At least ten killed in 5.8-magnitude earthquake in Italy

MILAN, Italy -- An earthquake struck northern Italy on Tuesday, killing at least 10 people, damaging buildings and spreading panic among thousands of residents still living in tents after a tremor shook the region just over a week ago, destroying their homes. Officials and a source from the Italian Red Cross said several people were trapped under the rubble of houses and warehouses in the Emilia-Romagna region. Police said 10 people were confirmed dead but the toll was likely to rise. The United States Geological Survey said the 5.8-magnitude quake, which struck at 9:00 a.m. local time (3 a.m. ET), was centered 25 miles northwest of Bologna and was felt across much of northern and central Italy. "The situation is very serious, some people are stuck under the rubble," Alberto Silvestri, the mayor of San Felice sul Panaro, one of the towns near the epicenter, told SkyTG24. Prime Minister Mario Monti said: "I want to assure everyone that the state will do all that it must do, all that is possible to do, as fast as it can to guarantee the return to normality in a region so special, so important, so productive for Italy." Italian media also said a tower in San Felice sul Panarohad collapsed. The quake hit the same region where a stronger temblor measuring 6.0 on May 20 killed seven people, most when factories working overnight collapsed. That quake destroyed hundreds of buildings, including ancient churches and castles, and forced more than 7,000 people to sleep outdoors in tents. It also hit production of some of the area's most internationally famous produce, including Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. Farmers estimated the damage to agriculture in one of Italy's most fertile zones at more than 200 million euros. People trapped under rubble On Tuesday, officials said operations to rescue people from the rubble had been hampered by disruption to the mobile phone network. "The town has been largely damaged. There are people under the rubble, we don't know how many," a police officer from Cavezzo told Reuters. Train services around Bologna, near Modena, were disrupted, media said, and schools and other public buildings had been evacuated as far south as Florence. "We felt a very strong tremor," said Raffaella Besola, a resident of Bologna. Television footage on ITV News showed evacuees from the previous quake peering out of shaking tents in disbelief. 29 May 2012 http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/29/11931934-at-least-ten-killed-in-58-magnitude-earthquake-in-italy?lite

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Three More Body Parts of Sukhoi Victims Found

The National Search and Rescue Agency said on Tuesday that a group of 13 local people found three additional body parts from the victim’s of the Sukhoi Superjet crash on May 20. “Only three body parts were found and it is normal in the search process,” Gagah Prakoso, spokesman of the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) told the Jakarta Globe. “I don’t think it is a big deal that should be blown up. Have pity on the family. If we find a hand, does the family have to reopen the coffin?” Locals alleged they found an entire body, not just body parts. A local, Junaidi, told Antara that they found a body 500-700 meters from the crash point and they also found an identity card of a Russian citizen nearby. The National Search and Rescue Agency on May 21 decided to terminate the search and evacuation process of the victims, claiming that the Disaster Victim Identification Team from the National Police had identified all 45 victims from the Sukhoi accident. However, on Monday Sukabumi police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. M. Firman said he had received a report from local people that some body parts including a thigh, part of a chest and a hand were found near the crash point. Gagah on Monday denied the finding. “They do not belong to bodies of Sukhoi’s victims,” Gagah said as quoted by Vivanews on Monday. He reversed his stance on Tuesday. Following the finding, 29 personnel from the Indonesian military, national police, outdoor organization Wanadri, Forest Police and local people teamed up on Tuesday morning and started searching and evacuating the body parts that were scattered on the mountain. “Search and evacuation of Sukhoi victims was led by Sukabumi military commander Capt. Sanusi with 29 personnel,” Bogor military commander Col. AM Putranto said. The team is headed to the location where local people from the Cicurug district found the body parts and belongings of the victims. Putranto said he expected the evacuation could be done in a day and that all the body parts could be evacuated at the latest by 4 p.m. today. “The bodies will be taken to Kramat Jati police hospital using the ambulance,” Putranto said. “Seven body bags and two ambulances have been prepared to evacuate and carry the remains left at the crash point of the airplane.” Revising his statement on Monday, Gagah explained that there was heavy rain recently that unearthed the body parts that had been buried and could not be found earlier. He said the small Basarnas expert team was still sweeping the area trying to find the flight data recorder and any other body parts or belongings that may have been unearthed. “Some body parts were unearthed due to soil erosion after heavy rains,” Gagah said. “But the body parts do belong to the existing 45 victims, not to another victim.” Gagah said Basarnas terminated the search on May 21 because the agency was limited by time in searching for the bodies. “Though we’re no longer searching for the victims on a massive scale, we still have a small team sweeping the area and looking for the flight data recorder,” he said. Locals also found identity cards, social security cards, insurance cards, ATM cards, vehicle registration certificates and several name cards belonging to Edi Satrio, Herman Suladji and Desiyanti Amalia. Edi and Herman were on the list of 45 victims. Desiyanti’s name was not on the victim list, so it remains unclear why her identity card was found at the crash scene. The Sukhoi Superjet crashed on May 9. 29 May 2012 http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/three-more-body-parts-of-sukhoi-victims-found/520776

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Qatar Villaggio mall nursery fire kills 19 people

THE New Zealand children killed in a fire in a nursery in a Doha shopping mall are two-year-old triplets. Firefighters didn't know where the nursery was which caught fire in Qatar, says a New Zealander who was at the scene where three New Zealand children are believed to have been among 19 killed overnight . New Zealand Prime Minister John Key has confirmed that two-year-old triplets were killed in the fire. Seven girls, six boys, four teachers and two firefighters were believed to have died from smoke inhalation. Former New Zealand journalist Tarek Bazley was in the Doha mall when the fire broke out, saying he heard a benign alarm which sounded like a repeating doorbell, but he was told by an attendant that "it's usually a false alarm". "About 10 minutes later someone else, a member of the public, raced through this area and said 'everybody out, you've got to get out now, the other half of the mall is on fire'." Mr Bazley understood there was no way to escape for those in the nursery as both entrances to the Gympanzee were blocked by smoke, and those that were rescued escaped through a hole in the roof cut by firefighters. "The Ministry for the Interior, which runs the Civil Defence and the Fire Brigade, said they didn't know where that nursery was. They had no plan of the mall," he said. "In my estimation that's the first thing any fire brigade should know." It was reported some sprinklers and fire alarms either did not work or did not operate properly. Reports from the Doha News and Al Jazeera suggest that there were also children from Spain, France, Japan, South Africa and the Philippines killed, along with three Filipino teachers and one teacher from Africa. Unconfirmed reports said two managers were arrested and may face charges in court, Doha News reported. A New Zealand teacher living in Doha told NZ Newswire there were a number of Kiwis living in the country and he understood the family lived at a compound with other New Zealanders. "It won't be a happy day at school tomorrow," he said. Temperatures in Doha were around 40C at the time of the fire around midday local time. A website for the nursery said it catered for children aged between 12 months and four years and it had a waiting list for places. The Villaggio opened in 2006 and is one of Qatar's most popular shopping and amusement destinations. Monday 28 May 2012 Read more: http://www.news.com.au/world/qatar-villaggio-mall-nursery-fire-kills-19-people/story-e6frfkyi-1226370848953#ixzz1wFJXP5pE

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