All 20 bodies found in helicopter crash in north India

Paramilitary soldiers on Wednesday recovered 20 bodies from a steep hillside in northern India where a helicopter crashed while on a mission to rescue people stranded in monsoon floods, the country's air force chief said.

The helicopter crashed late Tuesday when its rotor blades hit the hillside while returning with survivors of flooding and landslides that have killed more than 1,000 people and washed away thousands of homes, roads and bridges since mid-June in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand.

Soldiers using ropes reached the crash site early Wednesday and found the bodies of 20 people, including five air force crew members, Air Chief Marshal N.A.K. Browne told reporters.

The helicopter's cockpit voice recorder was recovered and an inquiry has been ordered to determine the cause of the crash, Browne said.

Some 45 aircraft have been used in rescue and relief operations, but bad weather has dogged the efforts since Sunday, with intermittent rain and dense fog hanging over the mountains.

Troops on Wednesday were trying to rescue about 5,000 people who remained stranded in the towns of Badrinath and Harsil 10 days after torrential rains triggered the flooding and landslides in Uttarakhand.

Browne visited the hill town of Gauchar, where the air force has mounted its relief and rescue operations. He assured flood survivors that helicopters would rescue everyone stranded in Uttarakhand despite the bad weather and poor visibility.

Hundreds of thousands of Hindus make the Char Dham Yatra pilgrimage to four temple towns in Uttarakhand each year, usually returning home before monsoon rains in July make the mountainous area much more treacherous, but unprecedented heavy rains fell around mid-June this year and caught many by surprise.

About 92,000 people from hundreds of villages and towns hit by the floods have been rescued. Landslides and floods flattened entire towns, roads were washed away and communication links snapped, cutting off many people and necessitating air rescues.

Wednesday 26 June 2013

http://news.yahoo.com/20-bodies-found-helicopter-crash-north-india-075259375.html

Delhi Police mistakingly uploads living guru's photo in category of unidentified bodies

The ZIPNet or the Zonal Integrated Police Network is one project which is key to Delhi Police plans for the future. The aim is to share crime and criminal information in real-time with police forces of other states — in short, it's a database pool in the police and public domain, of information ranging from FIRs to arrested persons to unidentified bodies.

But a UP policeman's attempts to familiarise himself with the ZIPNet went horribly wrong recently, prompting Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar to send a circular to eight states, explaining the need for caution while updating the database.

The policeman in Aligarh, while learning to use the ZIPNet for missing people and unidentified bodies, made a random picture selection for the trial run and ended up uploading the photograph of a well-known spiritual leader under the category of 'Unidentified dead bodies'.

The policeman tried to delete the entry he had made but soon realised that only the administrator in Delhi had the rights to do it. Instead of alerting his superiors, the policeman chose to remain quiet and the photo remained on the page for more than two days.

The blunder was brought to the notice of the Delhi Police by angry followers of the spiritual leader after they spotted his photograph in the category of unidentified bodies. So agitated were these followers that they turned up at the police headquarters to stage a protest.

They calmed down only after assurances from the police that the photograph would be removed and officers instructed to exercise caution while using the ZIPNet.

In the circular he sent to ZIPNet member states, Commissioner Neeraj Kumar said even if officers accidentally upload and save any incorrect information, they should alert

the Delhi administrator instead of trying to "brush it under the carpet".

Wednesday 26 June 2013

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/cop-blunders-uploads-living-gurus-photo-in-category-of-dead/1133829/

Govt braces for DNA profiling as hope fades for the missing

Before the first lot of mass cremations of the Uttarakhand flash flood victims on Wednesday, the government is getting ready to undertake one of its biggest DNA profiling of the dead.

DNA profiles are encrypted sets of numbers that reflect a person’s DNA makeup and can be used as an identifier.

In a situation where bodies are decomposed beyond recognition, washed away or missing, this will possibly be the only way family and friends of victims find closure. A team of 42 forensic experts and scientists headed for Kedarnath on Tuesday and more are expected to join in a day or two as the weather clears. But the biggest challenge is to transport, collect and preserve body cells for DNA profiling for such a large number of people in a far-flung area.

For now, however, relatives of the missing are grasping at straws.

Take the case of Venkatesh Lenka, 24, from Chhattisgarh.

Lenka’s parents and grandmother were putting up at a dharmashala in Kedarnath when she last heard from them on June 16. Every day since she arrived in Dehradun, Lenka has been running from pillar to post trying to trace her lost family along with hundreds of others.

While many of them are frequenting the Doon helidrome daily with photographs of missing relatives, there are some who have embarked on a search operation on their own.

But with every passing day their hopes wane. Kishore Johari from Delhi, six of whose family members are missing, says, “I went up to Guptkashi and Fata (places en route Kedarnath) but couldn’t find my family. I need a miracle.”

Around 882 unidentified bodies are lying across the state, an and a huge pile of decaying bodies is lying in Kedarnath, said an official.

Wednesday 26 June 2013

http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NorthIndiaRainFury2013/Govt-braces-for-DNA-profiling-as-hope-fades-for-the-missing/Article1-1082436.aspx

More feared dead as 37 bodies recovered after Central African Republic mine collapse

The Presidency of Central African Republic has confirmed that 37 people died in the recent gold mine collapse and expressed fear that the toll could be even higher.

"More bodies could not be found. There is a possibility of the death toll rising," the Presidency said in a statement on Monday.

"It was a small-scale mine exploited by a company that was seeking to set up its industrial equipment. This could have contributed to the unfortunate incident that took place," Prosper Ndouba, the spokesman for the presidency, told Xinhua on phone.

He said all the victims were of Central African Republic's nationality, adding that many others were injured in the accident.

Ndouba said the mining site is located at Ndassima in Bambari region, 440 km east of the capital Bangui. It is a zone that is rich in minerals, especially gold and iron, he disclosed.

The mine collapsed on Sunday due to heavy torrential rains. In total, 37 bodies were recovered from the scene of the accident. But the toll could be higher, the national radio said, citing eyewitnesses who had been interviewed.

Central African Republic's President Michel Djotodia sent his condolences to the families of the victims and declared three days of national mourning with flags flying at half mast on Tuesday.

The country boasts huge mineral potential, with at least 470 different minerals identified.

However, the exploitation of minerals, always done on small scale, is concentrated on diamond and gold.

Despite its rich resources, the country has witnessed numerous coups since attaining independence in 1960, the latest being in March when Djotodia led his forces to overthrow Francois Bozize.

Speaking 10 days ago in the Gabonese capital Libreville at a summit of the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC), Djotodia announced, "After several months of conflict and looting, security was progressively returning to the country."

Wednesday 26 June 2013

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/africa/2013-06/25/c_132485455.htm

All bodies of Romanians who died in Montenegro bus crash identified

The bodies of the 18 Romanians who died in a bus crash on the weekend in Montenegro were brought to Romania on June 25, two days after the crash, and all of them were identified. Meanwhile, the 29 injured were also brought back home and admitted to several Bucharest hospitals, and some of them are still in critical condition, on life support and in a coma. Romania is holding a a day of mourning on Wednesday, June 26, to commemorate the victims of the crash.

The procedure to identify the victims took around five hours. The team that carried out the identification included eight doctors, out of which two from Montenegro, as well as 40 cops from the Criminal Investigations Directorate, 15 criminologists, and the victims’ families. Families of the deceased have already started taking the bodies home for burial, after having been informed by mixed teams of police and psychologists. The Montenegrin authorities agreed to sending the bodies to Romania only if doctors from Montenegro attended the identification procedures.

Romania sent two military planes to Montenegro on Tuesday, June 25, one of them transported the bodies, and the other, the stable patients.



This is one of the largest such actions organized by Romania, and was one of the biggest car accidents involving that many Romanian victims abroad. As many as 18 Romanians died on Sunday, June 23, in a bus crash in Montenegro. The other 29 people on the bus were injured with serious wounds, out of which 7 were in intensive care in the Podgorita hospital, according to the Romanian authorities. The 47 people, including a child who was also injured, were on a tour organized by Mareea Travel, and by the bus operator Gregory Tour. Two drivers and a guide were also among the 47, and one of the drivers and the guide died in the accident.

The Romanian tourists were on a six-day touristic circuit in Montenegro and Croatia, having left on Saturday, June 22 from Bucharest, stopped in Belgrade for one night, and drove further on Sunday, June 23. The Mareea Travel tour operator’s representative Marius Usturoi said they have worked before with the bus operator Gregory Tour, without ay other incidents, and that there is no explanation for the crash, as both the bus and the drivers were in the best condition.

The crash happened in Grlo, where the bus fell 40 meters down into an abyss from a mountain bridge, 30 kilometers from Podgorita, where the injured were taken to the hospital. According to eye witnesses, the bus first hit the balustrade of the bridge when exiting a tunnel, then fell, where it hit the rocks, although without falling all the way down to the River Moraca. The area is known as being dangerous for drivers, especially during tourist season, as the road is narrow, and accidents are common.

Wednesday 26 June 2013

http://www.romania-insider.com/bodies-of-romanians-who-died-in-montenegro-bus-crash-return-home-some-of-the-injured-still-in-critical-condition/102555/

Indian Air Force helicopter crashes; four more bodies found

An Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopter on a rescue mission crashed in Uttarakhand this evening. Government sources say 20 people were on board and there are no survivors. But twelve bodies have been found. Air Force officials have identified five crew members and three civilians.

The National Disaster Management Authority said para-military officers were also on the helicopter.

Garud commandos have reached the site of the crash and will have more information soon, said Air Force sources.

Within minutes of the crash, the Air Force said its rescue operations would continue as planned, illustrating the heroism and sacrifice that has suffused its largest relief and rescue mission ever.

The Air Force said the helicopter that crashed this evening had been sent on a rescue mission from the town of Gauchar, serving as a hub of relief and rescue operations, to Guptakashi and Kedarnath, the epicentre of the devastation caused by torrential rains in the hilly state.

The risk under which the Air Force is flying through treacherous terrain, air-lifting pilgrims and air-dropping commandos and soldiers to temporary camps was on display all day today. Each time the rain let up, or the cloud cover improved, helicopters would head out.

Wednesday 26 June 2013

http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/uttarakhand-indian-air-force-helicopter-crashes-twelve-bodies-found-384116