Couple recover wedding photos lost in New Zealand earthquake

A New Zealand couple have managed to recover a camera containing their wedding snaps 18 months after losing it in the Christchurch earthquake.

Fen Jerimiah and Martin Burley had thought their photographs were lost forever after they dropped the camera when rushing to safety during the quake.

The newlyweds were forced to flee from their home during the 6.3 magnitude tremors, which struck the city in 2011. They had tried to keep hold of memories from their recent nuptials by grabbing the small digital camera, but lost their grip on it as they tried to escape the falling debris.

Jerimiah and Burley had assumed they would never be able to look at the images again, but when walking past the site of their old (and now silt-covered) driveway last week, they noticed what looked like a digital camera partly submerged in the mud. Burley removed the broken and buckled object and began the painstaking process of cleaning the memory card.

"I was more pessimistic," admitted Jerimiah. "I didn't really think it'd still work.

"I'm glad he was more like 'Yeah, let's try this'."

"It was one of those 'wow' moments," added Burley, who gently scrubbed dirt from the surface of the card using - among other things - an old toothbrush.

"I thought these had gone forever," he said of the photographs. "[It's] really cool. Special day for both of us."

The couple have now safely transferred the pictures to a computer.

Monday 22 October 2012

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/odd/news/a432249/couple-recover-wedding-photos-lost-in-new-zealand-earthquake.html

Nine killed as boat capsizes in Gulbarga

Nine persons were killed as a boat carrying them capsized at Khaja Kotnoor lake near Srinivas Saradagi Friday night.

The bodies have been fished out of the lake.

The tragedy struck when a country boat meant for fishing capsized due to overloading. The dead have been identified as Bilkish Banu, Hoora Begum, Anees Begum, Khajamiya, Ayesha, Sanabanu, Shama, Nasir, Rehana Shabber Khan.

Two families of Naya Mohalla in the City had gone for picnic to Khaja Kotnoor lake. During the first round of boating, the ride was safe as only six persons were aboard.

But in the second round 12 members boarded the boat. Unable to take the burden, the boat capsized killing nine people. Three other members on board swam to safety.

A mass burial was organised after the post mortem at the district hospital. District in charge Minister Revu Naik Belamagi, Gulbarga North MLA Qamarul Islam and others visited the hospital.

The University Police have booked a case against the boatman under sections 280 (rash navigation of vessel) and 304 (A) (causing death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code. The boatman, however, is absconding.

Deputy Commissioner N S Prasanna Kumar said a compensation of Rs 10,000 each will be given to the next of kin of the victims, under the National Family Benefit Scheme

(NFBS). Also, the tahsildar will pay Rs 1,000 to the family members of each of the deceased as funeral expenses.

Maintaining that Khaja Kotnoor lake was unsafe for boating, Prasanna Kumar said that steps would be taken to ban illegal boating in the lake.

Sunday 21 October 2012

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/286838/nine-killed-boat-capsizes-gulbarga.html