Friday 9 May 2014

Train hits jeep at unmanned crossing in Uttar Pradesh, 13 killed


At least 13 people were dead and three injured when a train rammed into a jeep at a unmanned railway crossing in Kothipur area here.

According to reports, the jeep carrying 16 persons was returning from a marriage function.

The incident took place at 1 am.

Thirteen people were killed on the spot and their bodies were pulled out with great difficulty from the mangled steel remains, an official told a news agency.

The three seriously injured have been admitted to a hospital.

The rail route was disrupted for several hours after the accident and normal traffic was restored early Friday.

Friday 09 May 2014

http://zeenews.india.com/news/uttar-pradesh/13-killed-in-train-jeep-accident-in-uttar-pradesh_930827.html

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Poor Asian transportation disaster response could impact U.S. aviation business


As President Barack Obama continues his strategic “Pivot to Asia,” away from the Middle East, we must include in that pivot a demand that countries and companies doing business in the region embrace a more thoughtful emergency response that mirrors the openness and best practices standards of the Western world. Specifically, we must ensure that extensive and detailed family assistance plans are proactively in place prior to a major transportation disaster.

The missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 and the sinking of the MV Sewol are stark reminders of just how far many countries in that region and around the world have yet to travel to reach minimally acceptable standards in addressing families’ needs after such tragic accidents. We continue to see families protesting and attacking the Malaysian Embassy in Beijing and even demanding answers from the Chicago headquartered aircraft manufacturer Boeing. In South Korea, families were traumatized even further when several of the bodies of teenage victims from MV Sewol were returned to the wrong families.

As the former Director of Government, Public and Family Affairs at the National Transportation Safety Board, I have personally seen how grieved the victims’ families can be when the remains and personal effects of their loved ones are mishandled. Between 1994 and 1996, there were four major transportation accidents in the United States, which killed a total of 540 people. Similar to what we have seen in both Malaysia and now in South Korea, the U.S. emergency response teams on occasion lacked organization, coordination, and even compassion.

In answering families’ cries for assistance, Congress passed the 1996 Family Assistance Act and subsequently, the 1997 Foreign Air Carrier Act. I served as a core member in the development of the NTSB’s family assistance program, which is still in effect to this day in the U.S.

The operation we designed harnesses the assets and capabilities of the federal government to work in cooperative coordination with emergency responders and the local medical examiner or coroner, whose responsibility it is to recover and identify victims. Since the passage of the Family Assistance Act, the NTSB’s program has been considered the gold standard.

As U.S. interests pivot East, the region as well as American companies doing business there should look West and adopt the standards established by the family assistance programs already adopted in countries including Australia, Canada, Brazil, throughout the European Union and of course, the U.S. While having such a comprehensive plan in place would not have located MH370 any faster or changed the likely criminal actions of the captain of the MV Sewol, a plan would have provided some measure of relief and not exacerbated the unthinkable sadness and grief for those who lost loved ones.

A tremendous amount is at stake in Asia for the American aircraft manufacturing industry if it fails to adequately address the needs and concerns of the MH370 families head-on. This is primarily due to the information void caused by the still missing Boeing 777 aircraft and complicated further by Malaysia’s former prime minister blaming Boeing for its disappearance. While clearly this is a blatantly unfair overstatement at this point in the investigation, the fact remains for Boeing that Malaysia, and Asian region public opinion for that matter, both are turning against Boeing very quickly. It would be sensible for Boeing to take a pro-active role with the families as part of an overall reputational risk management strategy.

The reasons why this is important are clearly stated in a Boeing market report released in February 2014. In the report, Boeing predicts that the demand for new airplanes in the Asia Pacific region will grow exponentially over the next 20 years. Boeing also estimates the region's airlines will need an additional 12,820 airplanes valued at $1.9 trillion, representing 36 percent of the world's new airplane deliveries over the next two decades. However, should Boeing’s reputation with Asian governments and their publics erode due to their perceived mishandling of their response to MH370 families, Boeing could face potentially significant losses in market share within this critical region.

Both countries and companies must no longer view family assistance as reactionary but must bring the development and improvement of family assistance plans to the forefront of their strategy. If they do not prepare adequately, they too could become an unwilling participant on the next global stage where families’ horrific reactions and outrage on disaster are broadcasted internationally.

Friday 09 May 2014

http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/foreign-policy/205590-poor-asian-transportation-disaster-response-could-impact

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Korea Coast Guard expands search for missing bodies from Sewol


South Korea’s coast guard expanded the search area for missing bodies from the sunken Sewol ferry, as the government announced support for companies hit by lower consumer spending during a period of national mourning.

The coast guard deployed drifting buoys attached with mannequins in an effort to trace the possible path of bodies that may have been dragged away from the Sewol, the government’s disaster response team said in an e-mailed statement. The vessel sank in an area known for strong currents off the southwest corner of the Korean peninsula on April 16.

The search was also expanded to all 111 rooms on the Sewol, after the divers had previously focused their attention on 64 cabins known to have been occupied before the ship listed, coast guard official Ko Myung Suk said in a televised briefing today. The confirmed death toll of 273 will probably rise to 304 of the 476 people on board, making it the nation’s worst maritime disaster since 1970.

President Park Geun Hye, facing criticism over government handling of the disaster, called for preemptive measures to support the economy and companies affected by the ferry sinking, according to the presidential Blue House website. Those support measures include 15 billion won ($14.7 million) of cheap loans to travel firms and a further front-loading of the 2014 budget to boost domestic consumption, the finance and other ministries said in a statement today.

Travel agencies, transport companies and hotel chains have lost bookings during what’s normally one of their busiest periods. Before the incident, the government had designated May 1-11 as a special period for tourism, providing discount coupons for hotels, attractions and restaurants as part of its plan to boost domestic tourism spending. High School Students

More than two thirds of the people on the Sewol were a group of 339 students and teachers from Danwon High School near Seoul. They were on a four-day excursion to Jeju island, nicknamed ‘Korea’s Hawaii’ for its volcanic scenery and beaches, a trip made by about 300,000 students a year, according to the island’s government.

Hundreds of thousands of people have visited temporary altars around the country to offer their condolences. Yellow ribbons with messages in support of the victims and their families are tied on railings in public places including along walking paths that flank the Cheonggye stream in central Seoul.

Families of the victims marched to the presidential Blue House seeking a meeting with Park overnight, according to YTN, which showed footage of a candlelight procession with many wrapped in blankets with police standing by.

Bank of Korea Governor Lee Ju Yeol said today the ferry’s impact on consumer sentiment is likely to be felt in the economy through the second quarter.

Friday 09 May 2014

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-05-09/korea-coast-guard-expands-search-for-missing-bodies-from-sewol

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