9 dead, 9 missing in Lopez's Leyte power plant landslide

Nine are confirmed dead and nine are missing in a landslide that hit the Leyte geothermal power plant of the Lopez Group on Friday, March 1.

In a statement on Friday afternoon, March 1, Energy Development Corp. (EDC) said they are coordinating with the families of those affected by the landslide that occurred in its Upper Mahiao Geothermal Project in Leyte.

Upon confirmation with JA Arradaza Construction on Saturday, March 2, a subcontractor of First Balfour, which was working on the rig at the EDC plant in the mountains of Kananga, a total of 45 workers were affected by the incident.

This included some 21 workers who were receiving treatment in a clinic and 8 workers who were sent to hospitals.

Landslide

According to some survivors confined at the OSPA-Farmer’s Medical Center and Gatchalian Hospital, the landslide came rolling down from the top of a steep hill around 40 meters high near the rig.

They also shared that pandemonium broke out after a dense smoke enveloped the area where they were working. Due to panic, they just ran off in several directions.

They said they also heard a loud explosion, presumably the landslide. They were not sure if the the loud bang came first or the toxic fumes.

Confined at the Gatchalian Hospital are Ronelo Basan, 24; Romeo Binondo Jr., 32, Edgar Brigildo, 35; Mario Sergida, 22; Alimar Aseo, 19; Joebert Auman, 20 and Ramirito Manawatao, 40.

Attending nurses at the Gatchalian Hospital said that 4 of the confined patients suffered fractures while the remaining were confined for breathing problems after inhaling what is suspected as sulfuric smoke.

Treated for minor injuries were Roldan Rios, 28 and Bennie Leutero, 21.

Search and rescue

Rescuers are scrambling to find the 6 missing, hoping they still catch them alive.

“Time is of the essence here,” EDC Corporate Communications Officer Dave Devilles told local media. “EDC is using all its resources."

A joint emergency response team of EDC and the Leyte government is continuing their search and rescue operation for the missing workers.

"The Emergency Response Team and all available personnel as well as company resources and equipment have already been mobilized," the company said in the statement.

The staff of First Balfour, a sister firm of EDC, are prioritizing the retrieval operations but are sometimes interrupted by rain. They are awaiting a sniffing dog from the military.

Saturday 2 March 2013

http://www.rappler.com/nation/22868-9-dead-in-lopez-s-leyte-power-plant-incident

Memorial: Bethnal Green Tube Disaster, 1943

Seventy years ago this weekend, 173 people died and 90 were injured on the staircase of Bethnal Green Tube station in the worst civilian disaster of the Second World War. Yet no bombs were dropped on East London that night.

As the air raid sirens rang out across London on March 3 1943, hundreds of people headed underground to safety at Bethnal Green where the tube station was under construction. Plagued by bombing raids, Eastenders were no strangers to taking shelter, even in the pitch dark of a blackout. Working their way down the temporary steps that night, however, a lady carrying a child fell. The crowd pressed on into the darkness not knowing about the accident in the stairwell below. The resulting crush led to the deaths of 173 people, including 62 children, and injuries to 90 more.

Kingston University graduate Harry Paticas, whose practice Arboreal Architecture is based just around the corner from the station, was unaware of the disaster until a plaque caught his eye one morning on his way to work. "Where it was placed was just the sort of spot that people would rush past on their daily commute," Mr Paticas said. "I was determined to find out more about the disaster and I couldn't understand why such a great loss of life warranted only a small plaque. I felt sure there was a way to use my skills as an architect to help create a fitting tribute for these people and their families."

After six years' fundraising, designing, planning and negotiation, phase one has now been completed. It includes a white concrete plinth set in a landscaped area of granite slabs. As well as listing all the names of those who died, bronze plaques placed along the memorial feature testimonials from survivors, emergency services personnel and relatives of the victims. A reclaimed teak bench overlooking the area offers passers-by and family members a place for reflection, while a small light set in the ground matches the 25 watt light bulb that served the stairwell that fateful night. Funds for a stairwell-shaped canopy, also to be made of reclaimed teak, are still to be raised. Mr Paticas hopes the memorial can be completed later this year - 70 years on from the disaster.

Mr Paticas had his model of the memorial accepted for the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in 2012. "I wonder how many thousands have passed through the station and never known anything about this tragedy. This project has been a labour of love but I hope, once the memorial is complete, people will take the time to visit and learn more about this historic event."

Saturday 2 March 2013

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/life/courtsocial/article3703400.ece

http://www.kingston.ac.uk/news/article/827/01-mar-2013-architecture-graduates-bethnal-green-memorial-marks-wwiis-worst-civilian-tragedy/

Seven burnt to death in ambulance

An ambulance carrying a corpse and seven other persons ran into a bridge at Agona Bobikuma in the Central Region and caught fire, information reaching Adom News indicates.

All seven persons onboard were burnt to death.

An eyewitness, Kwame Addo told Adom News the unfortunate incident occurred at about 5.30pm Friday. He said the ambulance was carrying the corpse to a morgue.

Kwame added that the seven person who were burnt alongside the corpse included a Catholic priest whose name was only given as Father Yeboah.

Police and fire men have been called to the scene, he stated, and they are cutting away parts of the burnt ambulance to remove the bodies.

Friday 1 March 2013

http://edition.myjoyonline.com/pages/news/201303/102170.php

Fight for justice: the Bugaled Breizh disaster

Nine years after their loved ones perished on board a trawler in a suspected submarine accident, the families of the dead sailors continue their campaign for justice.

The French vessel the Bugaled Breizh sank claiming the lives of all five sailors on January 15, 2004, about 14 nautical miles (26 km) southwest of Lizard Point, Cornwall.

The grieving families were due to arrive in Cornwall today to show a film of the disaster made by Jacques Losay who is a relative of one of the lost sailors.

Details of when and where the film (The silent killer),will be shown this month have yet to be confirmed.

Exactly how the tragedy happened has never been fully established.

However, many believe the trawler was pulled under the waves after a submarine accidentally snagged its nets.

A specific submarine could not be identified because at the time of the incident there were a number in the area.

The ship briefly radioed it was sinking and disappeared very quickly in good weather conditions.

Only two bodies were recovered at the time – a third body was recovered during salvage operations.

Friday 1 March 2013

http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/Bugaled-Breizh-families-plan-film/story-18286405-detail/story.html#axzz2MLZCJIV6

Hope fades of recovering New Zealand mine blast victim’s body

The family of New Zealand mine blast victim Malcolm Campbell have finally given up hope that they will ever recover his body.

Malcolm (25), from St Andrews, died when a series of underground explosions ripped through the Pike River coal mine in November 2010.

On the second anniversary of the tragedy, his parents Malcolm and Jane, called for “definitive action” to recover his remains.

They travelled to New Zealand for a memorial service held in honour of the 29 workers, who included Pete Rodger (40) from Perth.

Independent experts had suggested it could still be possible to enter the collapsed mine to bring out the bodies.

This gave the Campbell family renewed hope that their son’s body could be retrieved and repatriated.

But, Mr Campbell, of Cameron, near St Andrews, told The Courier they had now all but given up on this after taking part in a video link discussion over a plan to recover the remains of the 29 men.

A group of around 20 from Pike River families, Solid Energy, the Mines Rescue Trust and the Government’s High Hazard Unit heard from UK experts via a video stream.

Mr Campbell said the New Zealand authorities had agreed to continue developing and assessing two potential methods of exploring the mine’s drift.

The aim of this is to seek further health and safety evidence that might help in prosecutions against the mine’s owners. The attempted recovery of the drift was a “massive and expensive task” costing tens of millions of pounds.

But Mr Campbell — who has talked about being on a “rollercoaster of emotion” — said it was clearly just too dangerous ever to attempt a recovery of the bodies.

He said: “We were speaking to the experts yesterday and they were saying it was unlikely they will ever go back into the main mine because it’s filled with 100% methane gas.

“They are going back into the drift to recover evidence, but they have no plan to go into the mine and are not going to get the bodies out. It’s just too dangerous.

“There’s no way we would ever want any more lives to be put at risk in that mine anyway, so as far as we’re now concerned it’s about us seeking closure. We just have to accept that’s where his body will be staying.”

Former Pike River Coal boss Peter Whittall has denied 12 charges of alleged health and safety failures over the disaster. He is due to stand trial on March 12.

However, Mr Campbell believes other mine managers might yet be held liable and the evidential search at the drift could be crucial.

Mr Campbell also remains hopeful that wider improvements to mine safety will result from the disaster, as New Zealand had one of the world’s worst mining safety records.

A report into the tragedy uncovered a catalogue of failures by the mine owner and New Zealand Government. At the start of November the New Zealand Royal Commission concluded the blast was “preventable”.

A statement on behalf of the Pike River drift exploration working group said a constructive meeting had been held. It had been agreed to continue developing and assessing two potential methods of exploring the mine’s drift.

Nicholas Davidson QC represents some of the Pike families at the meeting and said a deadline can’t be set just yet.

Family spokesman Bernie Monk said it will be an ongoing discussion, and they are not expecting a decision for months.

Friday 1 March 2013

http://www.thecourier.co.uk/news/local/fife/hope-fades-of-recovering-new-zealand-mine-blast-victim-s-body-1.72685

Death toll in market fire rises to 20

A 48-year-old person, injured in the Surya Sen Market blaze on Wednesday, died at the NRS Hospital on Friday morning taking the death toll to 20.

Meanwhile, the three agencies involved in the rescue-probe efforts, fire brigade, KMC and police, blamed "human negligence" for the disaster in their preliminary report submitted to chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday. The "sabotage" whiff, which the CM hinted on the day of the fire, however, didn't figure in it.

Fire services minister Javed Khan said: "Complete human negligence was behind the fire, for which the owners are responsible. There was only one entry and exit point in the building of that size. The mezzanine floor was illegal." What the minister said was nothing new, for Muchipara police on Wednesday night itself lodged an FIR against the three owners and the market committee president, for the incident.

The illegal mezzanine floor was controlled by the market committee. Though a part of the main building, this 18-odd foot space was given out by the original promoter Naren Saha to old settlers who refused to part with their holdings. All the 23 people (19 of them dead) were recovered by rescuers in this part.

"Today one more person died in the hospital. He was admitted to NRS with 80% burns," Joint CP (crime) Pallab Kanti Ghosh said, adding that a case has been filed against four persons but no arrest has been made so far. Meanwhile, forensic experts visited the site again on Friday and collected further samples. Ghosh said a case has been registered against four persons in connection with the fire.

The latest victim has been identified as Shankar Debnath (48), a resident of Talikhole in Nadia. He was admitted to NRS along with another victim Dinesh Chatterjee - for the past three days. The body was handed over to his relatives after the post mortem was completed at the hospital. The deceased was working in a shop selling plastic materials at the market. The news of the death took the assembled traders and labourers - most of them victims of the fire itself - in shock as they tried to remember Shankar who had returned to the market a few days ago after quitting his job. Some traders alleged that while politicians went to the Medical College Hospital, none visited NRS.

"His family should be compensated," said Shankar Ghosh, a local.

At the Kolkata Police Morgue, two bodies and a body part, among the previous 19 victims, are yet to be claimed among the 19 previous victims. Of this, one person is believed to be a fruit seller who used to stay there overnight for long. Though locals seem to know him, no blood-kin has stepped forward for identification.

Of the remaining bodies, police suspect of the remaining two one could be that of Ratan Poddar's. Ratan's mother Moumita Dutta Poddar - who has already lost her husband Radha Govinda Poddar in the fire - said none of the bodies are that of her son's. Ratan remains untraced in any local hospital too. A DNA test will now be conducted to establish whether any of these charred bodies is that of Ratan's.

The Lok Sabha on Friday condoled the deaths in the Surya Sen market blaze. Speaker Meira Kumar told the House, "As you are aware, 19 persons are reported to have been killed and several others injured in a major fire that broke out in a market in Kolkata on February 27, 2013. The House expresses its profound sorrow on this tragic incident which has brought pain and suffering to the affected families."

Friday 1 March 2013

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/Death-toll-in-market-fire-rises-to-20/articleshow/18758367.cms

36 Mwingi bus victims buried in mass grave

Thirty–six killed in the Wednesday morning Mwingi town bus accident were buried in the afternoon in a mass grave at the Muslim Cemetery in town.

“Three others were taken by their relatives, who said they will bury them at their homes,” said Sheikh Abdalla, one of the imams who were conducted the burials.

Abdalla said there bodies was 39. Mwingi District Hospital medical boss Samson Mugane said six of the accidents injured had been transferred to Nairobi for specialised treatment.

Two injured were taken to private hospitals as advised by their relatives. “We don’t have any victims here. Some were discharged and others have been taken by their relatives to seek medical care elsewhere,” said Mugane.

The dean of students at Mt Kenya University Emanuel Owour said among the dead were eight university students. Owuor said one student survived. He added that the students were going to vote in Mandera on Monday.

“We condole the families of the bereaved. We wish the survivors a quick recovery,” said Owuor. “It was one of the worst accidents I have ever witnessed.”

Mwingi police boss Simon Birir said they have launched investigations into the accident and the police are searching for the bus driver who disappeared immediately after the accident. The bus was reduced to a wreckage.

Friday 1 March 2013

http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/article-109934/36-mwingi-bus-victims-buried-mass-grave

FBI artists craft more busts to try to ID the dead

One man had a laminated card that said "Protect the Traveler."

Another wore a jogging shirt with the words "Snake Creek."

Both came to a lonely end three decades ago in Chesapeake, their remains discovered by strangers and never identified.

One died of a gunshot wound, the other of an unknown cause.

Now FBI artists have used their skulls to construct "facial approximations" in hopes the public can provide clues in identifying them.

Leah Bush, Virginia's chief medical examiner, presented the busts at a news conference in Norfolk on Thursday. FBI forensic artists and anthropologists at the FBI in Quantico crafted the busts from plastic and modeling material, using digitized computer imaging and skulls that Bush provided.

Bush oversees the remains of bodies that have never been identified, some dating back to the 1970s. There are some 200 of them, about a third of them homicide victims.

In 2011, she began collaborating with the FBI on facial approximations. A total of 15 have been presented across Virginia. Three have led to identifications - one each in Portsmouth, the Eastern Shore and Richmond.

Thursday's cases consisted of two from Chesapeake and two from Newport News. In a twist worthy of a "Bones" television episode, one case was first presented at a 2011 news conference in Norfolk as a woman, age 35 to 50, found near a Newport News warehouse. DNA testing later showed the body was a man's, so a new facial approximation was created and presented on Thursday.

The fourth bust was that of a man found floating in a Newport News boat harbor in the Chesapeake Bay.

Bush said identification can bring closure for family members who don't know what happened to their missing relatives, and also helps investigators in homicide cases.

"We have murderers walking free because we can't identify the decedent," Bush said. "This aids the police and it aids the family, so it's win-win for everybody."

Every year, about 4,000 unidentified bodies are recovered across the country. At the same time, as many as 100,000 people are listed as missing.

A clearinghouse called the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, or NAM/US, tries to make connections by cross-referencing databases of missing persons with another that lists characteristics of the unidentified dead.

Launched in 2009 by the U.S. Department of Justice, the site automatically sifts through the data, matching up cases with similar characteristics. It's often used by law enforcers and medical examiners, but it's free and available to anyone.

More sophisticated DNA testing has been helpful and is often included in the clearinghouse data. Facial approximations by FBI forensic artists also bring fresh attention to cases.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner at 683-8366.

Friday 1 March 2013

http://hamptonroads.com/2013/02/fbi-artists-craft-more-busts-try-id-dead

8 die, 9 missing as restaurant boat sinks in Baghdad river

A crowded floating restaurant loaded with dozens of guests sank in the Tigris River in central Baghdad late yesterday, leaving at least eight people dead and several others missing, according to officials.

The tragedy appeared to be an accident, with police saying the boat was over its capacity when it went down. Iraqi river police and a security official said there was no indication that a terrorist act was to blame.

Divers worked through the night and into Friday in murky waters to recover bodies from a partially sunken floating restaurant in Baghdad after an accident killed nine people attending a party for the local Caterpillar distributor.

The body of one man dressed in a black jacket was pulled to the surface around midday, drawing plaintive cries of "Allahu Akbar," or "God is great," from waiting family members on the banks of the Tigris River.

Plates of half-eaten food remained on restaurant tables onshore, a testament to the previous evening's panic.

The vessel was part of a popular Lebanese restaurant establishment in the Iraqi capital’s Karrada district.

The restaurant is one of several new businesses that have sprung up as Iraq’s economy has begun to improve in the years since the US-led invasion nearly a decade ago.

Ameer Ahmed was on board the boat when it started to go down and managed to swim to safety. He said the whole accident happened in a matter of minutes, and that there was a stampede as crowds tried to escape through the narrow door.

"The windows on the right side smashed inwards, flooding us with water," he said. "The scene reminded me of the movie 'Titanic.' I was lucky because I know how to swim."

Those on board the boat were attending an employee appreciation event for the local distributor of the bulldozer and heavy machinery manufacturer Caterpillar Inc.

At least eight bodies were pulled from the river, and the whereabouts of another nine people were unknown, police and hospital officials said. About 30 people were rescued initially, they said.

The muddy river water left divers with zero visibility, forcing them to search only by hand as they avoided chairs and other debris inside the submerged restaurant, he said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was under orders not to talk to the media.

Local TV aired footage showing people gathered at the entrance to the restaurant as bodies in black bags were loaded onto ambulances.

According to police, the boat had been moored to the riverbank and there appeared to be signs of decay on the metal joints that kept it attached to shore.

Baghdad Fire Chief Laith Yas Abbas happened to be dining at the onshore part of the club when the accident occurred. He returned to the site Friday to help oversee the recovery effort.

He told The Associated Press that about 120 people were trying to take a group photo on one side of the boat when it began to take on water. That sparked a panic as guests rushed toward the exit.

It is unclear whether the facility was up to safety standards. Regulatory oversight remains weak and corruption is deeply entrenched in Iraq.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to release details to the media.

Friday 1 March 2013

http://www.arabnews.com/middle-east/8-die-9-missing-restaurant-boat-sinks-baghdad-river

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/restaurant-boat-sinks-baghdad-dead-18622370

Six of the nine Hong Kong victims in the hot-air balloon crash in Luxor identified

Six of the nine Hong Kong victims in the hot-air balloon crash in Luxor have been identified by relatives but the remaining three are too badly disfigured and will need forensic or DNA tests.

Chief inspector Cheung Wai-man of the Hong Kong police said in Cairo yesterday that three men and three women had been visually identified. Two men and a woman remained unidentified although all three were confirmed to be from Hong Kong.

The relatives of the victims from three families spent nine hours visiting four Cairo hospitals where the bodies of all 19 crash victims are being stored.

They visited four Cairo hospitals with SAR government forensic experts. Police chief inspector Eric Cheung from the disaster victims identification unit said the process had not yet been completed, but he was confident the remaining three bodies would be identified.

Mr Cheung explained that the families had provided photos and other information to help the work, but there had been some difficulties over bodies that had been badly burned.

The relatives had been due to travel to the ancient city of Luxor, where the accident happened, to pay respects to the dead and perform rituals, but have now postponed the trip.

It had previously been stated that it wouldn't be possible to identify the bodies until Monday -- but the Chinese ambassador to Egypt, Song Aiguo, said his embassy had asked the local authorities to speed up the process

Forensic pathologist Dr Lai Sai-chak, one of 16 government officers sent to Cairo to assist the relatives, said some bodies could not be identified visually as their faces were disfigured. "This could be due to the fall from height," he said, referring to the stricken balloon's 300-metre plunge.

Psychologist Rosalie Lo Shuk-yee, sent to Cairo by the Hospital Authority, said the relatives were calm during the identification process.

When an accident unfortunately happens, we are all very sad and what we can do is to improve on all sides to reduce the possibility of it happening again

Meanwhile, Spanish balloon maker Ultramagic, which made the crashed balloon, offered condolences to the victims and their families. But it said balloons were still safe, with over 100,000 flights a year and very few accidents.

"When an accident unfortunately happens, we are all very sad and what we can do is to improve on all sides to reduce the possibility of it happening again," it said. The company said it had been told by a trustworthy source at the scene that the fire that caused the fatal crash was sparked by a gas leak from a hose broken by a rope that was wrapped around it. The rope was dropped to the ground and the hose began to leak when the ground crew pulled it.

"The gas escaping then started to burn and the balloon pilot had some fire in his face and he and another passenger jumped out of the basket," the firm said.

Friday 2 March 2013

http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1167635/relatives-identify-luxor-crash-victims