Four bodies extricated from Arunachal accident site, four more to be recovered

ITANAGAR: Police on Sunday extricated the bodies of four persons out of the total eight who died on Saturday in an accident on the Bhalukpong-Bomdila road in West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh.

"We have managed to extricate four bodies so far. An operation is on to lift the other bodies from the area where the accident occurred," West Kameng SP T T Lama said.

Eight persons died on the spot while eight others miraculously escaped when a pick-up van carrying them skidded off the road and fell into an 800-feet deep gorge on Saturday evening. All the passengers in the vehicle were porters of the Army Special Corps battalion stationed at Tawang.

The injured were admitted to Bhalukpong Primary Health Centre on Saturday and were evacuated to Tezpur on Sunday morning, the SP said. The driver said the accident occurred because he fell asleep at a critical turning point.

Two locals spotted them after hearing the screams of the wounded driver. They managed to bring him up to a point about one km ahead of Sattle near Zero point. They called other passers-by for help and alerted the Army, Bhalukpong, Rupa and Bomdila police stations.

The SP's private security officer Naik Passang Dorjee along with the drivers of two private vehicles went down the gorge. They located the eight surviving passengers of the total 16 travelling in the van.

Sunday 21 October 2012

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/guwahati/Four-bodies-extricated-from-Arunachal-accident-site-four-more-to-be-recovered/articleshow/16906079.cms

Ogun road disaster: 12 bodies recovered from Omu River

It was tears and sorrow yesterday as 12 bodies of passengers inside a coaster bus that plunged into Omu River near Area J4 in Ijebu East Local Government Area of Ogun State. The victims, mostly women, were said to have belonged to Odowuyi Women Social Club.

They boarded the Hyundai coaster bus from Sango Ota area of the state, heading for Uronigbe/Oriohwon Local Government Area of Edo State. Sunday Sun reliably gathered that the accident occurred after the vehicle’s driver, who was said to be on top speed, dosed off on the wheels. It was further learnt that most women in the vehicle were also fast asleep and could not have noticed when the driver skidded off the expressway.

Speaking with newsmen, Information Officer of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), South-West Zone, Mr. Ibrahim Farinloye, said 21 passengers, including the driver and his conductor, were inside the ill-fated vehicle. He said the actual number of causalities would be determined when the agency visits the bus station to obtain the passengers’ manifest.

Also, Unit Commander of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Ijebu Ode Command, Mr. Isa Seidu, said three out of the 21 passengers, who fell out of the vehicle before it plunged into the river, were rescued alive on Friday afternoon and taken to Ore Hospital. Mr. Seidu attributed the cause of the accident to over-speeding, adding that there were three gullies on the path the vehicle veered into before plunging into the river, adding that the gullies could have prevented it from plunging into the river.

According to him, “big stone gullies and another hindrance could have stopped the vehicle even if the driver was sleeping. But he went straight into the river because he was asleep.” The Ijebu-Ode Unit Commander of the state’s Traffic and Enforcement Corps (TRACE), Mr. Hamsat Tommy, and the DPO of Ogbere Division, Mr. Osamanye Isunmekhe, who corroborated the FRSC claim, said rescue effort started as early as 6 a.m. on Saturday.

According to them, it took the local divers over eight hours before pulling out the vehicle from the river at exactly 2.20 p.m. One of the relatives of the victims, Doris Nwokoma, said in tears that her elder sister, Mrs. Afoma Idehen, was among the deceased. Husbands of the victims were also at the recovery scene, with one of them nearly jumping into an oncoming vehicle as he sighted his late wife’s luggage. He said amidst wailing ‘that is my wife’s bag ooo. Chinekemeee!”

Officials of NEMA, FRSC, Fire Service, Red Cross, police and the local vigilante team worked assiduously for hours before completing the operation around 3 p.m. on Saturday. Bodies of the deceased have been deposited at the Ijebu-Ode mortuary, while the search for the remaining six bodies continues today.

Sunday 21 October 2012

http://sunnewsonline.com/new/cover/ogun-road-disaster-12-bodies-recovered-from-omu-river/