Monday 30 June 2014

Many missing as Apete makeshift bridge collapses


Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, experienced downpour at the weekend, culminating in a massive flooding, which killed no fewer than 15 persons in different parts of the ancient city.

The incident, which was similar to what the city experienced on August 26, 2011, also led to the destruction of homes and landed properties worth millions of naira.

THISDAY learnt that about 10 lives were lost at Apete due to the sudden collapse of make-shift bridge, which the people in the area had been using since the collapse of the main bridge on August 26, 2011.

It was also gathered that five other persons including three children of the same parents were found under the ruble of a Cherubim & Seraphim church, which the flood brought down when the Olodo River overflowed its bank.

As a result of the deaths recorded at the Apete Bridge, a group of irate young men yesterday stormed the workstation of the contractor currently reconstructing the Ijokodo-Apete road and the bridge linking the two communities in anger.

Consequently, the aggrieved youths destroyed equipment and property at the contractor’s station worth millions of naira.

Recounting the scale of damage incurred due to the incident, an Olodo resident, Mr. Fatai Osuolale, told THISDAY that a white garment church and some structures built few metres away from the river bank were submerged.

Osuolale said the river overflowed its bank and flooded houses around the bank, thus leading to the loss of property and five lives including three children of the same parents said to be under spiritual refuge in the church. He explained that the river “is named Egberi and its source is traced to Osun river. Inside the river, people regularly perform spiritual bath while others come to wash clothes, okada and other things.”

Osuolale said residents and good Samaritans “are still searching for the bodies of the victims. Only one has been found so far while a Nissan Micra swept off by the flood around Odan Village has been recovered from the river.”

On Apete’s incident, THISDAY learnt that the victims were part of the residents that fell from the makeshift bridge shortly after the rain. But an eyewitness said he was part of the team that rescued some people who fell into the river from the bridge.

The eyewitness said the makeshift bridge “has become extremely weak and a no-go- area for residents of the community because its base has been swept off.

“When the rain which started around 4.00 pm stopped, some of the residents decided to make use of the makeshift bridge and in the process fell into the river and were swept away.

“We heard the cry of people who fell into the river around 6:30 p.m. I decided to join the rescue team. We eventually succeeded in rescuing about six people while not less than 10 others were killed as a result.”

Consequently, the aggrieved youths in Apete and its environs protested the death of 10 persons who drowned on Saturday evening after a makeshift bridge collapsed.

The youths, violently, stormed the contractor’s workstation, therefore destroying caterpillars, office equipment and other property belonging to the company.

While the angry youths also broke into the work station and offices within, hundreds of residents in the area were waiting at the river bank for rescue operation to commence.

Some of the residents were pelting stones and other objects at a team of security personnel who stood at the Ijokodo end of the road to maintain order.

One of the security men, Mr. Bassey Etum employed by the construction company said he had to run for his life alongside five other colleagues when the irate youths earlier came on Saturday night.

Etum said: “After the river had overflowed its banks, residents at the community said people drowned because of the bridge that collapsed. They vented their anger on the company and destroyed our machines and equipment.

“They stole computers and other office equipment too. There were six security men here when they came Saturday night. They wanted to lynch us so we ran into a nearby forest. When we returned around 11 p.m., nothing was left untouched; the whole place had been vandalised.”

Monday 30 June 2014

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/flood-ravages-ibadan-again-claims-15-lives/182246/

continue reading

Forensic lab takes blood samples of Beas river tragedy victims


The AP Forensic Science Laboratory has taken the blood samples of the parents of Himachal Pradesh Beas River tragedy victims.

Experts are making DNA profiles to match them with that of the bodies retrieved from the Beas River. APFSL director A. Sharada said, “Out of the 24 students of VNR Vignan Jyothi Institute of Engineering and Technology missing six bodies are yet to be recovered from the water. 20 days have passed. So the bodies will be putrefied and distorted beyond recognition. In such cases DNA fingerprinting is a must.” So the APFSL has called in the parents of the students for collecting the samples. So far the parents of four students visited APFSL and had given blood samples.

“We started making DNA profiles. DNA experts at the Simla lab will collect the body parts of the students as and when they are recovered from the river. They will make the DNA profiles and match them with that of those sent by us. Then the identification will be quick,” said Sharada.

Monday 30 June 2014

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/140630/nation-current-affairs/article/forensic-lab-takes-blood-samples-beas-river-tragedy-victims

continue reading

At least 30 dead in migrant boat accident off Italian coast


The Italian navy has found about 30 bodies in a fishing boat carrying hundreds of migrants between Sicily and the North African coast.

The migrants who died appeared to have been asphyxiated.

The discovery was made when rescuers boarded the vessel to evacuate a number of people said to be in distress, two of them pregnant women.

The navy says that over the weekend it rescued more than 5,000 migrants trying to cross from North Africa.

The figure was released soon after news emerged of the discovery of the bodies.

The navy said that those who died were crammed into a compartment below decks.

The fishing boat was carrying about 600 migrants and is now being towed to the town of Pozzallo, southern Sicily.

Correspondents say that it is not clear whether the boat was sinking when it was intercepted.

The BBC's Alan Johnston in Rome says the latest discovery will again focus attention on the dangers faced by those who are so desperate to reach Europe they choose to make the journey aboard hopelessly overcrowded and unseaworthy vessels.

The Italian authorities say more than 60,000 migrants have already landed in southern Italy this year, and that the record of 63,000 set in 2011 is likely to be broken.

Most are from Africa or the Middle East and pay large sums to people smugglers in Libya who transport them in unsafe fishing vessels.

Officials say one reason for the rise in numbers is because of Libya's continuing political instability.

Italy - which bears the brunt of migrants making the perilous crossing - has repeatedly appealed for help from the EU to tackle the problem.



Earlier this month, at least 39 people drowned off Libya after an overloaded, inflatable boat capsized while trying to cross to the Italian island of Lampedusa.

Last October, 360 people died when a boat sank off Lampedusa.

The navy said it rescued some 1,577 migrants over the weekend, adding to the nearly 60,000 who have made their way to Italy since the beginning of the year.

That is compared to 42,000 in all of 2013.

Monday 30 June 2014

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-28082969

continue reading