Heavy rains and landslides in Bangladesh kill 90

Heavy rains causing multiple landslides over the past three days have killed at least 90 people in south-east Bangladesh, officials say.

Officials are describing it as the worst monsoon rainfall in years in the Chittagong region. Chittagong is the second largest city of Bangladesh.

At least 150,000 people have also been stranded by the floods, officials say. Rescue operations are continuing but rain is hampering efforts.

Flights to Chittagong airport have been cancelled.

Most rail links have also been suspended after a railway bridge collapsed. Days of heavy rain have caused mud banks to collapse, burying houses and blocking roads.

Those killed were drowned in flash floods, hit by landslides, struck by lightning or buried by wall collapses.

Many homeless people live at the foot of the hills or close to them despite warnings from the authorities about the danger of landslides.

Chittagong port received 40cm (15.75in) of rain in a single 12-hour period on Tuesday.

The BBC's Anbarasan Ethirajan in Dhaka says that dozens of people are still missing and the death toll is expected to increase.

Our correspondent says that the downpours have flooded vast areas of the city, displacing thousands of people. "We are having the worst rainfall in many years," said Jainul Bari, district commissioner for Cox's Bazar, one of the affected areas.

Volunteers using loudspeakers warned people about the danger of heavy rainfall and landslides in Cox's Bazar, officials say, but local people and rescuers were still left helpless when floodwater suddenly inundated dozens of villages and severely disrupted communications.

 In neighbouring Bandarban district, bodies have been recovered from multiple landslide sites, local officials have said.

Bandarban police chief Saiful Ahmed told the AFP news agency that most of the victims were asleep when huge waves of mud and debris buried them alive. "One family has lost 12 members," Mr Ahmed said.

Other officials have said that they are expecting more heavy rain in the next few days. Security forces have been deployed to help the search and rescue effort.

Chittagong has been hit repeatedly by monsoon rain and landslides in recent years.

As a result, the government has tried to tighten rules on where development can take place but with little success.

Thursday 28 June 2012

 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-18605765

Mass funeral proposed for bus crash victims

SEVENTEEN of the 19 people killed during the horrific bus crash in Meyerton on Monday have been positively identified and will be buried in a mass funeral next week.

All were positively identified as their bereaved family members trickled into the Diepkloof mortuary throughout most of Tuesday and yesterday.

Two bodies still remain unidentified.

The Putco bus driven by Khabi, was carrying 74 passengers and travelling from Sebokeng towards Meyerton on the R59 when it crashed. The 55 other passengers were seriously injured.

Thirteen of the injured victims were taken to Sebokeng Hospital, where three patients are in critical condition and in ICU and high care, and another seven patients are in stable condition.

One was discharged and the remaining two were transferred to other hospitals.

Two of the accident victims were airlifted to Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital, where one is still in ICU and the other is in a stable condition. “What happened on Monday is a tragedy and our sympathies and prayers are with the families who lost their loved ones at this difficult time,” Gauteng MEC for Health Ntombi Mekgwe said yesterday.

A mass memorial service was proposed during a meeting held yesterday by the office of the mayor of the Sedibeng District Municipality, Mahole Simon Mofokeng.

The meeting was attended by representatives of the Sedibeng District Municipality, the Emfuleni Municipality, the Gauteng Department of Transport, the Road Accident Fund and Putco.

The service has been proposed for July 4 from 11am until 1pm at the Mphatlalatsane Sports Complex in Sebokeng.

The proposed mass funeral is set to be held on July 7 at 8am. ”On behalf of the people of Sedibeng, I once again convey and express my deepest condolences and sympathy to the bereaved families and friends of the passengers who passed on (died) during this accident,” said Mofokeng. “I would also like to wish the injured passengers a speedy recovery.”

The police are investigating a case of culpable homicide.

Thursday 28 June 2012

http://www.iol.co.za/the-star/mass-funeral-proposed-for-bus-crash-victims-1.1329578#.T-waNXj82W8

Four dead and 130 rescued as asylum seeker boat capsizes off Australian island

Four people are believed to have died and 130 others were rescued after a crowded boat carrying asylum seekers to Australia capsized and sank today, less than a week after more than 90 people drowned on a similar journey.

The incident, which occurred midway between Australia's Christmas Island and the main Indonesian island of Java, has renewed Australian government efforts to deter a growing stream of boat arrivals by legislating to deport them to other Southeast Asian or Pacific countries.

An air and sea search for survivors ended late today when the Australian Maritime Safety Authority determined that no one beyond the 130 rescued had survived the sinking of the wooden Indonesian fishing boat. Only one body had been recovered.

"Based on information from the survivors, including crew members, it is now believed that there were 134 people on board and that three people went down with the vessel," the authority said in a statement.

Three merchant ships, two Australian warships and an Australian air force plane that can drop life rafts to the sea responded to the capsizing. The search area was 200 kilometers (120 miles) north of Christmas Island and 185 kilometers (115 miles) south of Java. 


The boat capsized in Indonesia's search and rescue zone but Australian authorities raised the alarm after the crew made a satellite phone call to Australian police. 


The first merchant ship reached the scene more than four hours later, officials said. Last Thursday, 110 people were rescued when a boat carrying more than 200 mostly Afghan asylum seekers capsized just 24 kilometers (15 miles) from the latest tragedy. 


Only 17 bodies were recovered. The survivors' refugee applications were being assessed at Christmas Island, where Australia runs an immigration detention center. 


Home Affairs Minister Jason Clare said the survivors of today's incident would be delivered to Christmas Island early tomorrow. 


Australia is a common destination for boats carrying asylum seekers from Afghanistan, Iraq, Sri Lanka and other poor or war-torn countries. 


In December 2010, an estimated 48 people died when an asylum seeker boat broke up against Christmas Island's rocky coast. 


Last December, about 200 asylum seekers were feared drowned after their overcrowded ship bound for Australia sank off Java. 


Other boats are suspected to have sunk unnoticed with the loss of all lives. 


Wednesday 27 June 2012 


http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/australasia/four-dead-and-130-rescued-as-asylum-seeker-boat-capsizes-off-australian-island-7893352.html

Dana air crash: Victims’ families plan burial rites

Notwithstanding on-going DNA tests being conducted on victims of Sunday June 3rd Dana plane crash, some families of the deceased have decided to go ahead with burial rites for their loved ones with or without their bodies.

Some of these families, who would rather not have their names in print, told National Mirror that going ahead with the burial rites even in the absence of the bodies would enable them put the ugly incident and subsequent pains behind and move on with life.

It will be recalled that a week after the crash, the Lagos State Government withheld the bodies on the grounds that DNA tests should be conducted on them for identification purposes in order to avoid giving bodies to wrong families which will subsequently brew controversies.

Until the decision was taken, there were controversies and confrontations among some family members over the rightful owners of the victims’ bodies, which led to an embittered relative attacking some officials of the Lagos State Univer-sity Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) morgue with a machete.

Meanwhile, the management of Dana Airline said yesterday that investigation into the cause of the accident is still ongoing, even as it promised to continue to offer assis-tance to the investigating authorities.

Wednesday 27 June 2012

http://nationalmirroronline.net/news/43542.html

Anxious relatives are trying to contact Australian authorities

TEENAGE boys desperate to escape persecution in Afghanistan and Pakistan probably made up most of the 90-plus asylum-seekers who drowned off Christmas Island last week, it emerged yesterday, as police moved to identify at least three of the 17 bodies recovered.

Anxious relatives overseas are trying to contact Australian authorities for information on whether their loved ones are alive.

Afghan man Raiz Hussain told The Australian from his home in the United Arab Emirates he feared his brother Asad, 25, was on the boat and might be dead.

Mr Hussain said his brother had been in Indonesia for 18 months and wanted to get on a boat to Australia; he had been unable to contact him since the disaster. "Sometimes he was calling me from Indonesia and told us he wanted to go to Australia, and now his phone is switched off. I'm worried he was on this ship," he said. "When the boat was destroyed, his phone was switched off."

The most influential people in Sport He said he and his brother were from Afghanistan, near the Pakistan border, and the threat from the Taliban made life dangerous and had forced them to leave.

On Monday, Pakistani Muhammad Essa contacted The Australian concerned about his 36-year-old brother Jabir Hussain. Australian Hazara Federation spokesman Hassan Ghulam said four other families worried about Hazaras from Afghanistan and Pakistan had contacted him through friends in Australia.

 He said one youth believed to be missing was 15 or 16 and he had heard through Brisbane's Hazara community that many more teenage boys were on board the boat and unaccounted for.

The boat was carrying about 200 people; only 110 survived.

West Australian police inspector Neville Dockery, who is leading the coronial investigation into the tragedy, said three of the bodies recovered were likely to be able to be visually identified.

About 20 officers were continuing with the victim identification process and interviewing survivors yesterday. News of the tragedy has swept through the island's detention centres.

One Iranian woman in the island's family camp told The Australian she and fellow detainees were very upset. "We're so sad, we don't know who they are," said the 28-year-old woman, who did not want to be named. "We're very worried it might be our friends, we're very worried about them and about everyone who comes this way."

The woman said she had made the journey to Australia from Indonesia with her brother and they had spent three frightening days at sea. "This is very dangerous. We were very scared," she said through the detention fence.

Two of four injured survivors were released from Royal Perth Hospital yesterday after being flown off Christmas Island on Friday and Saturday.

Wednesday 27 June 2012

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/immigration/anxious-relatives-are-trying-to-contact-australian-authorities/story-fn9hm1gu-1226409549950

Putco crash - 11 bus victims identified

At least 11 of the 19 people, who died in the Putco horror smash on Monday, have been identified.

Relatives of the deceased yesterday identified some of the bodies that were being kept at the Diepkloof mortuary, Soweto.

 Emotions ran high at mortuary as distraught relatives went through the gut-wrenching process of looking at the bodies.

Johannes Dumba, who lost his wife Gladys Maphisa in the crash said he still could not accept that it was his wife who was lying in the mortuary. “I feel hopeless, I feel helpless, my body is weak. When I called her on Monday and she did not answer the phone I knew something was wrong. “I went to Sebokeng hospital and then to Natalspruit (in Katlehong) and to Baragwanath hospital but I could not find her,” said Dumba.

He and his wife had been married for more than 20 years and they have four children and three grandchildren. Another mourner, Linda Thibetsane, 31, had come to look for his mother, Jane Thibatsane.

Sadly, he found her body in the mortuary among many others. Thibatsane said he last saw his mother last week when she came to nurse his sick child. “She was a pillar of strength, she brought me and my cousins up,” he lamented. Thibatsane said his mother was supposed to be starting a new job yesterday after being unemployed for a long time.

Two families came out of the mortuary with deeper sadness on their faces as they could not find their loved ones there. But Victoria Sicina found her friend Vicky Banya, 59, among the dead. Sicina said she decided to look for her friend, who had no family in Johanesburg. “When her lights did not come on last night I became worried. I could not even sleep. “I am sad that after looking so hard I found her here but at least I can have closure,” she said.

Meanwhile, the Putco bus company yesterday said its own investigations into the crash were under way, but it insisted the bus was roadworthy.

Raphiri Matsaneng, Putco spokesperson said: “It is believed the driver came across a service delivery protest and opted for an alternative route. The driver was speeding trying to make up time but unfortunately he met with a horrific accident.” Matsaneng said the investigations are underway to determine the exact cause of the crash.

He claimed Putco tests its buses twice a year, which is more than what is required by the department of transport. “We have 1200 buses in Limpopo, Mpumalanga and Gauteng and 3000 drivers who undergo intense training for six months before they get employed. “Even when the drivers go on leave when they come back they are required to undergo training again,” said Matsaneng.

Cosatu spokesperson Patrick Craven called for “a thorough investigation by the transport department”. “We need to establish among other things whether the bus was roadworthy or overloaded. “This disaster underlines yet again the need for a safe, efficient and affordable public transport system,” said Craven.

Transport Minister Ben Martins has instructed transport authorities to get to the bottom of the cause of the bus crash. “There are no words to describe the shock with which we received the reports of this tragic end to lives. We wish to convey our sincere condolences to the families of passengers who lost their lives, and wish survivors a speedy recovery,” said Martins.

Putco accidents

December 2000: 13 people were left dead near Pretoria on the infamous Moloto Road. The accident also left 27 people injured.The accident occurred when a Putco bus collided with a minibus taxi near Kameeldrift. Investigations revealed that the bus driver lost control of the vehicle when he overtook the minibus taxi and collided with another Putco bus in rainy conditions.

April 2006: 113 people were injured in a four-bus pile-up north of Pretoria. The accident happened at the Putco depot where three buses had stopped when the fourth one hit another bus from behind, creating a domino effect of crashes.

November 2011: Nine ZCC members travelling in a Putco bus from church prayer meeting in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe died when their bus was involved in an accident on the N1 between Botlokwa and Polokwane. Most victims were travelling to their homes in KZN. In another accident on the same day, a Putco bus carrying members of ZCC from Tembisa in Gauteng collided with a Nissan Sentra sedan. The driver of the car died on the spot while the bus driver and his passengers escaped unharmed. It was alleged the driver of the bus was driving in the wrong lane.

March 2012: Two people died when a Putco bus bus drove into an RDP house in Bramfischerville, Soweto. The dead couple were sleeping at the time. About 44 passengers were hospitalised.

June 2012: 19 people died while 52 were injured in a horrific bus accident. The bus was travelling from Sebokeng when it plummeted off a bridge in Meyerton in the Vaal area. The driver had apparently lost control of the vehicle.

Wednesday 27 June 2012

http://www.thenewage.co.za/54594-1007-53-11_bus_victims_identified

Uganda abandons landslide rescue bid for buried

Rescue workers in Uganda have abandoned efforts to find an estimated 70 people believed to be buried in a landslide.

Eighteen people have been confirmed dead after three villages were swept away on the slopes of Mount Elgon.

Uganda's Red Cross told the BBC efforts were now concentrating on looking after the injured and displaced.

In March 2010, thousands were forced to flee after after a landslide killed more than 350 people in Uganda's eastern Bududa district.

'Many cracks'
Ken Kiggundu, director of disaster management for Uganda's Red Cross, told the BBC that 72 people were still missing.

He added that 480 had been displaced and were now living with relatives and friends following Monday's landslide, which occurred after a number of days of heavy rain. "At 2pm, the ground trembled, followed by heavy rumbling of soil and stones which covered our home," Rachael Namwono, a villager in Bududa district, told Uganda's private Monitor newspaper.

The Red Cross's Michael Nataka told the Reuters news agency that there was a need to force people to move from the mountain sides as they tended not to heed the advice that the area was dangerous. "The Mount Elgon area has had so many places with cracks, so each time there is rainfall for a while, this water just seeps into these cracks and then eventually the landslide happens," Mr Nataka said.

"There is need for some level of enforcement." Steven Malinga, Uganda's minister for disaster relief, said moving people to safer areas was a priority, but many people refused to move as the villages near Mount Elgon had fertile ground and fewer instances of malaria. "Eventually we have to pass a law to move people from the top and the sides of the mountain, and find alternative communities where we can relocate them," the minister told the BBC's Network Africa programme.

He urged people to move to camps lower down the mountain, where they would be given food, containers for water and utensils.

Last August, at least 24 people were killed when mud washed away homes in the Bulambuli district of eastern Uganda. 

Wednesday 27 June 2012

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-18592927

Ten killed in Nepal van plunge

At least 10 people were killed and another six injured when a passenger van crashed off a mountain road in north-western Nepal today, a police official said.

Bharat Bohara said the driver lost control and the van plunged about 330ft (100m) some 300 miles (480km) north-west of the capital, Katmandu.

He said the injured were taken to hospital, where two of them are in a critical condition. Few other details were available.

Most of Nepal is covered by mountains where roads are generally poorly maintained as are the vehicles using them.

Tuesday 26 June 2012

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/06/26/10-killed-nepal-van-accident.html

Uganda Begins Search for Landslide Victims

Uganda has sent a rescue team to eastern Bududa district where more than a 100 people may have been killed Monday by a landslide caused by heavy rainfall.

It is believed as many as three villages might have been buried.

A member of parliament from the region was quoted as saying that most people were likely indoors when huge blocks of mud and rocks started to roll down hills, toppling homes and burying an unspecified number of people alive.

Red Cross spokeswoman Catherine Ntabadde said: "From the latest reports we have we can only confirm 18 dead but assessment of the devastation around the area is continuing."

The Uganda Red Cross said it had sent a team of volunteers to assess the situation. Local authorities have said there could be about 80 people living in each village.

Ntabadde said nine people had been injured and 15 houses buried in the mudslide, while 29 houses were at risk and needed to be urgently relocated.

 Issa Aliga, a reporter with the Uganda Daily Monitor newspaper, said the landslide is the second in the region in two years. “This is the second time it is happening in this area. Late last year, it happened in this same area and many people died,” he said.

Landslides caused by heavy rains are frequent in eastern Uganda, where at least 23 people were killed last year after mounds of mud buried their homes. Scores of people were buried alive in a similar disaster in March 2010.

Member of Parliament David Wakikona said three villages had been flattened in Bumwalukani parish on the slopes of Mount Elgon "and the initial reports I have is that more than 100 have been buried. "The areas around Bududa district have been experiencing heavy rains for days now," he said. "I am told the landslides started around midday today and that they're still going on and some villagers who survived the early slides are fleeing."

Aliga said the government is working with the Uganda Red Cross to recover the bodies of those believed to be buried in the debris.

He said the local people of the region, known as the Gissu, had refused to be relocated after the first landslide because the new land where the government had wanted to relocate them was not suitable for their way of life. “The people in this area, they say that they have been staying in this area for a long time, and they refused to go by the government’s idea because the people here are cultivators, and they grow coffee.

 But, in the areas where the government wanted to relocate them is a cattle area where people practice pasturing,” Aliga said.

Wakikona, was quoted as saying that about 300 people lived in the affected villages.

The Uganda Red Cross said it had sent a team of volunteers to assess the situation.

Local authorities have said there could be about 80 people living in each village.

Ntabadde said nine people had been injured and 15 houses buried in the mudslide, while 29 houses were at risk and needed to be urgently relocated.

Rain has fallen regularly on parts of Uganda over much of the past two months, even though this is usually a dry period between the rainy seasons.

Wakikona said army rescue teams would play a lead role in moving the soil during the rescue operation.

Tuesday 26 June 2012

http://www.voanews.com/content/uganda-to-begin-search-for-victims-and-possible-landslide-survivors/1249174.html

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/25/us-uganda-landlside-idUSBRE85O0MZ20120625

Uganda landslides destroy three villages

Massive landslides induced by torrential rains destroyed three villages in the mountainous district of Bududa in eastern Uganda, killing scores of people but possibly hundreds, officials said today.

Disaster Preparedness Minister Stephen Mallinga said it was still too early to say how many had been killed in today's landslides, but officials from Bududa said the final death toll would likely be in the hundreds. "We are sending a rescue team down there," Mallinga said. "It's very difficult to estimate how many have been killed, but two villages are affected, and maybe more."

Witnesses said the landslides were unexpected, happening several hours after a torrential overnight downpour that at first seemed to have done little damage.

David Wakikona, a lawmaker from the region, said most people were likely indoors when huge blocks of mud and rocks started to roll down hills, toppling homes, killing livestock and burying people alive. "We don't yet understand how this all happened, but it's terrible," Wakikona said. "Three villages have been buried."

According to Wakikona, at least 300 people lived in the affected villages.

Officials said rescue teams from the Ugandan army would play a lead role in moving the soil as the search for possible survivors begins.

The Uganda Red Cross said two villages had been destroyed and that at least 15 houses had been buried in the landslides.

It may take time before the full death toll from such disasters is known, as often it requires rescuers working with hoes and shovels to dig through the mud and find bodies trapped underneath.

Landslides are a common occurrence in the hilly parts of eastern Uganda, and they have been especially lethal over the years in those villages where the land is denuded of vegetation cover.

In 2010 massive landslides in Bududa killed about 100 people, destroying everything from the village market to a church.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, who visited the scene, said at the time that the landslides were divine retribution for the people's failure to give to the land what they take from it. T

The villages are usually heavily populated, and often they live on land bare of trees.

There has been fierce resistance to a government effort to relocate the most vulnerable people in Bududa and neighboring districts, with some activists there saying it would be even more disastrous to abandon their ancestral homes.

Even those who were relocated to a camp for refugees after the 2010 landslides secretly returned to Bududa, said Mallinga, the disaster preparedness minister. "There's a degree of unwillingness to leave," Mallinga said.

Monday 25 June 2012 

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/uganda-landslides-destroy-three-villages-7881003.html

Iraq faces painful legacy of mass graves

Iraq wants to put the legacy of murderous dictator Saddam Hussein behind it, but faces a huge need for specialists to excavate mass graves thought to contain at least half a million unidentified victims.

The stakes are high for Iraq, a country seeking reconciliation with itself, where countless families lost all trace of their relatives during the dictator's 1979-2003 rule or the terrible internecine violence in the years after his overthrow.

Families have not been able to come to terms with the loss, as they have never found the bodies of their loved ones or learned the circumstances of their deaths.

But the process of excavating the mass graves and identifying the victims, which could take decades because of its scope and difficult terrain that includes landmines and unexploded ordinance, requires a highly skilled workforce that does not exist in Iraq.

The International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP), created on the initiative of former US president Bill Clinton and financed by Western states, has since 2008 held courses for employees of the Forensic Institute and the ministry of human rights aimed at addressing the shortfall.

Plastic skeletons The courses, offered in Arbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdistan region in north Iraq, include plastic skeletons buried in the garden of the hospital where they are held. "We try to make the scenario as realistic as possible," said James Fenn, the coordinator of the programme, pointing to 20 participants who were carefully digging in the soil.

Gradually, the outlines of a dozen "bodies" emerge, some with their hands and feet bound, or showing signs of trauma.

The team makes a thorough record of the "grave", making drawings on graph paper and lists of bones and evidence discovered. The approach is very scientific and rigorous. "We have learned to use a trowel and to dig without using machines like bulldozers, as they cause damage and may erase lots of evidence," said Salah Hussein, one of the trainees.

One of his colleagues, Thamer Hassan, has a brother who has been missing since 1987. "Maybe he is in one of the graves," Hassan said, adding that despite this, his motivation was his "duty" as an employee of the ministry of human rights.

Once they have been exhumed, the bones are given to another team from the Forensic Institute in Baghdad, who are charged with examining them.

The trainees examine the bones on a table, trying to determine how many people they might have belonged to, their age and their sex -- and listing the details with care. "It's important for the families," said Dr Dunia Abboud, a 26-year-old dentist. "A lot of families lost a member and don't know what happened to them." "We try to help them," Abboud said. "This helps to do justice."

At least 270 mass graves Some 170 people have been trained since 2008, but the need is huge, said Johnathan McCaskill, the head of Iraq programmes for ICMP.

 The Iraqi government is working under the assumption that there are 500,000 missing people, but some estimates put the number of missing from repression under Saddam's rule, especially against the Kurds and Shiites in the 1980s and 1990s, at more than one million. "The information we started up with was that there are at least 270 different mass graves in the country," McCaskill said.

 Most of Iraq's mass graves date from the time of Saddam's rule, he said, but it is possible that there are some from the bloody sectarian fighting that came in the years after his overthrow, in which tens of thousands of people were killed.

McCaskill said that after Saddam's fall in 2003, some people began to dig on their own, looking for relatives, though this has since been prohibited by law.

The ICMP is also working with the Iraqi government on a DNA identification programme with much more reliable technology. But it is complex and expensive.

Samples are currently analysed at the ICMP headquarters in Sarajevo.

 Meanwhile, the training will continue for at least two years.

But is a course enough to prepare someone for something so disturbing? Thamer Hassan thinks so, saying: "I am ready to work in real graves."

For more information see: http://en.tengrinews.kz/article/125/ Use of the Tengrinews English materials must be accompanied by a hyperlink to en.Tengrinews.kz

Monday 25 June 2012

Heavy Rains Kill at Least 16 in China

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese state media say torrential rains have killed at least 16 people and affected 1 1/2 million people in southern and northern parts of the country.

 The official Xinhua News Agency said Monday that the heavy rains over the past three days had affected 450,000 people and wiped out crops in the southern Guangxi region.

Another more than 730,000 people were affected in the southern province of Jiangxi, and 312,000 were affected in the adjacent manufacturing powerhouse province of Guangdong.

Xinhua quoted a local government official as saying the direct economic losses so far were $20.3 million, and that water levels in 10 reservoirs and several major rivers had risen above warning levels.

Xinhua said rainstorm-triggered floods have also hit areas of Inner Mongolia in the north of China.

Monday 25 June 2012

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2012/06/24/world/asia/ap-as-china-rain-storm.html?_r=1

Identification of boat victims 'long and complex'

Police say the grim task of identifying victims of the Christmas Island boat tragedy will be long and complex. Twenty officers have been sent from Perth to assist with the coronial investigation.

Seventeen bodies have been recovered and are being stored in a makeshift morgue on the island while about 70 people remain unaccounted for.

WA Police are identifying the dead on behalf of the coroner and Deputy Commissioner Chris Dawson says it is likely to take at least two weeks. "Dealing with tragedy and a major loss of life is not easy for any individual to deal with," he said. "What I can say is that the agencies are working very closely together and West Australian police are just part of a national effort that's taking place."

 A total of 110 asylum seekers were rescued and transferred to a high security detention facility on the island.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority says all of the survivors were rescued on the night of the disaster and the majority were already wearing life jackets when the merchant vessels and navy ships arrived.

AMSA has since been revealed there were unused life jackets seen floating in the water, meaning more asylum seekers could have survived the tragedy.

Mr Dawson says police are interviewing the survivors. "Part of the investigation requires the use of interpreters and interviewing those 110 survivors," he said. "That again is a very long but necessary process to make sure that the state coroner is fully informed as to the circumstances as to how people lost their lives."

Monday 25 June 2012

http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/australian-news/14033958/identification-of-boat-victims-long-and-complex/

Mexico ravine bus crash kills 26

At least 26 people were killed in Mexico on Sunday after the bus they were traveling in turned over on a wet road in the southwestern state of Guerrero, a Red Cross official said.

At least seven people were injured and believed to be in a serious condition, the official said. "In the area where it happened it's raining very hard," he added.

The official said most of the people inside the passenger bus were wearing T-shirts emblazoned with the logo of Mexico's Labor Party (PT), a small grouping in Congress supporting leftist presidential hopeful Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

A state government press release said the vehicle was headed to the town of Buenavisa de Cuellar, 83 miles (134 kilometers) from the capital of Chilpancingo del Bravo.

The statement said the bus’ brakes gave out, causing it to skid off the road shortly after noon on Sunday. The bus was carrying people to a political rally.

Other emergency crews were dispatched to where the accident took place about 2-1/2 hours drive southwest of Mexico City.

Guerrero state police department had no immediate comment. Mexico holds a presidential election on July 1. Bus crashes and other road accidents are common on Mexico's main roads, causing hundreds of deaths a year.

In April, at least 43 people were killed when a cargo truck crashed into a bus on a highway in the Gulf state of Veracruz, in one of the worst accidents the country has suffered in recent times.

Monday 25 June 2012

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-18575695

Eight killed, 44 injured in Croatia bus crash

A Czech bus carrying about 50 passengers crashed near a tunnel in Croatia early Saturday, killing eight people and injuring at least 44, the national rescue services said.

"A bus with Czech licence plates drove through a safety barrier and turned over" near a tunnel in Sveti Rok, some 230 kilometres (138 miles) south of Zagreb, the National Protection and Rescue Directorate said.

The accident occurred around 4:00 am (0200 GMT) on the road to the Adriatic city of Split, a popular tourist destination.

The injured were taken to a hospital in nearby Gospic, while victims with serious injuries were being transferred by a military helicopter to the capital Zagreb, the rescuers said.

Local media said the bus hit the barrier, turned over and smashed into a concrete fence opposite. There were 50 passengers, police spokeswoman Kristina Maodus told Nova TV.

All of them were Czech nationals, the channel said, quoting unconfirmed reports. 

Saturday 23 June 2012

 http://www.nation.co.ke/News/world/Seven+killed++44+injured+in+Croatia+bus+crash/-/1068/1433984/-/kwdmlnz/-/index.html

Death toll rises as survival hopes fade

Rescuers have found two more bodies from a capsized asylum seeker boat, bringing the death toll to five. But ninety passengers from the overcrowded boat are still unaccounted for.

One hundred and nine people have been rescued since the crowded vessel capsized on Thursday afternoon about halfway between the Indonesian island of Java and Christmas Island.

Authorities says it is unlikely more survivors will be found.

Transport Minister Anthony Albanese said today poor weather was hampering the search, which resumed at first light. Australian Maritime Safety Authority representative Jo Meehan said three aircraft and one boat continued the search for survivors overnight but no bodies or survivors were found.

At about 7am today, another three aircraft and extra boats joined the search. Ms Meehan said while they were “still in that period of survivability“, the likelihood of people being found alive will diminish by the afternoon. “We are operating under conditions that include the water temperature, the weather, the fact that we now there were life jackets on board, rafts and debris,” Ms Meehan said. “At the moment we are operating on the basis that they will be able to survive for two days.”

It was likely the rescue would turn to a recovery operation in the early evening, she said.

Twenty WA Police Officers have been deployed to Christmas Island where 109 rescued passengers of the 200 males from the stricken vessel have been taken.

Acting Superintendent Neville Dockery said today the a mix of experienced investigators and forensic DVI officers were heading to the area where they would work with partner agencies including the Australian Federal Police. “Our role, from the West Australian police side, is mainly to investigate this tragedy on behalf of the coroner,” Supt. Dockery said. “It is a terrible tragedy and unfortunately we believe that there are still many people that are missing at sea, but we are very experienced in each roles and some of the people that I’m bringing with me we’ve deployed to horrendous bushfires, we’ve deployed to Bali and some of them have actually attended Christmas Island on previous occasions.”

Supt. Dockery said it is not known when the officers will return to Perth. Rescuers have told how they plucked desperate asylum seekers from wild seas that claimed the lives of dozens of boat people attempting to reach Australia for a new life.

The captains of two merchant ships that dashed to answer mayday calls from the overcrowded asylum seeker boat told The Weekend West of their crews' bravery in dangerous waters on Thursday evening.

The search for survivors will continue into this afternoon but authorities held little hope last night of rescuing anyone else. 

No survivors were found yesterday but many of the 109 asylum seekers saved, including a 13-year-old boy, arrived at Christmas Island in the morning.

Officials have identified five unaccompanied minors among the group. Only the bodies of three men were recovered but up to 100 people are feared to have drowned when the boat capsized about 185km north-west of Christmas Island in international waters halfway between the island and Indonesia.

Survivors being brought into Flying Fish Cove last night. Picture: Lincoln Baker/The West Australian The boat had about 200 male passengers, most of whom were believed to be Afghans but some survivors told rescuers they were from Pakistan.

 Home Affairs Minister Jason Clare said the water temperature was about 29C so experts believed people could survive in the water wearing a lifejacket or clinging to debris for 36 hours. 


 But that survival window expired overnight. "They've seen more debris, they've seen lifejackets and unfortunately seen more dead bodies and we need to brace ourselves for more bad news," Mr Clare said. 

Several merchant vessels helped navy patrol boats HMAS Larrakia and HMAS Wollongong during the rescue, including the Esperance-bound Cape Oceania.

The cargo ship's master, Xu Liansheng, said that by the time he reached the scene four hours after the mayday call, many people were already in lifeboats. "We just saw empty lifejackets," he said.

His crew's rescue boat spent 90 minutes trawling the rough seas and managed to pull four people out of the water.

Capt. Xu said the four survivors were in good health with the only injury a cut finger. They were dropped at Christmas Island at 7.30am yesterday.

Each man told the captain he was Pakistani and they gave their names and ages as Asghar, 35, Musadig, 33, Sayed, 25 and Najmul, 22.

He said they pleaded to be taken to Australia and did not want to be returned to Indonesia. "They were a little bit scared. We gave them some Chinese food and water," Capt. Xu said.

The crew of another merchant ship, the JPO Vulpecula, saved 27 people. "They were OK.

We had two injuries and we handed them over to Christmas Island," Capt. E. Bilango said. "I didn't see many bodies in the water but I saw some lifejackets without people in them."

Refugee groups questioned why authorities failed to respond sooner after it was revealed the boat made a distress call on Tuesday night.

Mr Clare said the Australian Maritime Safety Authority had directed the boat to return to Indonesia after the call.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said yesterday was not the day for politics but crossbench MPs Rob Oakeshott and Tony Windsor urged them to negotiate a compromise to restore offshore processing.

Angry WA Liberal MP Mal Washer said the tragedy made him feel "ashamed" to be part of a Parliament that could not find a bipartisan solution. "Every option needs to be on the table," Dr Washer said. "Let's get some humanity back and let's get bipartisanship back. "I'm a doc. This is a tragedy and we believe in prevention. "We're not clowns. Let's grow up and do something to stop this."

Dr Washer said that if the compromise was processing asylum seekers on both Nauru and Malaysia, "let's do both". Transport Minister Anthony Albanese also pushed for a speedy resolution on asylum-seeker policy. “I note Dr Washer’s genuine comments,” he said. “And I think certainly I am of the view, and the Government is of the view, that we want to work together across the parliament to secure an outcome that reduces the possibility of a tragedy like this being repeated.”

Three survivors were airlifted to Royal Perth Hospital under police guard and three are getting medical treatment at the Christmas Island hospital. A small number of WA police and emergency services workers had joined the rescue effort, Colin Barnett said.

The Premier said WA was likely to hold a coronial inquest. "It's extremely dangerous, an extremely hazardous undertaking and a human tragedy of great scale," he said.

Up to 20 WA police disaster victim identification specialists are expected to go to Christmas Island today.

Saturday 23 June 2012 


http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/wa/14018695/seamen-tell-of-perilous-rescue-in-wild-seas/

Fourth year anniversary of the sinking of the Princess of the Stars

Persida Acosta, chief of the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO), said Judge Peras is set to conduct an occular inspection in Romblon where the ship sank at th height of typhoon Frank in June 21, 2008.

Acosta said government lawyers assisting families of victims to identify remains and seek damages, as well as the PAO “pray to the courts and high heavens that the courts in Cebu and Manila expedite the resolution of the damages suit.”

Around 560 cadavers were recovered from the sunken ship.

Acosta told Cebu Daily News the PAO Forensic Laboratory identified 11 skeletal remains taken from the ship. Of the number, seven were turned over to their families.

Acosta said PAO recently identified the remains of 42-year-old Joselito Aballe, whose remains were turned over in a simple ceremony to the daughters of Joselito in Cebu City. Acosta said the PAO Forensic Team will proceed to Sibuyan Island to process, analyze and identify the recovered body.

Efforts of the laboratory are focused on the biological profiling of the skeletal remains recovered from the sunken M/V Princess of the Stars.

Through the efforts of the PAO Forensic Team, the Philippine Coast Guard and the private salvor, the skeletal remains in the laboratory have reached more than 140, Acosta said.

She said PAO needs access to the victims’ ante mortem data which is under the custody of Dr. Renato Bautista, head of the Disaster Victim Identification team of the National Bureau of Investigation which did extensive work in Cebu with the Interpol to identify cadavers brought here.

Judge Peras earlier ordered the arrest of Baustista for his failure to heed the court order to turn over documents needed by PAO. But Acosta said Dr. Baustista continues to defy the court order.

Bautista, in an earlier interview, denied that he was withholding the documents and said he was willing to give them to the PAO but said the victims’ data remain “confidential” as agreed upon by the NBI and Interpol.

PAO has been seeking the transfer of the documents from the NBI to help identify the human remains that will undergo an anthropological examination by a University of the Philippines based forensics group.

Retired ship captain Amado Romillo, an expert witness presented by the prosecution, insists that MV Princess of the Stars took an “extremely dangerous” route from the Manila port to Cebu City at the height of typhoon Frank in 2008. Instead of passing through the west side of Mindoro, Romillo said the sunken ship made its regular route where the eye of the typhoon was situated when it sank on June 21, 2008.

Acosta said the skipper’s testimonies proved that there was negligence on the part of ship officials who decided to travel despite an impending typhoon. Using a nautical chart or map, Romillo explained to the court the route of the MV Princess of the Stars when it left the Manila North Harbor on June 20, 2008.

The MV Princess of the Stars capsized off Romblon enroute to Cebu City with 820 people on board. Only 32 survived.

Friday 22 June 2012

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/216895/four-years-after-tragedy-damage-suit-drags-on

Indonesia plane crash search called off

Rescuers have ended their search of damaged and burned homes in Jakarta without finding further victims of a military plane crash that killed seven airmen and four people on the ground.

The Fokker F-27 turboprop was on a routine training flight when it crashed into a military housing complex on Thursday about a mile short of the runway where it was trying to land.

Two children aged two and six, their grandmother and their aunt were killed in the crash, along with the plane's pilot, co-pilot and five trainees. "Search and rescue efforts have finished," air force spokesman Colonel Agung Sasongko Jati said on Friday morning. "All the wreckage has been removed and there are no more new victims."

Eleven people were injured in the crash, which sent a huge plume of black smoke billowing into the sky. The aircraft was built in 1958 and has been used by Indonesia's air force for the past 35 years, during which time it had completed 14,900 flight hours.

It was declared airworthy before it took off for its second training flight of the day under clear skies, Jati said. "It seemed that the pilot was trying to land on a nearby paddy field," he said. "But it was not clear whether it was because of an emergency."

He said the plane did not have a black box.

The crash comes after a Russian Sukhoi passenger jet crashed into an Indonesian volcano during a demonstration flight for potential buyers last month, killing all 45 people aboard.

Friday 22 June 2012

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jun/22/indonesia-plane-crash-search-over?newsfeed=true

Search for missing after boat capsizes off Christmas Island

Ships and aircraft scoured the Indian Ocean Friday for survivors after a boat capsized off Australia's remote Christmas Island, with three people confirmed dead and more than 80 missing.

Ships and aircraft scoured the Indian Ocean Friday for survivors after a boat capsized off Australia's remote Christmas Island, with three people confirmed dead and more than 80 missing. So far, 110 people have been rescued from the vessel which was believed to be carrying around 200 asylum-seekers, with authorities saying: "We're still in that critical window where more lives could be saved." "We have 110 survivors and three confirmed dead so far," a spokeswoman from Australia's Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), which is working with Indonesia's search and rescue authority Basarnas, told AFP.

They were taken by ship to Christmas Island, a remote Australian territory in the Indian Ocean where they were given medical checks. "They were rescued wearing life jackets and we are quite confident we will recover more survivors," added the spokeswoman, who said the water temperature was warm.

The ship, en route from Sri Lanka, issued a distress call and capsized 120 nautical miles north of Christmas Island, 2,600 kilometres (1,600 miles) from the Australian mainland on Thursday afternoon.

 Christmas Island administrator Steve Clay told ABC radio that three of the survivors were admitted to hospital on their arrival, but the rest were OK. "They were transferred to the jetty, put into buses and transferred up to the Phosphate Hill immigration facility," he said. "They're getting medical checks up there. They appear calm and they were just sitting quietly."

The capsize is the latest in a series of refugee boat disasters in the Indian Ocean in recent years, as rickety, overloaded vessels packed with desperate migrants sink on their way to Australia.

Four merchant vessels, two Australian Defence Force ships and five aircraft are involved in the search. "We're still in that critical window where more lives could be saved," said Home Affairs Minister Jason Clare. "People can survive out there for up to 36 hours if they have either lifejackets or they have debris to hold onto."

Clare said about 40 survivors were found clinging to the upturned hull of the boat on Thursday afternoon, while others were discovered holding onto debris up to three nautical miles from the scene.

Though they come in relatively small numbers by global standards, asylum seekers are a sensitive political issue in Australia, dominating 2010 elections due to a record 6,555 arrivals.

Direct asylum-seeker journeys from Sri Lanka have historically been rare but navy sources in Colombo have reported a marked increase in Australia-bound people-smuggling operations. Indonesia is a more common transit point for those trying to reach Christmas Island, which is closer to Java than mainland Australia, but many fail to reach their destination.

The UN's refugee agency said it was "deeply concerned" by the incident. "This accident again underscores the dangerous nature of these hazardous journeys, and the desperate and dangerous measures people will resort to when they are fleeing persecution in their home countries," it said in a statement.

In December, a boat carrying around 250 mostly Afghan and Iranian asylum-seekers sank in Indonesian waters on its way to Christmas Island, with only 47 surviving.

Some 50 refugees were killed in a horror shipwreck on the island's cliffs in December 2010. Fifteen were children aged 10 years or younger.

The worst known refugee boat disaster off Australia in recent years was the sinking of the SIEV X in 2001, which killed 353 of the more than 400 asylum-seekers on board.

Friday 22 June 2012

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/asia/299226/australia-fears-refugee-boat-disaster-toll-could-soar

Nine perish in bus accident, 6 positively identified

Nine people died and more than 15 others were injured in a traffic accident along the Kwekwe-Gweru highway yesterday morning (Wednesday).

The accident occurred when a ZUPCO bus travelling to Chipinge was sliced open by iron rods that were protruding from a stationary lorry.

The injured were taken to Gweru and Kwekwe hospitals for treatment.

Police said seven people died on the spot while two others were pronounced dead on admission to hospital.

Eighteen other passengers were injured in the accident that occurred around 5:30am near Connemara Open Prison.

The crash brings to 20 the number of people killed in accidents that occurred in the region this week.

Thursday 21 june 2012

http://bulawayo24.com/index-id-news-sc-national-byo-16695-article-Kwekwe-Gweru+highway+accident+-+10+people+die%2C+15+injured.html

Asylum seeker boat capsizes north of Christmas Island

UP to 75 asylum seekers may be dead and 40 others are clinging to the hull of an upturned boat, which has capsized in Indonesian waters.

Up to 200 people were on board the vessel, which was on its way from Sri Lanka to Australia. Prime Minister Julia Gillard distressed by asylum boat tragedy

The maritime drama began to unfold after 3pm (AEST) today when an Australian Customs and Border Protection surveillance plane spotted a vessel "in distress" 200km north of Christmas Island. The observers immediately contacted Indonesian authorities, who are leading the rescue effort alongside the Australian Navy, Defence and Customs. "It is believed up to 200 people could be on board, although this detail has not yet been confirmed," Customs said in a statement.

West Australian Police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan said about 40 people were spotted on the upturned hull, others were in the water and up to 75 others may be dead. "We have grave fears for the remainder," he said.

Mr O'Callaghan said it was likely the bodies would be taken to Christmas Island and WA might become responsible for a coronial inquiry.

Mr O'Callaghan told Channel 7 the force had mounted a significant response and a team of search and rescue officers, including specialists in night searches, was being sent to Christmas Island tonight. "We are also on standby in case we have to do a coronial inquiry and we have a team of disaster victim identification experts," he said. It would take them more than four hours to reach the island, he said.

WA Health has also been put on alert to ensure hospitals are ready to treat any victims, Perth Now said. Emergency Service personel Indonesia's search and rescue authority BASARNAS is coordinating the search with the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA). AMSA confirmed there are definitely survivors but was unable to give numbers.

The Australian mission involves Defence aircraft equipped with life rafts, a Customs maritime surveillance aircraft, and two Armidale class patrol boats, HMAS Larrakia and Wollongong.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) is coordinating the following resources in support of the search and rescue operation:

A Customs and Border Protection Dash-8 surveillance aircraft is providing aerial surveillance in assistance to the rescue. A RAAF maritime patrol aircraft deployed a number of life rafts and is providing on-going aerial surveillance.

It will be replaced by another aircraft later tonight. Two Armidale class patrol boats, HMAS Larrakia and HMAS Wollongong, have arrived on the scene and have commenced recovery operations on the water. An AMSA Dornier aircraft, with additional rescue resources and search capability including life rafts, is expected to arrive on scene later tonight.

 Three merchant vessels have also responded to a request from AMSA’s Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC) for assistance and are currently in the area supporting recovery efforts.

A number of civilian vessels are also on the way to the area. BASARNAS spokesman Gagah Prakoso confirmed two Indonesian vessels were also on their way. "At the moment, we're waiting for them to report back," Mr Prakoso said.

It was still unclear whether the survivors would be taken to Australia or returned to Indonesia. Mr Prakoso said Australian authorities had confirmed the boat originated in Sri Lanka.

Three other boats, carrying a total of about 240 asylum seekers, have been intercepted near Christmas Island over the past two days.

Home Affairs Minister Jason Clare is being briefed and is expected to make a statement in the morning. Prime Minister Julia Gillard spoke about the tragedy in a speech at a breakfast function with Indonesian President Dr Yudhoyono about protecting oceans. "Australia is a place with a very long coastline, but unfortunately a coastline that has its dangers. And today our nation has been reminded of those dangers due to the loss of a boat at sea causing loss of life." "The ocean can be a beautiful place but sometimes a dangerous place as well."

Earlier today, Immigration Minister Chris Bowen accused the Opposition of courting tragedy by refusing to support the government's bill aimed at resurrecting offshore processing. "Their destructive negativity means people continue to risk their lives on dangerous boats," he said, just hours before the news of the capsize broke.

Also speaking earlier today, Coalition Immigration spokesman Scott Morrison said the Government had no plan to stop the flow of boats. "They are globally known as a soft touch on this issue," he said.

The Australian Christian Lobby said today's capsize underscored the need for the government and opposition to find a bipartisan solution.

More than 50 asylum seekers died when a boat known as SIEV 221 crashed against rocks off Christmas Island in December 2010. The youngest was just three months old. The disaster was the largest loss of life in Australian waters in peacetime in 115 years.

And as many as 200 people drowned last December when a boat sank off the coast of East Java on its way to Australia. Just 49 people survived that tragedy, which occurred in rough monsoonal seas on December 17.

So far this year, 57 boats carrying a total of 4006 passengers and 82 crew have arrived in Australia.

For the month of June, there have been 18 boats carrying more than 1100 people. The latest arrived arrived overnight and had 117 people on board.

Timeline of boat disasters

February 2012
At least eight drown after a boat capsizes near Malaysia

December 2011
Up to 200 die when boat heading from Indonesia to Australia sinks

November 2011
Up to 20 killed when boat capsizes off Java, Indonesia

December 2010
Christmas Island boat crash claims 50 lives, including babies and children

November 2010
Boat with 97 people on board goes missing

May 2010
5 Sri Lankans drown off the Cocos Islands

October 2009
Asylum boat with 105 Hazaras on board believed to have vanished between Indonesia and Australia

April 2009 
5 Afghan asylum seekers die when their boat explodes

Thursday 20 June 2012

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-news/an-asylum-seeker-boat-has-capsized-north-of-christmas-island/story-fn7x8me2-1226404645552

Plans for forensic dentistry

THERE are plans to offer a new course in forensic dentistry at the Fiji National University's College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences.

Australian High Commission head of mission Glenn Miles made the revelation at the opening of the Forensic Odontology in Medico-legal Investigation and Human Identification workshop earlier this week.

"These initiatives will, I understand, ultimately lead to the development of a new Postgraduate Certificate and Postgraduate Diploma in Forensic Odontology courses to be offered by the College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences," Mr Miles said.

College dean Prof Ian Rouse confirmed Mr Miles' revelation, saying they were interested in introducing forensic dentistry into the curriculum.

"The college is very interested in further development of postgraduate programs in dentistry and is very keen on a PG Certificate and Diploma in Forensic Dentistry," Prof Rouse said.

"This would need to be done in collaboration with an overseas partner with significant expertise."

The workshop, funded through AusAID, is a first in the Pacific. It is being led by the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine to help improve regional expertise in odontology expertise for death and trauma investigation, child abuse investigation, bite-mark and facial injury interpretation, age estimation, disaster victim identification and medico-legal reporting.

Mr Miles said the workshop would provide participants with knowledge and practical skills and enable them to apply it at coronary inquests and legal proceedings particularly in the field of human identification.

Thursday 21 June 2012

http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=204430

Indonesia air force plane crashes into Jakarta housing complex

JAKARTA, Indonesia — An Indonesian air force plane slammed into homes and ignited a fireball in the crowded capital while trying to land Thursday, killing at least nine people, a military official said.

The turboprop plane crashed into eight houses, killing at least three people on the ground, said military spokesman Rear Adm. Iskandar Sitompul.

Raging orange flames were seen jumping several feet into the air as a huge column of black smoke billowed.

Hendra, a resident in the air force housing complex in eastern Jakarta who uses only one name, said he ran out of his house after hearing several loud explosions and saw flames engulfing neighbours' homes. "I could hardly believe my eyes ... there was a military plane that crashed and hit the houses!" he said. "At once, the situation turned into chaos. All the residents fled in panic.

Women and children were screaming hysterically." He said he helped at least five injured people, mostly with burns, to a nearby Air Force hospital.

He added that he saw at least three more critically injured children brought into the hospital. Sitompul said the Fokker F-27 was on a routine training flight when it crashed. The aircraft was declared airworthy before the training and skies were clear, he added.

Air Force spokesman Rear Adm. Azman Yunus said there were seven people aboard the plane including the pilot, co-pilot, instructor and trainees.

All the seven were rushed to the Air Force hospital, Yunus said. Later, he told Detik.com news portal that six of them were killed while one was still being treated at the hospital.

He said the Fokker F-27 was on a routine training flight when it crashed while trying to landing after the 90-minute flight. Private El Shinta radio reported rescuers were still searching for more possible victims among the rubble of the burning houses.

A number of ambulances were parked inside the Air Force's Rawajali Complex. The plane was build in 1958 and used by Indonesia's Air Force for the past 20 years.

Thursday 21 June 2012

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jun/21/indonesia-air-force-plane-crashes

17 die as bus plunges into ravine

Seventeen people were killed and three were left seriously injured when a long-distance bus overturned and plunged down a deep ravine in China, state media reported.

The official Xinhua News Agency said the accident occurred early on Wednesday and it was not immediately clear what caused the crash.

The report said 45 people were on the bus, which was heading from the eastern Jiangsu province to the coastal city of Xiamen in Fujian province.

It overturned in Fujian's Ningde city. Road safety is a serious problem in China, with many accidents caused by poorly maintained roads and bad driving habits.

 Fifteen people were killed when a bus crashed into a ravine in the northern Shanxi province in February.

Wednesday 20 June 2012

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/06/20/bus-plunges-deep-ravine-china-17-killed.html

Bus overturns in Haiti river; death toll disputed

Haiti - A bus overturned in a rain-swollen river in southern Haiti, and officials differed on Tuesday about the number of people who died.

A statement issued by President Michel Martelly's office says about 60 people were on the bus when the driver attempted to cross the Glace River.

It said that local civil protection officials have recovered the bodies of 40 people and are still searching the area.

The statement said nine people were either rescued from the submerged bus or managed to swim to safety. But Norman Wiener, an official from the Grand'Anse department, said the bus owner who collected money from the passengers told him that there were 27 people aboard and that only eight people are missing.

Wiener said another 19 people survived.

The accident occurred Monday near the town of Pestel on Haiti's southern peninsula. Marie Alta Jean-Baptiste, director of Haiti's office of civil protection, says the driver apparently ignored warnings not to try to cross the river.

Jean-Baptiste said she could not confirm how many people died or survived.

Wednesday 20 June 2012

 http://www.portalangop.co.ao/motix/en_us/noticias/internacional/2012/5/25/Bus-overturns-Haiti-river-death-toll-disputed,524d8630-e1ae-497c-89f6-4c9a2f1582a1.html

Ghosts Scare Residents Of Dana Plane Crash Area

Some residents of Iju-Ishaga, a suburb of Lagos, where a Dana airline crashed into buildings on Sunday, have appealed to the authorities to bury the victims far from the area.

Their apprehension was based on their belief in the existence of ghosts, Idayatu Ali, a 24-year-old unemployed school leaver, said living around the scene of the crash, was superstitious and would not want the victims buried at the scene of the accident, “for fear of ghosts”.

According to her, human beings are no goats and when they die prematurely, especially, violently, their ghosts will haunt the scene for a while. “This is no superstition; I have witnessed where a young man died in an accident and his ghost continued to cry at the scene for days until a sacrifice was performed. “Please, tell them not to bury the victims here or else some of us will have to abandon our houses,” she pleaded. 


However, Jude Agwu, a commercial motorcyclist, said he and some colleagues could easily offer sacrifices to Ogun (the Yoruba god iron) in a bid to get rid of any ghost threat. 


Mr Iyiola Akande, the South-West Zonal Coordinator, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), said no decision had been taken on where to bury the victims. 


He, however, believed that identifiable bodies should be released to their relations for burial, while badly burnt ones would be given mass burial, probably far from the scene. “This is a densely populated area and erecting a memorial here may not be in the interest of the psyche of the residents. “This has nothing to do with the myth about ghosts,” Akande said at the scene of the crash. 


He also explained that a census of those living in the affected buildings—now demolished—would be taken soon to ascertain the number of those who died on the ground. 


Akande said this would also form part of the statistics for the full rehabilitation of the survivors and compensations to the families of those who lost their lives in the mishap.

Wednesday 20 June 2012

http://typicalnaija.com/ghosts-scare-residents-of-dana-plane-crash-area/

Example of a disaster highlighting the dangers of visual ID (2010)

No coherent mechanism used to identify crash victims bodies

MANGALORE: Twelve of the 158 passengers of the Air India Express flight killed in the May 22 crash here had to be buried in unmarked graves.

According to the district administration, the 12 bodies could not be identified because of a mix-up.

Some families took away the bodies that did not belong to them in the confusion that prevailed after the crash.

The body of Mohammed Zubair Ziad (4) was taken away by a family that believed that it was the body of an adult.

Narrating a similar incident, Vidya Dinker, an activist who was involved in the relief operations, said: One family had identified their kin and filled the claims form at the Wenlock Hospital. They then moved to another hospital to look for other relatives. By the time they came back, somebody else had taken the body.

There was no coherent mechanism to identify the bodies, and some junior policemen were handling the process. Whereas, a senior police officer was managing traffic, she claimed.

Disaster Victim Identification guidelines issued by the Interpol were not adhered to immediately. Despite the Interpol's warning that visual identification is notoriously unreliable and should be avoided at all costs, 136 of the 158 bodies were handed over on this basis alone. The Interpol, instead, recommends the use of medical and forensic tests.

According to a senior district official, the Interpol's guidelines were referred to 10 days after the crash. Inspector-General of Police Gopal B. Hosur said that there was no other alternative.

All the bodies could not have been identified by DNA tests. There was no way we could have waited for the DNA tests. Keeping so many bodies in our possession for so long could have created a law and order nightmare, he said.

District Health Officer H. Jagannath said as the district’s storage facilities were woefully inadequate, the bodies would have started decomposing.

Chief Fire Officer H.S. Varadarajan said that some of the bodies could not be identified because they were robbed of jewellery by some of those who posed as rescue workers at the crash site. The police should have cordoned off the area and allowed only fire tenders to do their job, he said.

Deputy Superintendent of Police S. Girish, who was in-charge of the crash site, said: There were only around 10 firemen and public support was necessary. Dr. Jagannath said that a major reason for the mix-up was that all the bodies were not taken to one place for identification.

Several bodies were taken to private medical colleges. According to Mr. Varadarajan, there was nobody at the crash site to direct the ambulances carrying the bodies to the right place.

By the time the district administration realised its mistake and ordered that all the bodies should be shifted to the Wenlock Hospital, 28 bodies had been taken away, District Medical Officer B. Saroja.

Tuesday 19 June 2012

http://www.sfxkutam.com/news_index_arch1.asp?offset=1310

Death toll in ferry boat sinking rises to 9

MANILA, Philippines–Two more bodies were retrieved from the waters off Palawan as the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) continued its search and rescue operations for passengers believed on board a ferry boat that sank last week en route to El Nido Island. The PCG on Monday said the two bodies–male and female–found in separate locations off Barangay (village) Binudac in Culion town were already in an advanced state of decomposition. But authorities were able to identify one of the bodies as that of Jolito Buenafe through his driver’s license, said Lieutenant Commander Armand Balilo, PCG spokesperson. So far, the PCG has confirmed 9 dead, 1 missing and 56 rescued from the ill-fated MV Joecille II, which sank late Tuesday night last week when it encountered rough seas while on its way to El Nido. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council earlier reported that there were 66 passengers listed on the manifest and at least 21 unlisted passengers. The boat was also reported to have been loaded with 65 heads of carabao. Monday 19 June 2012 http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/214805/death-toll-in-ferry-boat-sinking-rises-to-9

2 more bodies recovered from sunken ship in Palawan

MANILA, Philippines—Two more bodies were recovered in Palawan as search and rescue operations of the Philippine Coast Guard continued for passengers who remained missing from the sunken vessel M/V Josille 2, a report from Radyo Inquirer 990AM said Monday. The report quoted PCG spokesman Lieutenant Commander Armand Balilo as saying that two still unidentified persons—a male, and a female—were fished out from the waters of Culion, Palawan near the site where Atienza Shipping Lines-owned cargo passenger vessel sank shortly before midnight Tuesday. The bodies were already in the stage of decomposition, the report said. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council earlier said there were 66 passengers listed on the manifest – 34 passengers and 11 crewmembers – and at least 21 unlisted passengers. Meanwhile, island hopping in El Nido, Palawan has been temporarily suspended since Sunday and until authorities become certain that the sinking would not cause any harm to local and foreign tourists who were planning to visit one of the country’s top destination. Monday 18 June 2012 http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/214503/2-more-bodies-recovered-from-sunken-ship-in-palawan

Several people missing after boat sinks in Ganga

Sahibganj (Jharkhand): A number of people ferrying in a boat over the Ganga river went missing after the boat sank midstream at Sahibganj district of Jharkhand.

“Six persons have been rescued and admitted to a hospital,” Superintendent of Police A Vijay Laxmi said, adding rescue operation has begun to trace the others.

She said the boat was ferrying the passengers from Bijlighati to Harprasad in the district when the mishap took place.

Deputy Commissioner Ashok Sharma said the boat was carrying about 25 passengers after Sunday Haat.

Monday 18 june 2012

Read more: http://www.keralathanima.com/news/several-people-missing-boat-sinks-ganga.html#ixzz1y8zZ4227

Remains of boat that sunk in Sea of Cortez last year found; 7 Calif. fishermen still missing

SAN FRANCISCO — A private salvage crew has located the wreckage of a chartered fishing boat that sank in Mexico’s Sea of Cortez last year, leaving one Northern California man dead and seven still classified as missing.

Charles Gibson, one of the 35 fishermen and crew members who survived the capsizing of the Erik, tells The Contra Costa Times that divers hired by the families of the missing men found the boat on the sea floor this week.

The Erik was on a planned six-day trip when it was swamped by waves in the Sea of Cortez on July 3, 2011. Survivors spent 16 hours clinging to coolers, floating rings and life vests before they were rescued.

Dena Jacinto, whose father-in-law remains missing at sea, says the divers have not determined whether any bodies are inside the wreckage.

Monday 18 June 2012

15 missing after wooden ship sinks in Indonesia

JAKARTA, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Rescuers are searching for 15 crew members who remain missing after a wooden cargo-ship with 27 people on board capsized in waters off Maluku in eastern Indonesia on Sunday morning, rescuers said.

The ship sank at 10 : 25 a.m. local time (0125 GMT) in the waters of central Maluku, due to poor weather condition, Agung Sedayu, press officer at the National Search and Rewscue Office told Xinhua over phone.

"The waves were huge during the accident, they sank the ship," he said.

The ship was on route from Ambon city to Nangrole town in Maluku province, said Agung.

The boat, which had 27 passengers and crew on board, went down after it was battered by waves up to five metres (16 feet) high in Maluku province, provincial search-and-rescue team head Amin Bin Tongke told AFP. "Twelve of 27 people on board were rescued alive.

We are still looking for around 15 missing," he said.

The boat, which was also carrying food and building materials, left Ambon city late Saturday but was lashed by towering waves and strong winds two hours into its journey, National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said in a text message. "The boat's engine stalled and the boat broke up and sank," he added.

Indonesia's 240 million people are spread across 17,000 islands and are heavily dependent on a network of ships and boats, which have a poor safety record.

Sunday 17 June 2012

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-06/17/c_131658536.htm

Dana crash: LASUTH concludes autopsy

Lagos State University Teaching Hoaspital (LASUTH) yesterday said the process of autopsy on all recovered bodies from the scene of the Dana plane crash ended yesterday. This was just as Daily Sun gathered the reasons the victims of the Dana air crash would not be given mass burial.

According to a source, a management meeting was held at the Lagos State University Teaching Hoaspital (LASUTH) with the Commissioner of Health, Dr. Jide Idris, Commissioner for Special duties, Dr. Waler Ahmed and the Chief Medical Director, Prof. Wale Oke in attendance. The source said relatives of the victims would love to bury their loved ones because it was part of their cultural attachment in the society.

“Besides, a thorough investigation such as autopsy carried out on the victims would help unravel the major cause or causes of death and even help investigate the cause of the accident by the probe panel,” said the source. He explained further that an autopsy would reveal what went wrong mid air before the plane crashed and determine whether a victim died before the actual crash or after the crash. Reports from investigations could be subsequently picked up by relevant agencies to avert similar disasters in future, the source added.

The source said with the cooperation of relatives of victims, the remains of every affected passenger and people on ground would be handed over to their families for proper burial no matter how charred or dismembered the bodies may have been. Investigations revealed that some families were yet to show up to either identify their relatives or submit samples for DNA.

That, another source disclosed, would only last for as long as the state government determines but could be influenced by the Federal Government because aviation is under the purview of Federal Government and it may choose to prolong period of identification and DNA sampling.” Our source further explained that unlike public belief, DNA was just one of the processes of identification while other necessary scientific examination carried out locally and overseas were being done on bodies.

“It is only when all of the processes are concluded and results of analysis from the victims are cross-matched with samples collected from families that a comprehensive post-mortem report will be issued and bodies released.”

Friday 15 June 2012

http://www.zimbio.com/Nigeria+Today/articles/Wes9Z0sGrJ2/Dana+crash+LASUTH+concludes+autopsy

Fire kills 13 in southeast Turkey prison

ISTANBUL—Thirteen prisoners died from smoke inhalation after inmates started a fire during a mutiny in a jail in southeastern Turkey, officials said Sunday.

The prisoners set fire to blankets and beds in a cell in the Sanliurfa city prison late Saturday, but it was brought under control before it could spread throughout the jail, which holds 1,000 inmates, the Anatolia news agency reported, quoting governor Celalettin Guvenc.

Another five prisoners were hospitalized, as well as 12 prison staff who were injured during the rescue.

The fire broke out during a fight in a dormitory with 18 inmates, Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told media, relaying a survivor’s account.

“I was also informed by the governor that the conditions in the cell were not suitable to accommodate 18 inmates,” he added.

After an initial investigation, Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin noted that there was resistance from the prisoners when security forces tried to remove them.

“Entrance to the room was physically blocked by beds stashed at the door, which they set on fire,” he said, adding that the five rescued survivors were on lower bunks, closer to the exit.

Sanliurfa, the city’s largest jail, reportedly had an initial capacity of around 250, but was upped to 600 in recent years with additional bunk beds.

The mutiny may have been in protest at poor conditions and lack of air conditioning, the NTV news channel reported earlier, citing prison sources.

Local media frequently criticize conditions at the jail, which also holds several political prisoners including a lawmaker from the opposition Peace and Democracy Party, security sources told AFP.

The fire broke out in a cell for ordinary prisoners.

Police and gendarmerie were deployed as large crowds gathered outside the jail.

Police blocked road access and resorted to pepper spray to disperse angry families demanding to be informed of the dead prisoners’ identities.

Families were allowed to visit their relatives on Sunday after calm was restored in the prison where news of the deaths had spread panic and protests.

An investigation was under way to establish what happened.

In September 2010, a political prisoner set himself on fire in the same prison after he was transferred to the ordinary prisoners’ section, triggering protests from other inmates, but no one was killed.

The government has commissioned 196 new prisons to be built throughout the country, including a large establishment in Sanliurfa, within the next five years, according to the justice minister.

Sunday 17 June 2012

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/214141/fire-kills-13-in-southeast-turkey-prison-mutiny

24 killed in road accident in western India

AHMADABAD, India - Police say a truck carrying workers has overturned on a slippery road after overnight rains in western India, killing 24 people and injuring another 25.

Police officer Bharat Bhai says the workers were on their way to Sanand, an automobile hub nearly 20 kilometres (12 miles) south of Ahmadabad, the Gujarat state's main city.

The accident occurred early Thursday. The 25 injured have been hospitalized in the area, Bhai told The Associated Press Road accidents are common in India.

Many are due to negligence, bad roads and aging vehicles.

Most of the victims were laborers transporting salt.

Thursday 14 June 2012

http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/714962.shtml

11 killed after Haitian boat capsizes

CMC - The death toll from Monday’s boat accident filled with Haitian immigrants, which capsized in waters off North Abaco is expected to rise. 

Police officials in the Bahamas said that the search and rescue operations will resume today for at least 12 missing bodies. 

It’s reported that at least 28 people had boarded the boat “Glory Time” on Monday. However, 11 bodies had been recovered, while 12 other passengers were still missing. 

The police said five other passengers were able to swim to shore. 

The police said that the Haitians were heading to Florida from Abaco, when a distressed call was made after the boat encountered rough seas and was taking in water before capsizing. 

The authorities said that “officers from the Royal Bahamas Police Force, the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, the US Coast Guard, BASRA and other concerned citizens” responded to the call that had been received late Monday. 

The U.S. Coast Guard dispatched a plane based in Miami and a helicopter based on Andros Island, Bahamas, to help search for survivors. 

Haitian migrants have been coming to the Bahamas for years, fleeing severe poverty in the Western Hemisphere's poorest country. The migrants mostly try to reach the US, though some stay in the Bahamas to form a low-income workforce. 


Thursday 14 June 2012


http://go-jamaica.com/news/read_article.php?id=37805