Entire villages washed away

Entire villages in four towns in Davao Oriental have apparently been washed away by typhoon “Pablo,” an official said yesterday.

National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) executive director Benito Ramos said the coastal towns of Cateel, Baganga, Boston and Caraga were severely hit by the typhoon.

“Structures like houses, hospitals, gymnasiums,schools and government offices were destroyed,” Ramos said in a phone interview.

Philippine Red Cross secretary general Gwendolyn Pang said “houses were smashed to the ground, the plants are gone and even century-old trees were uprooted. It’s like they were wiped out. They are now like ghost towns.”

As of yesterday afternoon, the NDRRMC)said the death toll from Pablo has hit 714, with 890 still missing and almost 2,000 sustained injury.

Of the number of fatalities, 457 have been identified and turned over to their families, while 257 remained unclaimed.

Officials believe most of the unclaimed bodies were entire families wiped out by the storm, thus no one was left to attend to them.

Data from the NDRRMC showed Pablo displaced 64,942 families composed of 308,110 individuals. Of the number, 25,812 families or 116,404 persons remained in 134 evacuations centers.

“I have not seen this kind of sisaster in my 15 years of service with Red Cross,” Pang said, adding that residents have sought refuge in any structure available, even mausoleums.

“It seems like they are still in survival mode even after so many days. When we asked them what they need, they asked for basic necessities only like food. They are not yet thinking about their houses,” she added.

Wednesday 12 December 2012

http://m.philstar.com/headlines/show/eaed0a7a048c4ed2aad288c26d32c9ea&t=fv6ku4sj321eh8fut3k2kodb01

10 persons including four army personnel killed in road mishap in Khuzdar

At least 10 persons including four army personnel were killed and 16 others injured in result of collision between passenger bus and oil tanker in Wahir area of sub-district Wadh in Khuzdar. Condition of eight injured persons is critical.

A head-on collision between a passenger coach and an oil tanker resulted in 10 casualties while sixteen others were wounded.

The deceased include four Pakistan Army jawans. The injured and bodies have been shifted to the CMH Khuzadar where some of the injured are said to be in critical state.

The passenger bus was on its way to Quetta from Karachi. Over speeding was the cause of the accident. According to police, a speeding passenger coach collided with an oil tanker coming from the opposite direction and turned turtle. As a result of accident, 10 passengers including two drivers and four security men were killed, sources told. 16 others also sustained injuries in the incident.

Levies and the local administration shifted the injured and dead bodies to the hospital where eight injured are said to be in critical condition while the administration has kicked off investigation.

Wednesday 12 December 2012

http://www.sananews.net/english/10-persons-including-four-army-personnel-killed-in-road-mishap-in-khuzdar/

DNA samples taken from Jenni Rivera plane crash wreckage

Authorities in Mexico have begun performing DNA tests to identify human remains found in what is believed to be JENNI RIVERA's plane crash.

The Latin superstar and six others who were on-board the private Learjet 25 have been presumed dead after wreckage was found scattered in Nuevo Leon state in northern Mexico on Sunday (09Dec12).

Experts transferred remains found in the debris to a hospital in nearby Monterrey, and investigators are now examining DNA samples in order to give relatives definitive confirmation of their loved ones' deaths.

According to the Associated Press, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board has sent a team to Mexico to help with the probe.

Officials have told the Mexican media it could take days to confirm whether the remains are Rivera's and to piece together why the plane crashed soon after takeoff.

The plane carrying Mexican-American music superstar Jenni Rivera plunged almost vertically from more than 28,000 feet and hit the ground in a nose-dive at a speed that may have exceeded 600 miles per hour, Mexico's top transportation official said Tuesday.

In the first detailed account of the moments leading up to the crash that killed Rivera and six other people, Secretary of Communications and Transportation Gerardo Ruiz Esparza told Radio Formula that the twin-engine turbojet hit the ground 1.2 miles from where it began falling.

"The plane practically nose-dived," he said. "The impact must have been terrible."

Ruiz did not offer any explanation of what may have caused the plane to plummet, saying only that "The plane fell from an altitude of 28,000 feet ... It may have hit a speed higher than 1,000 kph (621 mph)."

Ruiz said the pilot of the plane, Miguel Perez Soto, had a valid Mexican pilot's license that would have expired in January. Photos of a temporary pilot's certificate issued by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and found amid the wreckage said that Perez was 78.

Ruiz said there is no age limit for flying a civil aviation aircraft, though for commercial flights it's 65. In the United States it's unusual for a pilot to be 78.

The extremely high speeds at which Learjets can fly – close to the speed of sound – make them especially challenging to fly, pilots and safety experts said.

"These aircraft require an awful lot of skill to fly and don't leave a lot of margin for error," said Lee Collins, a cargo airline pilot and executive vice president of the Coalition of Airline Pilot Associations in Washington.

He said that in situations in which a pilot loses control of an aircraft, the plane could "get into a high-speed dive and inadvertently go through the speed of sound." Collins said.

One possible cause for a nose dive like the one described by Mexican officials would be a drastic failure of the flight controls – the ailerons, elevators and stabilizers, said former NTSB board member John Goglia, an aviation safety expert.

"High performance airplanes by their nature have issues," Goglia said. "The airplane flies faster than the human mind (can keep up) sometimes. ... It takes a lot of skill to stay in front of that airplane."

Mexican authorities were performing DNA tests Tuesday on remains believed to belong to Rivera and the others killed when her plane went down in northern Mexico early Sunday morning.

Investigators said it would take days to piece together the wreckage of the plane carrying Rivera and find out why it went down.

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said it was sending a team to help investigate the crash of the Learjet 25, which disintegrated on impact in the rugged terrain in Nuevo Leon state in northern Mexico.

Human remains found in the wreckage were moved to a hospital in Monterrey, the closest major city to the crash, and Rivera's brother Lupillo was driven past a crowd of reporters to the area where the remains were being kept. He did not speak to the press.

A state official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation, said investigators were testing DNA from the remains in order to provide families with definitive confirmation of the deaths of their loved ones.

"We're in the process of picking up the fragments and we have to find all the parts," Argudin told reporters on Monday. "Depending on weather conditions it would take us at least 10 days to have a first report and many more days to have a report by experts."

In an interview on Radio Formula, Alejandro Argudin, head of Mexico's civil aviation agency, said Mexican investigators weren't sure yet if the Learjet had been equipped with flight data recorders. He also said there had been no emergency call from the plane before the crash. In the U.S., the plane would not have been required to have a flight data recorder or a cockpit voice recorder.

Wednesday 12 December 2012

http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/364286/DNA-samples-taken-from-Jenni-Rivera-wreckage

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/12/jenni-riveras-plane-nosed_n_2283903.html

35 Filipino fishermen rescued, 261 still missing

Low-flying search planes spotted three Filipino fishermen drifting at sea and flashing mirrors to signal for help, as authorities stepped up the search Wednesday for 261 others still missing more than a week after a powerful typhoon killed hundreds in the southern Philippines.

The Indonesian government sent a ship to join the search for the fishermen, who may have been swept toward the Celebes Sea from the Pacific Ocean off southern Mindanao Island, said regional military spokesman Capt. Severino David.

A total of 35 fishermen have been rescued in the past three days, including three found Tuesday in a small boat drifting about 255 kilometers (158 miles) east of Davao Oriental province, where the typhoon made landfall Dec. 4, David said.

They were found by low-flying search planes who passed on the coordinates to rescue ships. Although weak and dehydrated, some were still able to signal to the planes using mirrors, David said.

"The typhoon caught up with them, and they may have lost their way and ran out of fuel," he said.

The more than 300 tuna fishermen were about 220 kilometers (120 nautical miles ) east of Davao Oriental province as early as October. Typhoon Bopha's top winds of 210 kilometers (131 miles) per hour apparently made it difficult for them to return to shore.

The storm killed at least 740 people. Nearly 900 others are missing, including the fishermen.

Rescuers recovered at least four bodies from the sea and continued to find remains buried under mud and rubble in the worst-hit farming province of Compostela Valley and in flood-ravaged coastal towns.

Regional coast guard Commodore George Ursabia said most of the missing fishermen worked for companies based in southern General Santos City, known as the tuna capital of the Philippines. They sailed to fishing grounds in October after a fishing ban was lifted Sept. 30.

"I am still hoping that they are still alive," said Civil Defense chief Benito Ramos, citing the experience of a group of fishermen who survived in rough seas in the northern Philippines for 21 days following another storm.

He said at least some of the missing fishermen may have taken shelter in islands in the Celebes Sea.

The typhoon packed sustained winds of 175 kph (109 mph) when it knocked down power, destroyed houses, uprooted trees and set off massive flash floods that washes away roads and bridges and entire communities.

Hundreds of thousands were left homeless, and the Philippine government launched a massive relief effort. The U.N. has appealed to donors for $65 million in emergency humanitarian assistance.

Wednesday 12 December 2012

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/national_world&id=8917203

Police hoping to solve mysteries of unknown bodies

Eight unexplained deaths dating back to 1970 are set to be re-investigated by Thames Valley Police.

Operation Nightingale covers eight unrelated cases, in which people died but have never been identified.

The cold cases cover parts of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire.

The force, which has issued a new appeal over the cases, hope to uncover new lines of inquiry.

Led by Det Sgt Craig Kirby, of the Major Crime Review team, the force is working alongside the UK Missing Persons Bureau and Crimestoppers UK.

The earliest case involves a man found near a railway line, in Slough in 1970 "In 2008, we were tasked to undertake a review by the Serious Organised Crime Agency's UK Missing Persons Bureau to review any outstanding cases of unidentified bodies and remains," said Det Sgt Kirby.

"Since then, we have successfully resolved four of those, three purely by updating our records with other agencies and the fourth following successfully DNA analysis of exhumed remains."

That case involved the discovery of a man's body in the River Great Ouse at Olney, Buckinghamshire, in 1986.

After 23 years, it was finally identified as Michael Walsh, who had gone missing the previous year, enabling his family to give him a proper burial.

Officers hope Operation Nightingale will give the same answers to other families.

The earliest case, from 1970, involves the body of a man, thought to be between 50 and 60, who was found near a railway line in Slough.

They also include the body of a man, aged between 25 and 35, that was found floating in the Jubilee River in Dorney, Berkshire, in May 2004 and that of a man found dead alongside the northbound carriageway of the M40 in Oxfordshire.

The most recent dates from 2007, when a man in his late 20s was found dead in a shed on a country estate in Hedgerley, Buckinghamshire.

It is thought his body had been there for between seven months and two years.

None of the deaths were treated as suspicious but police stressed they always kept an open mind.

Wednesday 12 December 2012

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-20682852

Bridge collapse: Missing bodies found

Fourteen people died after a bridge collapsed on the R65 between Lothair and Ermelo due to heavy rains, the Mpumalanga community safety department said on Tuesday.

Spokesperson Joseph Mabuza said three vehicles, one of them a taxi, were involved in the accident.

"The bridge goes over a dam and it collapsed. The cars drove over the collapsed bridge and were swept away by high volumes of water."

The bridge collapsed around 21:50 on Monday night, with six people initially killed and others missing.

"Police have retrieved the missing bodies," Mabuza said.

"The road has been closed that leads to Lothair, and will only be open for people residing in the area."

Motorists should use the R33, N17 and the Ermelo/Mpuluzi road as alternative routes.

"We have realised there is a prediction of higher rainfall in the province and people should be cautious when driving, especially when they see water on the road," Mabuza said.

"They should stop and inspect the water, because it could be dangerous to drive further down the road."

Wednesday 12 December 2012

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Bridge-collapse-Missing-bodies-found-20121211

14 die in Mpumalanga floods

The process of identifying the 14 people, including three children, who perished in a flooding incident near Ermelo in Mpumalanga, will begin today, police said.

A minibus taxi, along with a BMW, a Nissan bakkie and a Colt bakkie were washed 500 metres off Lothair Road into a dam just before 11pm on Monday.

Ermelo police Captain Carla Prinsloo said sudden heavy rainfall resulted in the force of the water sweeping away the entire road.

ER24 reported that 90mm of rain in a short time washed the road and vehicles away.

Prinsloo confirmed that 24 people had been involved in the incident, with eight taken to hospital and two escaping unharmed. Of the 14 bodies recovered, 11 were adults while three were children.

“Police divers recovered the body of a girl believed to be one or two- years-old,” said Prinsloo.

“The bodies of two boys believed to be between the ages of seven and 11 were also recovered.”

Prinsloo added that both passengers in the Nissan bakkie were found dead, while all the BMW passengers survived.

“We believe that all the people involved in the incident were accounted for,” she said.

Mpumalanga MEC for safety, security and liaison spokesman Joseph Mabuza confirmed that the Ermelo police station would be investigating the incident.

Additionally, the department of co-operative governance and traditional affairs in Mpumalanga warned residents of heavy rains expected over the next few days.

“The heavy rain could result in an increase of dam and river levels, thus making small streams and rivers very dangerous,” the department said in a statement.

In case of possible flooding, residents were advised to call Disaster Management on 0800-202-507.

The Johannesburg Emergency Management Services assured residents that a number of measures were in place to alert EMS of possible flooding in the city.

EMS spokesman Nana Radebe said Automatic Rainfall Systems, that alerts EMS of rising water levels, were in place in areas prone to flooding.

These areas include Orlando East in Soweto; Alexandra in the east of Johannesburg; and Pennyville on the outskirts of Soweto. New Canada Road in Pennyville was identified as being prone to flooding.

“We work closely with various stakeholders during flooding situations where a standard disaster plan is followed,” said Radebe.

“Disaster teams were specifically trained and equipped to deal with instances of flooding in Johannesburg.”

The Democratic Alliance’s shadow member of the mayoral committee for public safety, Mervyn Cirota said there had been problems with disaster management in Johannesburg in the past.

“A contingency plan does however exist to deal with disasters in the city,” he said.

“Hopefully disaster management has learned from past experiences on how to deal with future disasters.”

Wednesday 12 December 2012

http://www.citizen.co.za/citizen/content/en/citizen/local-news?oid=366749&sn=Detail&pid=146857&14-die-in-Mpumalanga-floods-

Aerial, sea search continues for 'Pablo' survivors

The search for the missing continues, as the government intensified its search and rescue efforts for the over 800 who are reported missing from Typhoon "Pablo."

Aside from the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine Coast Guard, the Bureau of Fishing and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), volunteer civilians and the fishing industry have come together to search for survivors by land, air and sea.

Lt Gen Jorge Segovia, who is in charge of the Search and Rescue Task Force under President Benigno Aquino III's directive, said on Wednesday, December 12, they are making progress in their operations. Segovia is the commander of the military's Eastern Mindanao Command based in Davao City.

Segovia said the Air Force has searched 75% of the area that they had been assigned to, and that relief goods have been dropped in isolated communities located by pilots.

Captain Robert Empedrad of the Philippine Navy, who is in charge of maritime search, also said that they have been successful in saving victims stranded at sea.

"As of this moment, we are able to recover already 35 bodies at sea," he said.

"The good news is that we also coordinated with the Indonesians because when we assessed the situation there is a possibility that some of our missing fishermen drifted to the Indonesian waters," he added.

Segovia also emphasized that they are not likely to end efforts anytime soon.

"We have not set a deadline for the end of the rescue effort. We are continuing to do our best to try to find survivors in this disaster," he said. "The relief operations will continue for a long, long time and, from what I saw, the rehabilitation will take a much longer time."

Of the reported missing, about 300 are said to be fishermen.

In addition to local ships that are scouring the area, Empedrad said the Indonesian government has also heeded their request to send one ship to the area south of Central Mindanao where they believe some of the missing fishermen may have drifted to. He said they have also received approval from Indonesia to conduct aerial searches there.

Empedrad admitted that he is not an expert on how long humans can stay lost at sea without dying, but was optimistic after the first set of survivors were found.

"It depends if, when they (got) lost, there were provisions that they had in their possession. But most of the rescued, recovered at sea have their own provisions. So they were able to survive because they had food to eat. But when we recovered them, they were somewhat injured. They were dehydrated," he said.

Segovia said they are using trucks, Navy ships and helicopters to deliver relief goods to far-flung communities, especially those isolated by broken bridges.

He also denied reports of chaos and violence in the disaster areas.

"Some of the rumors of mobs and rioting, and the lack of so many things (are) hardly true. I’ve been there, I was there during the first delivery in Banganga (Davao Oriental)," he said.

"I saw the relief goods on trucks. Except for minor incident involving the locals, the governor of Davao Oriental is very much in command of the situation."

Segovia also said that most of the provinces "are doing well" in terms of receiving relief and healthcare.

He commended the victims for their fighting spirit, and continued to ask for more donations to help in recovery efforts.

"I would say that the people of these devastated areas are very resilient, they are very patient. And, of course, as we go through with this disaster, we need more delivery of relief goods for us to assure our people that we are attending to them," he said.

Wednesday 12 December 2012

http://www.rappler.com/nation/17841-aerial,-sea-search-continue-for-pablo-survivors