Serbian police say 6 people die fleeing blaze in nightclub in country's north; owner detained

Serbian police say six people died in a nightclub fire in the city in the country's north.

The owner of a nightclub where six people died on Sunday trying to escape a fierce blaze has been detained by police, a Serbian official says.

Police spokeswoman Mileva Tomic said Alojz G., who owns Contrast club in Novi Sad in northern Serbia, was detained along with two more people. She did not give the owner's full name.

Emergency workers could be seen removing a body from the blackened shell of the building Sunday afternoon. Nearby, a man crouched in the middle of the road, seemingly in tears.

Investigative judge Ana Stamenic said the likely cause of the fire, which erupted around 2 a.m. (0000GMT), was flawed electrical installations, but an investigation is ongoing.

Police officials have said the victims died from smoke inhalation while trying to flee the blaze that broke out around the stage area during a live performance and quickly spread.

"One of them was just half a meter from an exit," said senior police official Predrag Maric. "There must have been huge panic, they all rushed to get out."

Stamenic said all the victims have been identified, and they are three men and three women, aged 21-29 years old. Officials had initially said the victims were teenagers.

Maric said some 350 people were inside the club during the fire and all rushed to the exits in an attempt to flee the blaze.

Two more people were injured, but their lives are not in danger, doctors said.

Authorities in Novi Sad declared three days of mourning starting on Monday. Serbia's President Boris Tadic expressed condolences to the families in a statement.

Sunday, Apr 01, 2012 07:15 am | The Associated Press

http://www.oldsalbertan.ca/article/GB/20120401/CP01/304019990/-1/old0806/serbian-police-say-6-teenagers-die-fleeing-nightclub-fire-1-just-1-2&template=cpArt

continue reading

Disaster victims haunted by ghosts

TOKYO (majirox news) — For many who lived through last year’s earthquake and tsunami in Japan, the horror lives on – in the form of the ghosts of those who died. More than 15,000 victims perished in the disaster, but the bodies of 3,700 additional victims are still missing.

Some survivors claim to have seen and heard the ghosts of their absent relatives and friends, who implore the living to allow the spirits to rest by finding the bodies and giving them a proper funeral.

An elderly man in Miyagi prefecture in the Tohoku region told a priest that he saw a clear image and heard strange sounds of someone walking on the surface of the ocean. A woman staying in temporary housing said a ghost visited her on the grounds. “I believe something happened here,” she said.

As might be expected, there is no government organization whose duty it is to comfort and counsel those who claim to have been contacted from beyond the grave. Nor are those who are experiencing such visions keen to confide in their families, and so religious groups are stepping into the breach to provide support for these people.

Buddhist priest Kobo Inoue, who acts as secretary general of the Young Buddhist Association of the Pure Land School, says that seeing ghosts is a natural thing for those who have suffered intense trauma, such as that of the March 11 disaster.

“Visions after facing death are more common than people think, and cut across nationalities, religions and cultures,” he said. “I don’t know if they are really ghosts or not, but I don’t deny that they have seen some things that they call ghosts,” he said.

He added that these people are not hallucinating, and are aware of their surroundings while they see these things. He cites stories in literature and historical biographies of such visions seen by those who have faced death or who were on their deathbed.

The chanting of Buddhist sutras seems to help to ease the pain and grief, he says, and many survivors feel a sense of relief after they have chanted alongside the priest. It is impossible for Inoue to forget what he saw up in Tohoku. “I cannot get my mind in order. After I went to the disaster area in Miyagi, I saw cars covered in dirt and dust, darkened stores, Self-Defense Forces helicopters flying around me, and the shocked residents everywhere.” He added that many of those suffering cried, and they gained some hope when they saw the Buddhist priests who had come to help them.

Other priests take different views of the phenomena. Tokyo priest Ryonosuke Fukumoto emphasizes the “realistic” teachings of Buddhism.

“I do not believe in any superstitious things such as ghosts,” he said. “The reason why one sees such things is that one’s mind is confused as a result of fear and worry. In my experience, such a troubled mental state has always brought me bad results.” For example, Fukumoto said he made a trivial mistake in his work, which he would never have made in his usual mental state.

He believes that Buddhist teachings help calm our emotional agitation, and see the truth – the reality, restating his believe that “ghosts” or “voices” are a reflection of one’s mental and emotional states.

Although the communities flattened and destroyed by the earthquake are slowly being rebuilt, rebuilding the spirits of the residents and healing the scars caused by their losses will take longer, and this is an area where religion provides comfort and helps to lay the ghosts of the past – whatever they may be – to rest.

Monday 15 October 2012

http://www.majiroxnews.com/2012/03/12/disaster-victims-haunted-by-ghosts/

continue reading

Japan's post-disaster reconstruction efforts hindered – by ghosts

Reports of ghost sightings have reportedly been made by residents in the city of Ishinomaki in Miyagi prefecture, home to nearly a fifth of all tsunami fatalities.

Reconstruction and repair have been put on hold in some instances due to workers' fears that the spirits of the dead who passed away a year ago will bring them bad luck if they continue, according to AFP.

Highlighting one half-repaired supermarket, local Satoshi Abe, 64, told the agency: "I heard people working to repair the store became sick because of ghosts. People died here everywhere, here and there. The city is full of such stories."

A taxi driver, who did not want to be named, added that he was unwilling to stop in certain parts of the city that were badly damaged in the tsunami for fear of picking up a customer who is a spirit of the dead.

Meanwhile, another local woman described hearing stories of people seeing queues of people rushing towards the hills, a replay of their final moment as they attempted to escape the tsunami, according to AFP

As the first anniversary of the disaster approaches, Ishinomaki appears, on the surface at least, to be returning to a new level of normality, with the tsunami debris cleared away in most areas and a growing number of businesses reopening.

At the same time, the emotional impact of the massive losses of human life are clearly continuing to take their toll on residents: close to 4,000 Ishinomaki locals were killed in the tsunami out of a total death toll of 19,000 for the northeast region.

However, experts described the city's apparent widespread belief in ghosts as a "natural" side effect of a large-scale tragedy which wiped out vast swathes of the community and a potentially positive part of the healing process.

"Human beings find it very difficult to accept death, whether they are inclined by nature to superstition or are very scientifically minded," said Takeo Funabiki, a cultural anthropologist.

"A sudden or abnormal death, anything other than someone dying in bed of old age, is particularly difficult for people to comprehend.

"When there are things that many people find difficult to accept, they can find expression in the form of rumours or rituals for the dead, among other things. The point is that it takes the shape of something that you can share with other people in your society."

Koji Ikeda, a therapist and lecturer at the Academy of Counselors Japan, added: "It is possible that a whole lot of emotions that people cannot fully cope with lead to 'projections' of spirits" he said. "Pent-up emotions need to be expressed in order for people to be able to adapt to the new reality and move forward with their grief."

29 February 2012

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/9113559/Japans-post-disaster-reconstruction-efforts-hindered-by-ghosts.html

continue reading