the management of dead and missing persons during emergencies and disasters.

The Philippine Department of Justice’s National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is using protocols developed by Interpol, the international police agency, called disaster victim identification (DVI), which borrows from the forensic science used in criminal investigations.

As officials in the Philippines rushed between tending to the living as well as the dead, criticism grew that victim identification was too expensive and, for a grieving public, too time consuming.

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the DOH worked with international forensics expert Stephen Cordner to implement an abbreviated DVI method, developed by the WHO and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which overlaps with the Interpol method but stops short of immediate DNA sampling.

“With mass casualties on the scale that we’ve seen here, it is difficult to do a full identification in a timely manner. With this information [using abbreviated DVI method], we can identify about 50 percent of bodies,” said Julie Hall, the WHO representative in the Philippines.


This method relies heavily on visual recognition, which may not always be accurate, but cases in doubt can be resolved by DNA sampling, said Hall, who noted that both forensic methods were used after Typhoon Haiyan.

Antonio Vertido, chief medico-legal officer of the NBI, defended the government’s slow pace. “We cannot abbreviate the process because [it follows] international... [protocol]. As much as we’d like to abbreviate the process - we are tired, too - we can’t,” he told IRIN while overseeing a recent mass burial.

Helena Ras, chair of Interpol’s DVI steering committee, said the agency’s DVI protocols are “not just about correctly identifying victims, but also about ensuring that due process is followed to support national legal requirements. For example, the issue of a death certificate, and to avoid potential disputes in the future.”

The problem is not just one of forensics, DOH undersecretary Janet Garin told IRIN. “The Philippines does have a policy on identifying dead bodies, using DNA testing. But in a disaster like this, where you are dealing with thousands of bodies, this is difficult and takes time. People want to closure. But we also had to manage [the] families who [were] demanding DNA testing and matching for positive/confirmatory identification.”

Garin called for the formation of a decision-making body on natural disasters similar to the US Federal Emergency Management Agency to help resolve such disputes. The country's president appointed parliamentarian Panfilo Lacson in December 2013 to oversee and coordinate the government agencies involved in rehabilitation efforts, and to manage typhoon-related spending. Lacson has echoed Garin’s call for centralized decision-making after disasters.

“For people here, just like in other countries, the way a body is treated and buried is very important,” said Lynne Jones, mental health officer of International Medical Corps, who helped write the mental health guidelines for the Inter-agency Standing Committee (IASC), which coordinates UN and non-UN international humanitarian agencies, speaking from the Philippines.

“What survivors are looking for is the recognition of the significance and individuality of their loss. They want their loss to matter,” Jones said. “A burial gives an individual significance to a person's loss and that the helps with closure.”

Tuesday 07 January 2014

http://www.irinnews.org/report/99432/why-identifying-typhoon-haiyan-s-dead-matters-to-the-living

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Mexico: Investigators put names to 8 of 10 bodies of border-crossers in Santa Cruz County


In his final moments, a man in the midst of an illegal border-crossing west of Nogales sent a text message to his wife in Mexico, saying “Ya no aguanto” (“I can’t hold on anymore”) and another saying “Tengo sed” (“I’m thirsty”).

His wife responded by filing a missing person report in Mexico. But when the body was found on July 1 in California Gulch under large bushes about 30 yards north of the border, the only name it carried was that of a John Doe, one of 10 border-crossers whose bodies were found in Santa Cruz County in 2013.

Each time a body was found in the wilderness of Santa Cruz County last year, the finding appeared in the Sheriff’s Office’s dispatch report. In turn, it was followed by a short story in the NI with a brief description of the discovery based on information provided by the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Border Patrol.

But the work that goes into identifying the bodies rarely made headlines, even as authorities managed to find probable identities for eight of the 10 bodies.

The identification process was fairly straightforward when authorities found a Mexican voter identification card on one body, or a Washington state driver’s license on another.

However, in the case of the body found in California Gulch, authorities did not find any property except for a phone, according to records from the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner (OME), which is tasked with processing unidentifiable bodies and unnatural deaths in Pima, Santa Cruz, and Cochise counties.

That one piece of property proved crucial in tracking down information on the John Doe and his possible identity as a 36-year-old man from Mexicali, Baja California Norte, who had texted his wife that he was thirsty and couldn’t go on.

Team effort

When bodies arrive at the OME, pathologists and forensic anthropologists examine them and associated personal items, searching for clues as to the cause of death and the person’s identity, according to Dr. Gregory Hess, chief medical examiner at the OME.

Since 2001, the OME has identified about 65 percent of the 2,300 unidentified bodies of border crossers, he said.

If OME staff cannot determine the identity of a body, that task is handed to the Mexican Consulate and to Robin Reineke of the Colibri Center for Human Rights, a non-profit organization that collects information on human remains found on the border in Southern Arizona.

When forensic science can’t find a person’s identity, Reineke compares the available information with missing person reports filed during the time in question, she said.

Since 2006, the Colibri Center has compiled a database of about 1,700 missing person reports filed by family members and friends whose loved ones disappeared while trying to cross the desert, she said.

She also compares the information with missing person reports filed in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NAMUS).

In the case of the body found at California Gulch, OME records show that Det. Jesus Cordova of the Santa Cruz Sheriff’s Office called to report that the Mexican Consulate in Nogales might be able to connect the body to a pending missing person report. Using text messages sent from the phone found with the body, and relying on the missing person’s identifying features such as a tattoo of the Virgin Mary, investigators were able to confirm that the body belonged to Gregorio Ponce Valenzuela, the man reported missing by his wife in Mexicali.

With the ID made, the body was presumably returned to Mexico. However, if months go by without any progress, unidentified remains are turned over to Pima County’s public fiduciary, cremated, and put in the Evergreen Cemetery in Tucson, Hess said.

Unidentified remains found in Santa Cruz County are cremated and buried in the Nogales City Cemetery, said Rita Ashford, public fiduciary for the county.

Other cases

For each of the border-crosser deaths in Santa Cruz County in 2013 Reineke provided the OME records to the NI based on the news reports that appeared throughout the year. Below is a synopsis of each of the cases, not including the body found July 1 at California Gulch.

• Jan. 21: A hiker found skeletal remains in the desert near Amado. The remains consisted of a skull with a mandible, a femur, and vertebrae, as well as a pair of pants. Sheriff’s deputies did not find identification documents at the scene. The Mexican Consulate took photos of the remains at the OME and the case was entered into NAMUS. No positive ID was made and the case was referred to the public fiduciary.

• Feb. 12: Gerardo Lopez Leon, a 41-year-old Mexican national, was crossing the border by way of the Coronado National Forest west of I-19 with his nephew and other family members when he became nauseous. He grew sicker and his family members eventually had to carry him, while others went to get help. When Border Patrol agents arrived he was already dead. Lopez was carrying a Mexican voter card and a driver’s license and his nephew identified him. The Mexican Consulate made funeral arrangements for him.

• Feb. 23: A man camping west of I-19 near Amado reported finding skeletal remains and clothing. Border Patrol agents secured the scene until sheriff’s deputies arrived. A card found in the vicinity of the bones was from Bellevue Hospital Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. and it showed a name of Concepcion Hernandez, address, and possible date of birth. The remains were determined to belong to two women. A possible match with the hospital card was found in the missing persons list, as well as one for a missing woman, Laura Delgado, who was traveling with her.

• March 3: A woman ran across I-19 near Amado where she was struck and killed by a sedan and minivan towing a trailer. A Department of Public Safety officer found a photocopy of a Mexican ID card with the name Inez Lopez Ruiz from Oaxaca, Mexico. She reportedly was part of a group of about 30 people who were making an illegal border-crossing attempt. Border Patrol agents captured about 20 people from the group, but none of them knew Lopez Ruiz.

• May 23: A man hiking near Tubac came across a decomposed body and contacted the Sheriff’s Office. Border Patrol agents at the I-19 checkpoint helped deputies find the body. A Washington state driver’s license and Mexican voter ID card found in the front pocket of the shirt bore the name of Jose Luis Castro-Garnica from Michoacan, Mexico. The Mexican Consulate was contacted.

•June 7: Border Patrol agents found skeletal remains while escorting unauthorized border crossers near the Nogales International Airport. No ID was found with the remains. Agents contacted the Sheriff’s Office and the body was transported to the OME, where staff from the Mexican Consulate took photos of the body. No ID was made.

• Sept. 16: A rancher found skeletal remains in Pesqueira Canyon northwest of Nogales and notified the Sheriff’s Office. Deputies found a Mexican voter ID card for German Reyes Montanez of Aguascalientes, Mexico. The Colibri Center and the Mexican Consulate contacted family members who sent copies of Reyes’ X-rays. His identity was confirmed by the OME through an X-ray comparison.

• Dec. 11: Hunters found skeletal remains southwest of Rio Rico and contacted the Sheriff’s Office. Authorities found a Mexican voter ID card for Guillermo Martinez Perea, who had been entered into NAMUS.

Tuesday 07 January 2014

http://www.nogalesinternational.com/news/investigators-put-names-to-of-bodies/article_f98fed7a-77b1-11e3-9947-001a4bcf887a.html

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Continuing effort to identify the only body recovered from the 1941 sinking of the HMAS Sydney


The only body recovered from Australia's worst every maritime disaster, the 1941 sinking of the HMAS Sydney, may have belonged to a sailor from the Far North Coast.

The HMAS Sydney was sunk in November 1941 in an attack by the German merchant raider HSK Kormoran off Western Australia, killing 645 Australian sailors.

Found in a raft near Christmas Island three months after the tragedy, the body's identity has remained a mystery.

But scientists have not given up hope on the task, and are using the latest forensic technologies in their mission.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, limestone traces in his bone strongly suggest that he came from the east coast - most likely northern NSW or Queensland.

Narrowing the search further, it's reported the sailor had a very high marine diet as a child, suggesting he grew up on the coast rather than inland.

And the biggest blessing so far has been the sailor's dental records, which are quite unique - he had nine gold fillings.

Tuesday 07 January 2014

http://www.northernstar.com.au/news/unknown-sailor-may-be-from-this-region/2132095/

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Tacloban debris continues to yield human bodies


More bodies continue to be retrieved by the authorities from heaps of debris that litter the streets of Tacloban, two months after Supertyphoon “Yolanda” and accompanying storm surges demolished the city and other parts of Eastern Visayas.

Senior Superintendent Pablo Cordeta, head of the Task Force Cadaver, said workers sifting through the typhoon’s detritus are finding five to seven bodies a day.

“We still expect more recoveries,” Cordeta said, noting that a susbstantial amount of debris still has to be removed from many areas in Tacloban, the hardest hit by Yolanda, described as the most powerful storm to hit land ever.

Cordeta’s task force has recovered 17 bodies since it resumed operations after the Christmas break through January 4, mostly in the coastal San Jose district, he said.

All bodies collected by the task force are taken to Barangay (village) Suhi, 13 kilometers north of the Tacloban city center.

Meanwhile, city administrator Tecson John Lim said that 1,305 bodies deposited in Suhi have been buried in a 1.4-meter-deep mass grave located within the compound of the local health center. The mass burial was completed on January 5.

About 1,200 other bodies have been buried at the public cemetery at the nearby town of Basper, Lim said.

However, Lim added, at least 66 bodies had yet to be buried as they were still being processed by experts from the National Bureau of Investigation for identification purposes.

NBI forensic experts were getting specimens from the bodies such as small bone and dental fragments to be kept for future reference and identification.

Lim said that these bodies were kept in a refrigerated trailer van donated by the Philippine Red Cross.

He said that Tacloban City has a recorded death toll of 2,505 persons.

The cleaning of debris is being carried out by local residents who enlisted with the Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation’s cash-for-work program. They receive P500 for a day of work.

The United Nations Development Program has initiated its own cash-for-work program to clear the city of the remaining storm debris.

Tuesday 07 January 2014

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/559575/tacloban-debris-continues-to-yield-human-bodies

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Typhoon 'Yolanda' (Haiyan) death toll rises to 6,183


The official death toll from super typhoon "Yolanda" is now at 6,183, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said.

In its latest update today, January 7, the NDRRMC said 17 more were confirmed dead in the worst-hit city of Tacloban in Leyte.

Majority of the fatalities were from Eastern Visayas at 5,785 (5,290 in Leyte; 265 in Eastern Samar; 224 in Samar; and 6 in Biliran).

In Tacloban, 2,2,524 bodies remain unidentified. The NDRRMC said 1,785 people remain missing, while 28,626 others were injured when Yolanda struck the country last November 8.

At least 3,424,593 families or 16,078,181 individuals were affected by the typhoon, with 4,095,280 people displaced.

Some 550,928 homes were totally destroyed while at least 598,404 houses were partially damaged.

Tuesday 07 January 2014

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/regions/01/07/14/yolanda-death-toll-rises-6183

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Tanzania: Search efforts find no more bodies from capsized boat


The search for missing passengers who fell off a boat last Sunday continued on Monday with no more bodies retrieved, port authorities said.

On Sunday five bodies were retrieved from the sea about six hours after the accident occurred in Nungwi area while the ferry boat, MV Kilimanjaro II, was struck with waves while sailing to Malindi port on Unguja island.

"Search was called off late Sunday because of rough seas and darkness, but we continued today (yesterday) in vain. But there are still about 15 people missing," said Abdi Omar Maalim, director of the Zanzibar Maritime Authority (ZMA).

He ruled out reports that some three more bodies had been retrieved. He said a rescue team comprising the police, coastguard and private companies took part in the search.

The Zanzibar Commissioner of Police (CP) Hamdan Omar Makame confirmed that some people including the boat captain Nassor Abubakar Khamis were being interrogated in the ongoing investigation on the incident.

MV Kilimanjaro II left Pemba port at 8am on Sunday bound for Zanzibar port, where it was due to arrive three hours later. However, it was hit by waves, forcing it to lean to one side during which property and some passengers fell into the sea.

Maalim told reporters at the port that the boat had 396 adult passengers and 60 children on board. He blamed the ferry crew for not being transparent and failing to seek help even after the rescue team offered help.

Some relatives and friends turned up yesterday at the hospital and port to look for their missing beloved ones. Mr Khalid Salim Mohammed, Permanent Secretary in the Second Vice-President's office, issued a statement to console the bereaved families and asking for patience as the government continued with the search.

He also asked people to refrain from travelling by sea during this period when weather forecasts warned of rough seas. More than 200 people died in the same place in 2011 when a boat, MV Spice Islander, capsized while on its way to Pemba.

Later in July 2012 another boat, Mv Skirgit, also drowned while sailing to Zanzibar from Dar es Salaam, killing more than 140 people.

Tuesday 07 January 2014

http://allafrica.com/stories/201401070097.html

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Goa building collapse: Rescue operations stopped; 17 bodies recovered, 12 missing


Rescue operations at the site of the building collapse in Cancona town of south Goa were halted this afternoon after two adjacent five-storey buildings tilted precariously, even as 17 bodies were pulled out from the caved-in structure. At least 12 people are still untraceable.

The six-storey building was coming up in Chawdi area of Cancona town, 70 km from state capital Panaji. Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said the rescuers were asked to pull out since they faced danger from the debris.

An FIR has been registered against the builder Vishwas Desai and contractor Jaideep Saigal. The builder and the contractor are untraceable, police said. Mr Parrikar said the Deputy Town Planner and two municipal engineers have been suspended. The officials will be arrested soon, Mr Parrikar said.

The state government has announced a relief of Rs. 2 lakh each to the family of the dead and formed a three-member panel from Goa Engineering College to investigate the incident.

"The rescue operation has been stopped as two buildings adjacent to the collapsed structure tilted, raising fears that they will cave-in," a senior fire and emergency department official said today.

The constant drilling in the debris led to weakening of the adjacent buildings, fire officials said.

The adjacent buildings showing signs of tilting are also five-storey residential structures which are partially completed and were being constructed by the same builder.

Sixteen people were admitted to state-run Hospicio Hospital in Margao and Goa Medical College and Hospital near Panaji.

Tuesday 07 January 2014

http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/goa-building-collapse-rescue-operations-stopped-17-bodies-recovered-12-missing-467570

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