Christchurch Coroner's report: CTV rescue was never possible

A coroner's court has found it was never possible to rescue the eight people who survived for hours in the rubble of Christchurch's CTV building after a violent collapse. CTV rescue was never possible....

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The horrific accident that claimed 16 lives

It was the country's worst road accident more than four decades ago. Fifteen people either died instantly or within minutes or hours after the accident while the 16th died the next day. And the...

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Robot sub in search for 8 Chinese after Japan ship crash

Search teams have used a remote-controlled submarine in the hunt for the bodies of eight Chinese mariners after the collision of two cargo ships in Tokyo Bay, a Japanese coastguard official said today....

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Missing persons number from Washington landslide falls from 90 to 30

Hundreds of family photos have been found after the massive landslide in Washington, helping to bring the number of missing persons down to 30. According to the Associated Press, debris continues...

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1912: Block of wood in propellor led to the death of 14 submariners

Of all the incidents at sea involving naval vessels, the sinking of a submarine while submerged must fill most of us with dread. Sadly that is what happened to the submarine A3 when on battle trials...

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MH370 kin can get deaths certified without bodies, lawyers say

The families of Malaysians thought to have been killed on Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 may be able to prove the death of their loved ones even though no bodies have been recovered, escaping potentially...

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Indian Air Force cargo plane crashes, killing all 5 crew

An Indian Air Force cargo plane crashed on Friday, killing its crew of five, in the latest of a string of accidents to spotlight poor safety standards across the country's armed services. Last month,...

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Another body found in U.S. mudslide as fears grow for missing

Authorities combing a massive mud pile left by a Washington state landslide that buried dozens of homes said on Friday they were bracing for the worst for 90 people still listed as missing, in one...

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DNA tests identify 10 more Rana Plaza victims

The National Forensic DNA Profiling Laboratory has identified ten more Rana Plaza victims who were buried without identification, officials said. With the latest detection, the number of victims...

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South Korea returns bodies of hundreds of Chinese soldiers

South Korea on Friday repatriated the remains of 437 Chinese soldiers killed during the Korean War six decades ago, making a gesture symbolic of warming ties between the two nations. China sent...

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Missing-Persons list in Washington mudslide disaster a work in progress

Five days after a catastrophic mudslide buried a rural area near Oso, Wash., killing at least 16 people, authorities raced to locate survivors. The list of those reported unaccounted for or missing...

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Uganda: Lake Albert boat disaster toll climbs to 251

More than 251 Congolese refugees perished in the weekend sinking of a crowded boat on Lake Albert, between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, Kinshasa said Thursday. Government spokesman...

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Washington rescue workers continue search for mudslide survivors

Rescue workers were continuing to search for scores of people still listed missing after a catastrophic landslide in Washington state, as river water backed up behind the debris field. Sixteen bodies...

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MH370 Crash: Spiritual rites dim as uncertainty of finding bodies abound

Perth braces as hundred of grieving and agitated families of MH370 passengers are expected to travel as soon as wreckage is found. Traveling to Perth is the closest they can get to the final place...

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Chinese relatives of those on MH370 flight to make spiritual journey to Perth

Hundreds of relatives of the passengers and crew of the missing Malaysian Airlines flight are expected to travel to Perth in coming days if wreckage is found, a journey that is particularly significant for Chinese families with traditional spiritual beliefs. West Australian Premier Colin Barnett said on Wednesday he expected ''several hundred'' grieving family members to arrive. ''My understanding is that particularly relatives of the Chinese passengers who presumably have lost their lives will want to come to Perth to be as close as possible to the final place,'' he told 6PR radio. Gary Sigley, a professor of Asian Studies at the University of Western Australia, said there was a traditional Chinese folk belief that those who die tragically in the wilderness, or whose bodies are not recovered, cannot find their way to the ancestral spirit realm. ''There is a special festival to placate these spirits called the 'hungry ghost festival',''...

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Yolanda victims’ bodies still being found; identification process to last 3 years

Vernabeth Amarilla and her family were both relieved and heartbroken when the authorities recovered the body of her grandmother last Sunday. Although the body was now in an advanced state of decay,...

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Jet fragments could help locate body of pilot missing since 1962

First Lieutenant Yakir Naveh and flight cadet Oded Koton were killed 52 years ago when their Fouga plane crashed into the Sea of Galilee • It took a year to recover Koton's body; Naveh's remains are...

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Washington mudslide: More bodies found, many missing

Authorities say they have recovered the bodies of two more people killed in a massive mudslide in the US state of Washington, bringing the total to 16. The officials said they thought they had located...

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Death toll in western Ugandan boat accident rises to 108 people

The death toll in the weekend boat accident in western Uganda has risen to 108 from 19 that were reported on Saturday. David Kazungu, Commissioner for Refugees in the ministry of relief, disaster...

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30 people killed in Thailand bus crash

A double-decker bus carrying municipal workers on a field trip in western Thailand plunged off a steep road and into a ravine, killing at least 30 people and injuring 22 others, officials said on Tuesday....

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Typhoon Haiyan: Storm victim’s body left to hang on a tree

The body of a boy was dug up in this city almost five months after super typhoon “Yolanda” devastated the Eastern Visayas region, but the authorities just left the boy’s cadaver in a body bag literally...

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Malaysia plane: How do you mourn a missing person?

The relatives of passengers on board the missing Malaysian Airlines plane have been told the plane crashed in the ocean, with no survivors. So how hard is it to mourn a missing person? When flight...

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El Salvador: Digging to solve hundreds of gang murders

El Salvador is a nation riddled with gangs - and consequently has one of the highest murder rates in the world. Most crimes go unpunished, but one man spends his time in the mountains, digging up the...

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Hub bus disaster: Victims put to rest in mass grave, DNA taken

Funeral prayers were offered for the victims of a road tragedy in Hub that claimed 38 lives, according to a media report. The bodies of 29 victims and body parts and ashes of others were buried in...

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Washington mudslide: death toll rises to 14 with 176 reports of missing

Authorities say the death toll from a massive mudslide in a rural part of Washington state has risen to 14 after searchers found six additional bodies among the debris, as dozens more remain unaccounted...

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