12 die in Bayelsa boat mishap

At least 12 persons among them four undergraduates were killed in a boat mishap along the Ikoli River at Ayama in Ogbia local government area of Bayelsa State leaving two others with fatal injuries.

The injured persons are in critical condition at an undisclosed hospital.

The tragic incident, we learnt, occurred on Christmas Day at about 8.25 pm when a passenger speedboat collided with a local cargo boat.

While the driver of the speedboat and 11 of his passengers were killed in the deadly collision, two others were said to have sustained fatal injuries and were in critical condition.

Those who lost their lives in the boat mishap include a lecturer in one of the higher institutions in the state, some students of Niger Delta University and University of Calabar.

As at press time, eight corpses had been recovered by local divers, who are still combing the bed of the river for other missing bodies.

The decomposing corpses of the accident victims, it was learnt, were, yesterday, deposited at the morgue of the Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa.

The passengers, including men and women, mostly students, were said to be fun seekers heading for Otuabula for a beach party to celebrate Xmas.

The incident reportedly occurred when the boat had taken passengers aboard and was heading back to Onuegbum when it collided with a wooden boat around Ayama on the Ikoli River.

A source from the riverine enclave, who blamed the accident on poor visibility, lamented that “the two boats involved in the accident had no light and were sailing blindly when they collided.”

Also, a member of Bayelsa State chapter of Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, Lloyd Sese, who confirmed the accident, expressed sadness, saying the incident happened at night on Christmas Day.

Boat drivers, he noted, are barred from operating at night due to the windy and treacherous nature of the rivers and creeks so as to avert avoidable mishap.

Contacted, the state police public relations officer, Mr. Alex Akhigbe, confirmed the incident but said information at his disposal was sketchy.

So far 8 corpses have been recovered from the river, the search is still ongoing for the remaining bodies.

Sunday 29 December 2013

http://www.osundefender.org/?p=141337

Some families prefer to wait for DNA matching

The agonising wait to claim the bodies of victims of the Nanded Express fire accident continued for their kith and kin on Sunday, as authorities struggled to expedite the process of matching the DNA profiles of those dead with their relatives.

Though 20 of the 26 bodies have been identified, authorities have handed over only 11 bodies to the relatives, based on the identification of the ornaments or watches worn by the victims. Relatives have not taken possession of the remaining eight bodies owing to a strange situation.

The State government has directed the relatives not to cremate the bodies but bury them, as it would be easier to exhume the bodies if there is any controversy.

“However, considering the religious beliefs, family members of the victims whose bodies have been identified have now decided to wait till the DNA profiles are matched,” explained P.K. Devdas, Head of Forensic wing of Victoria Hospital.

A pathetic scene was unfolding at the Victoria Hospital where the charred and unrecognisable bodies were preserved. Relatives were arguing with railway and police officials on the direction of “only burial” and also in respect of some victims who were declared missing or dead.

Authorities handed over six bodies on Saturday and five bodies, including that of Kandoba Kulkarni and Jui George, were handed over on Sunday. Railway authorities said that while 20 of the dead were identified, nine were found to be “feared dead or missing”. This observation was based on the list of passengers who boarded the train.

Railway Minister M. Mallikarjun Kharge said in Humnabad on Sunday that the high-level team that is investigating the accident would also suggest steps to check such incidents.

“A comprehensive set of measures will be initiated to avert accidents in future,” he said.

Sunday 29 December 2013

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/bangalore/some-families-prefer-to-wait-for-dna-matching/article5515903.ece

18 killed in one of Jakarta's worst road accidents of the year

Eighteen people who were on their way to attend a funeral at a village were themselves killed in a road accident when a pick up truck they were travelling in collided with a lorry laden with flour in Tongas, Probolinggo, Jawa Timur, Saturday afternoon.

In what the authorities described as the worst road accident in the country of the year which is coming to an end, the pick up truck with 32 passengers was trying to overtake another vehicle when it crashed into an oncoming lorry at about 4pm.

The impact of the accident saw most of the passengers thrown off the pick truck, resulting in 15 dead at the scene and three at a hospital later.

Jawa Timur police station's public relations officer Awi Setiyono said police were carrying out investigations to find out the cause of the accident and determine whether it was caused by human error or mechanical (condition of the vehicle).

Local media reported that the Tongas General Hospital was filled with gloom as families of the dead passengers arrived to claim their bodies and make arrangements to bury their remains.

Sunday 29 December 2013

http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v7/ge/newsgeneral.php?id=1004057

Remains of 104 Tohoku disaster victims still not identified

The National Police Agency says that the remains of 104 victims of the March 11, 2011 disaster in the Tohoku region have yet to be identified.

The NPA collated the information from prefectural police departments in the prefectures of Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima. Fuji TV reported that the remains of 70 people in Iwate, 33 in Miyagi and one in Fukushima, still have not been identified.

Overall, more than 2,500 victims remain missing. Of the missing people, Miyagi has the most at 1,394, followed by Iwate with 1,205 and 211 in Fukushima. Local police and coast guard members still conduct searches on the 11th day of each month but no bodies have been found this year.

NPA officials said they are trying to identify the remains through DNA matches and facial sketches. A spokesman said such techniques had helped the NPA identify 252 bodies in the past.

Initially, police relied on physical features and personal belongings to identify the remains of disaster victims, but as time passes, DNA has become the preferred method, the NPA spokesman said.

Sunday 29 December 2013

http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/remains-of-104-tohoku-disaster-victims-still-not-identified

Andhra Pradesh train tragedy: 20 of 26 bodies identified, relatives wait for DNA confirmation

Bangalore's Victoria Hospital became the centre of grief as family and friends of those who died in Saturday morning's horrific train fire in Andhra Pradesh waited to claim the bodies that were brought here yesterday afternoon. There has been a delay in handing over the bodies because some of them are so badly burnt that positive identification is not possible without DNA testing.

Chandrashekar's 60-year-old stepmother and her twin sister were among those travelling on the ill-fated Nanded Express. Both women, musicians Lalitha and Padmini, died in the fire.

"I was able to identify the bodies based on the ornaments they had worn... Just to be very sure, we are trying to undergo DNA testing," Chandrashekar, who was at the hospital, told NDTV.

Another family member, Ganesh Rao, said that information was hard to come by. "We came here yesterday evening and had to wait for five hours for basic information of who to contact, what documents to provide to claim the body."

Dr Devdas, Professor and Head of the Forensic Medicine Department of Bangalore Medical College, is helping with the entire process.

"Some of the other bodies have been identified but relatives don't want to take a chance and have agreed for a DNA test. When we proposed that it's a better way of identification rather than the visual identification, they understood and are waiting," he said, adding the process would take another day.

A railway help desk was set up at the hospital, with a list of those travelling in the coach that caught fire - under the headings of dead, injured and missing.

"Out of 26 bodies, 20 have been identified. And eight bodies have been handed over to the people. DNA sampling has been done for almost everybody and the DNA report may be available by tomorrow evening or morning," Anil Kumar Agarwal, Divisional Railway Manager told NDTV.

It will take a long time for the tears to dry for the families of those who lost their loved ones in Saturday's accident. The wait to claim the bodies to perform the last rites has only worsened their agony.

Sunday 29 December 2013

http://www.ndtv.com/article/south/andhra-pradesh-train-tragedy-20-of-26-bodies-identified-relatives-wait-for-dna-confirmation-464565?curl=1388334645

Nigeria: 15 bodies recovered from Benue boat mishap

No fewer than 15 corpses have been recovered after a boat capsized on River Buruku in Buruku local government area of Benue state.

The boat conveying over 50 passengers, including men and women that attended a picnic at the beach on Thursday night capsized. About 50 persons are feared dead and score others missing in the incident.

As at yesterday, the bank of River Buruku was crowded with family members and associates of the victims who went in search of their loved ones.

The development halted all commercial activities on the river bank.

Benue Police Public Relations Officer, Daniel Ezeala, said: "Fifteen dead bodies have been recovered so far by the search party and they are still searching for other missing persons."

According to Ezeala, the recovered bodies were found by men of the Boat Operators and Hirers Association at Buruku where the incident took place.

Meanwhile, family members of the victims have continued to lament the loss of their loved ones following the boat mishap. They appealed to the government to intervene in the rescue and recovery operations.

Sunday 29 December 2013

http://allafrica.com/stories/201312280004.html