Tuesday 6 January 2015

8 missing after ship capsizes in NE China


Eight people are missing after a sand dredger crashed into a fishing boat and caused it to capsize in northeast China's Bohai Sea on Monday, local authorities said.

Nine crew members on board the fishing boat fell into the water after the collision happened at 5 a.m. near Suizhong County, and only one has been rescued, according to the government of Huludao City, which administers Suizhong.

The sand dredger that caused the collision later fled the scene.

The government said 14 boats and one helicopter have joined the search for the missing.

Tuesday 6 January 2015

http://www.ecns.cn/2015/01-06/149447.shtml

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QZ8501: Three more bodies identified as search enters Day 10


As search operations for the ill-fated AirAsia QZ8501 enters its tenth day, personnel from the Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) have identified three more bodies after endless hours of scouring the Java Sea in search of victims from the Dec 28 crash.

Of the 37 bodies sent to the Bhayangkara Hospital in Surabaya, 16 bodies have been successfully identified to date, said East Java Chief Police Commissioner Budiyono.

The victims are Indra Yulianto, 51, Hindarto Halim, 61 and Jou Brian Youvito, 19.

Several means of identification methods were used by the DVI squad. Yulianto and Hindarto were identified through the post-mortem and antemortem data retrieved from the CCTV at the Juanda International Airport in Singapore on Dec 28.

Meanwhile, Jou Brian Youvito’s remain was identified from a dental checkup card, university ID tag and ATM cards found in his pants.

All three victims were handed over to their respective families for funerals.

Of the 162 passengers and crew on board, 155 were Indonesian, with three South Koreans, one Singaporean, one Malaysian, one Briton and a Frenchman.

East Java Police’s Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) team working on the bodies of the victims from AirAsia Indonesia flight QZ8501 said that they had found no trace of burns on the bodies.

National Police’s DVI executive director Sr. Comr. Anton Castelani said that the bodies were in a relatively clean condition, suggesting that the plane did not catch fire or explode before impacting the water and killing 162 people on Dec. 28, 2014.

“No burns were found on the victims. Regarding the report on [how the plane crashed], the KNKT [National Transportation Safety Commission] will publish it,” Anton said on Tuesday.

He added that the bodies found have experienced advanced signs of decomposition, making it more difficult for the DVI team to identify the bodies.

“In such a case, we will use other identification methods, such as the teeth and their DNA. There are not many worries regarding the decomposition process, they can still be identified,” Anton added.

The process involves comparing the postmortem data of the victims with the antemortem data obtained from the victims’ families.

Meanwhile, National Police chief Gen. Sutarman said that all bodies found would be and could be identified, submitting to the reality that the bodies found later will take more time to identify.

Tuesday 6 January 2015

http://english.astroawani.com/news/show/qz8501-three-more-bodies-identified-search-enters-day-10-51643

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/01/06/no-burns-found-victims-bodies-dvi-team.html

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Forensic experts from Australia, Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia and UAE help identify AirAsia QZ8501 crash victims


The Australian Federal Police has sent five forensic experts to Indonesia in an effort to help identify the bodies of passengers on AirAsia flight QZ8501, authorities said on Tuesday.

Three Australian disaster victim identification officers and two Australian civilian forensic experts arrived in Surabaya, Indonesia's second largest city, Tuesday.

Together, they will join forces with 260 national and international experts in matching remains with fingerprints, dental records and bone DNA to help identify the victims.

The Australian federal government also revealed that it is prepared to provide more specialist officers when and if they are required.

"Australian agencies remain in ongoing direct contact with their Indonesian counterparts to offer support for the Indonesian response to the loss of flight QZ8501," an Australian federal government spokesperson said Tuesday.

"The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has agreed to an Indonesian request to provide a flight recorder specialist when needed." The plane plunged into the Java Sea en route to Singapore on Dec 28, killing all 162 passengers and crew members on board.

A total of 37 bodies have so far been located and are currently in the process of being identified, while the search for the remaining victims, in addition to parts of the aircraft, is ongoing.

Forensic odontology experts join Indonesian DVI team

The University of Gadjah Mada (UGM) has said it will send two forensic odontology experts to help identify the bodies of AirAsia flight QZ8501 victims that are already badly decomposed.

The two experts, Professor Sudibyo and Ahmad Syaify, were scheduled to depart for Surabaya on Tuesday. They will help the Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) team to identify the bodies of AirAsia victims that can no longer be physically identified using methods such as facial recognition and fingerprints, by examining the victims’ dental impressions.

UGM rector Dwikorita Karnawati said that since the beginning of the recovery effort, Prof. Sudibyo had been involved in identifying the AirAsia victims based on his own initiative and financial resources.

“One of the victims Prof. Sudibyo managed to identify was Hayati Lutfiah Hamid,” Dwikorita said on Monday afternoon.

Hayati was the first AirAsia victim successfully identified by the DVI team, last week.

Dwikorita said identifying human remains via dental examinations was crucial, adding that the bodies of the AirAsia victims had begun to decompose, impeding identification via other means.

“The forensic odontology method will hopefully be helpful in ensuring that all bodies can be immediately identified and returned to their families,” she said.

Prof. Sudibyo said that overall, the AirAsia victims’ bodies had been affected after being submerged in water for days and being damaged by ocean scavengers.

“To identify the bodies, the DVI team had to jump directly to the postmortem identification stage because [the victims’] faces were already damaged,” he said.

The expert said forensic odontology was the proper method to identify damaged human remains because dental components would remain relatively complete regardless of the condition of bodies.

Forensic odontology was a method applied to identify victims of a Garuda Indonesia airplane crash in Yogyakarta in 2007. Most of the bodies were difficult to identify due to burns. Sudibyo was then head of the forensic odontology team dispatched by Sardjito Hospital, Yogyakarta, to identify the victims.

Korea, UAE help identify bodies of AirAsia victims

Forensic experts from South Korea and the United Arab Emirates have joined other international experts, including from Australia and Singapore, in helping to identify victims of AirAsia flight QZ8501, which crashed into Karimata Strait waters while en route from Surabaya to Singapore on Dec.28.

“Five forensic and identification experts from the UAE and a DNA expert from South Korea have been working with 229 other experts to identify the victims’ bodies since 9 a.m. today,” the National Police’s Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) director Sr.Comr.Anton Casilani told journalists at the DVI post at the East Java Police headquarters in Surabaya, Tuesday.

He said an identification team from Malaysia was also expected to arrive in Surabaya on Wednesday.

Ten Singaporean experts and 14 Australian experts have also been dispatched to assist in the identification process.

“The joint identification team comprising experts from several countries will be divided into two groups. The first group consists of experts responsible for postmortem identification tasks. The second group comprises experts assigned to reconcile or integrate antemortem and postmortem data. Several DNA experts are also part of the second group,” said Anton.

He further explained that to date, the DVI team had collected DNA samples of 162 passengers and crew members on board the flight, 36 of which still needed to be reviewed further. To that end, the team was collecting DNA samples from the families of the victims.

“Up till now, the DVI team has recovered the bodies of 37 AirAsia victims, of which 13 have been identified and handed over to their families,” said Anton.

Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Indroyono Soesilo said Indonesia had mobilized its sophisticated technologies, including a remote operated vehicle (ROV), to search for the crucial black box flight recorders from the missing aircraft.

“The ROV will carry out a search operation that will reach the bottom of the sea because it would be difficult for divers to carry out underwater search operations on account of the mud at the bottom of the [Karimata Strait] waters,” he said in Surabaya on Monday.

Indroyono said the underwater search operation would be assisted by a pinger locater on research vessel KR Baruna Jaya I belonging to the Assessment and Application of Technology Agency BPPT), which has been working with the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) over the last several days.

“Baruna Jaya I is equipped with technologically advanced equipment, such as a pinger locator and magnetometer to detect signals transmitted from the black box,” said Indroyono.

Tuesday 6 January 2015

http://www.firstpost.com/world/australian-forensic-experts-help-identify-airasia-qz8501-crash-victims-2032001.html

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/01/06/korea-uae-help-identify-bodies-airasia-victims.html

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/01/06/ugm-sends-forensic-odontology-experts-help-identify-airasia-victims.html

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Wreck of Cemfjord cargo ship found


The wreck of the cargo ship Cemfjord, which sank in the Pentland Firth with eight men on board, has been located on the seabed.

It was found in the eastern approaches to the Firth by the lighthouse tender, Pharos, using sonar equipment.

The upturned hull of the Cemfjord - which was carrying cement - was spotted by a passing ferry on Saturday and sank the following day.

No trace was found of its crew despite a huge search operation.

The seven Polish nationals and one Filipino who were on board did not have time to send out a distress signal.

A liferaft from the cargo ship has also been discovered drifting in the Pentland Firth, but coastguards said there were no signs of life on board and that the liferaft had not been used.

The Shetland coastguard helicopter was sent to investigate at 14:00 on Monday after a passing vessel reported seeing the liferaft.

A winchman was lowered on board but found no signs that anyone had used it.

The ship was carrying 2,000 tonnes of cement and had been sailing from Aalborg in Denmark to Runcorn in Cheshire when it sank. It had been due to arrive on Monday.

Operators Brise of Hamburg expressed "great sadness" that the extensive air and sea search had found no trace of the missing crew.

The last confirmed sighting of the ship was at about 13:00 on Friday.

It is understood the alarm was raised by the crew of the ferry Hrossey at 14:30 on Saturday.

The Hrossey, which was sailing to Aberdeen, spent time in the area looking for survivors.

An investigation into the circumstances of the accident is ongoing.

Tuesday 6 January 2015

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-30689218

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Weather hampers search for ship survivors off Vietnam


Bad weather hampered a search on Monday for 16 Philippine seamen missing since their cargo ship sank off Vietnam, a Vietnamese rescue official said.

The Bulk Jupiter, owned by Bermuda-based Gearbulk Holdings, was carrying 46,400 metric tons of bauxite bulk from Malaysia to China, the company said.

It sent out a distress signal early on Friday. One crew member, the ship's chef, has been rescued and two bodies, including that of the captain, have been recovered.

"The weather is very bad with high waves and strong winds," said Pham Hien, vice president of the Vung Tau Maritime Rescue Coordination Center, which is leading the search.

"We are all hoping but until now, no further survivor has been found," he told Reuters by telephone.

Vietnam has asked Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and China to help in the search and authorities are working with the sole survivor to try to determine why the ship capsized and sank.

Gearbulk Holdings said relatives of the crew had been notified.

"Our focus is now on the search and rescue operation and to look after the families affected,"

Tuesday 6 January 2015

http://www.thanhniennews.com/society/hopes-fade-for-ship-survivors-off-vietnam-as-weather-hampers-search-37197.html

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