Tuesday 3 June 2014

Mull of Kintyre crash: Memorials mark 20th anniversary of RAF Chinook disaster


Memorial services have been held in Northern Ireland and Scotland to mark the 20th anniversary of an RAF air crash in which 29 people died.

A Chinook helicopter carrying 25 of the UK's most senior intelligence experts crashed on the Mull of Kintyre on the west coast of Scotland on 2 June 1994.

Leading security personnel from the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), MI5 and the Army died, alongside the crew.

Some of their relatives have said the cause of the crash is still a mystery.

The passengers were travelling to a security conference at Inverness in Scotland from RAF Aldergrove in Northern Ireland when the aircraft ploughed into the hillside in thick mist.

The four crew members who died were from the Special Forces.

Reviewing the evidence of an initial 1995 RAF board of inquiry, two air marshals concluded that gross negligence on the part of the two pilots was to blame, but their families led a long campaign to clear their loved-ones' names.

Successive defence secretaries resisted pressure to reopen the case, but in May 2010, the then Defence Secretary Liam Fox announced he was ordering a review of the evidence.

The following year, pilots Flight Lieutenants Jonathan Tapper and Richard Cook were exonerated of any blame by the fresh review.

The original RAF verdict, which had already been criticised in separate House of Commons and House of Lords committee reports, was set aside.

Dr Fox also apologised to the families of both men who had been wrongly held responsible for the crash.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has insisted that mechanical failure was not to blame.

"Exhaustive investigations have been carried out, both by the MoD and independent bodies, and no evidence of technical or mechanical failure were identified, " a MoD spokesman told the BBC.

But Dr Susan Phoenix, who lost her RUC husband in the crash, remains unconvinced.

She criticised the MoD's handling of the case, adding she has spent 20 years not knowing what caused the crash.

"As far as I know, no official reason was given for the crash. The generic thing (reason) is that 'we may never know'.

"And it is true that we may never know. I think there will always be a mystery. It really is an enigma," Dr Phoenix said.

In 2001, the RUC was disbanded and replaced by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), as part of the Irish peace process.

Memorial services were held to mark the anniversary at PSNI headquarters in Belfast and on the Mull of Kintyre.

Another service was held at the headquarters of the Army's 38 (Irish) Brigade in Lisburn earlier on Monday.

At the Mull of Kintyre Memorial Garden in the city, representatives from several of the families took part in a private ceremony alongside senior representatives of the military and MoD.

The names of those who died were read out by Lt Colonel Nick Ilic and a wreath laid by Brigadier Ralph Woodisse, commander of 38 (Irish) Brigade.



Tuesday 03 June 2014

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-27655435

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More bodies pulled from Murmansk Lake after Russian helicopter crash


Rescue services in Russia's Murmansk region have pulled the 15th body from Lake Munozerzo on Monday following a Russian helicopter crash on Saturday, local media reports said.

The efforts to recover the 16th and the final body are set to continue over the coming hours and days.

The helicopter was carrying 18 people on board while the crash happened on Saturday, killing 16 people and injuring two others.

Official investigation has yet to determine the cause of the accident, although negligence, gear failure and poor visibility due to heavy fog remain the likeliest scenario.

The Mi-8 helicopter crashed while delivering Deputy Governor of Murmansk Region Sergey Skomorokhov, Regional Minister of Natural Resources Aleksey Smirnov and Director-General of Apatit JSC Aleksey Grigoryev, according to the Itar-Tass news agency.

The regional government said the helicopter belongs to Apatit JSC, a manufacturer of chemicals and fertilizers.

The Russian Investigative Committee had also begun a criminal inquiry into the crash on suspected breaches of air safety rules.

Meanwhile, a fundraiser has been announced in Murmansk for the families of the victims. Local authorities are also covering food and hotel costs as relatives wait for the return of their loved ones' remains.

Tuesday 03 June 2014

http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/article_xinhua.aspx?id=222084

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At least 12 Vietnam students killed in Thai van crash


Twelve Vietnamese students and a Thai van driver died after their chartered vehicle collided head-on with an 18-wheel truck in Chaiyaphum's Kaeng Khro district yesterday morning. The van burst into flames after the smash.

Three other students travelling in the van were seriously injured while the truck driver, Prayuth Leesui, 35, was also injured. They were taken to Kaeng Khro Hospital.

The van was part of a five-vehicle caravan that departed Bangkok on Sunday night for a seminar and youth camp at a church in Nong Bua Lamphu's Muang district, Kaeng Khro Police chief Colonel Panas Boonyanyao said.

The four other vans had already past Chaiyaphum province when the last one, driven by Weerachai Phromsakul, 36, collided with the truck, he said.

Police suspect that Weerachai fell asleep at the wheel at about 7am on road number 201 (Kaeng Khro-Phu Khieo).

The charred bodies of the students are being kept at the Sawang Phutthatham Sathan Foundation in Kaeng Khro, pending identification so authorities can contact their families.

But the other Vietnamese students and their teachers contacted police and asked them to move the bodies to Khon Kaen's Srinakarin Hospital for DNA tests.

The Ban Kijjanukhroh Church's three-day youth camp is an annual event for 120 Thai and Vietnamese students from Bangkok, Khon Kaen, Udon Thani and Sakhon Nakhon. This year's event was cancelled following the tragedy.

In related news, a separate accident in Samut Prakan's Bang Bo district yesterday afternoon saw a pickup overturn at a curve in tambon Bang Na-Trat, killing two Myanmar workers and injuring 15 others. The truck driver fled the scene.

An initial probe by police found that the truck with 24 Myanmar workers on board was speeding and the driver lost control, slamming into an oncoming van.

Tuesday 03 June 2014

http://www.phuketgazette.net/thailand-news/At-least-12-Vietnam-students-killed-Thai/29658

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