Nanded Express fire: wrong body taken to Sedam

DNA profiling to confirm the identity of the persons who died in the Bangalore-Nanded Express fire accident has revealed that the body of Ishwar Nagre, a resident of Aurangabad, had been handed over to the relatives of Bhimayya S., a native of Sedam in Gulbarga.

The case of mistaken identity was realised when one of the DNA profiles of the dead person did not match with that of the relatives.

Officials overseeing the process of releasing the bodies to the relatives confirmed that the body taken away for the last rites by the relatives of Bhimayya, a former member of the Gulbarga Zilla Panchayat, was in fact the body of Ishwar Nagre (70).

On the condition of anonymity, the officials said that the body of Ishwar Nagre was handed over to the relatives of Bhimayya on Saturday night due to “political pressure”. Bhimayya’s body has been interred.

“However, the body will be exhumed and taken to Ishwar Nagre’s native place from Sedam on Wednesday,” the officials added. The body was handed over on the condition that it would not be cremated and that the relatives will exhume it, if DNA profiling did not match, they said.

When contacted over phone, Bhimayya’s relatives in Sedam said that there was no communication to them yet about the DNA match results. The officials, however, expect them to arrive in Bangalore on Wednesday to receive Bhimayya’s body.

Meanwhile, officials of the forensic wing at Victoria Hospital said that the DNA profile of one of the 26 dead persons did not match with that of the relative. But, the officials were quick to attribute this to a “technical reason”. Hence, the officials will now repeat the process.

As most of the bodies were charred beyond recognition, the authorities had to carry out DNA profiling to avoid confusion when relatives came to claim the bodies.

Wednesday 01 January 2014

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/nanded-express-fire-wrong-body-taken-to-sedam/article5523616.ece

El Salvador: Macabre discovery of mass grave

In a dense forest in the municipality of Colón, 20 kilometers west of San Salvador, 44 victims of the violence committed by the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and Barrio 18 gangs have been found in mass graves.

The Attorney General’s Office (FGR) and the Elite Organized Crime Division (DECO) of the National Civil Police (PNC) began their search in mid-November, using undercover work through which they determined the victims were killed by gangs.

By early December, prosecutors and Institute of Legal Medicine (IML) forensic experts had started removing the mutilated, half-naked, bullet-ridden bodies stacked in graves within a 200-square-meter area.

“They managed to find 14 mass graves containing the victims’ remains,” said Rodolfo Delgado, head of the FGR’s Specialized Organized Crime Unit. “The bodies were inside plastic bags, dismembered. Some of them were incomplete.”

The El Limón estate, where the bodies were found, is the largest clandestine cemetery attributed to gangs to date. The PNC has detained four Barrio 18 members who allegedly had some personal belongings from three of the victims in their possession.

While authorities assemble the pieces of this puzzle, apprehension and fear are in the air in the neighborhoods surrounding the El Limón estate.

In the neighborhoods of Villa Lourdes and Nuevo Lourdes, the gangs leave their mark on the walls of the poorest homes. Some residents have missing family members, and the thought they may be buried at the estate is constantly on their minds.

Eduardo Pérez Sánchez, a 30-year-old agricultural worker from the Lourdes canton, has hoped every night since December 2009 that his brother, Manuel Antonio, would finally come home.

“We haven’t heard anything about him since then,” he said. “People can’t tell us much and we’ve looked high and low. We don’t have any ties with gang members, nor did he. We’ve gone to see whether he was in the cemetery at the estate, but they still haven’t identified all of the bodies, so we have to wait.”

The IML is working to identify the bodies that have been exhumed.

“We’re taking DNA samples from potential family members,” IML Director Miguel Fortín said. “If a body is not identified, its DNA will be stored in a special bag. The body will be sent to a general grave and can be removed if family members are identified.”

Dozens of people roam the corridors of the morgue. They hang photographs of their family members and leave their contact information, hoping to find a clue of their whereabouts.

“I came to leave my sister’s picture. She disappeared in August of last year,” said Julia Elena Cabrera, a 30-year-old seamstress who works in an export manufacturing plant in the municipality of Antiguo Cuscatlán. “We haven’t heard any news about her and now that they’ve found this cemetery in Lourdes, we’re afraid that she’ll be found there. If we find her, it would at least put an end to our anguish and we would give her a proper burial.”

The horrifying scene shows gang members have continued to murder despite the gang truce of March 2012, authorities said.

“The truce doesn’t exist. In reality, there hasn’t been any kind of truce,” Delgado said. “Salvadorans continue to die and their bodies are being hidden. [This discovery] is objective evidence that gangs never abandoned their criminal activity.”

The IML reported 2,284 homicides between January and November 2013 compared to 2,426 deaths during the same period in 2012. In November of this year alone, there were 256 murders, an average of 8.5 a day. In November 2012, 177 people died, 5.9 per day.

Israel Ticas, an FGR forensic investigator, said the clandestine cemetery shows the gangs are changing their methods for burying their victims.

“Now they’re using ravines, inaccessible places, rugged terrain and cliffs,” he said. “They make improvised graves out of wood or bamboo.”

Justice and Security Minister Ricardo Perdomo said the PNC is working to dismantle the gangs.

“It isn’t enough to generalize that gang members have taken control of certain parts of El Salvador,” Perdomo said. “The population has to report this information so the PNC can take immediate steps and crack down on those who break the law. We want to send a message to these criminals: We will step up our enforcement against them.”

Wednesday 01 January 2014

http://infosurhoy.com/en_GB/articles/saii/features/main/2013/12/31/feature-01

Antado accident victims identified

Ten victims, including two sets of female twins who perished in the Antado motor accident that claimed 15 lives on Monday have been identified by relatives at the Central Regional Teaching Hospital Morgue.

As at 11:30hrs on Tuesday morning, when the Ghana News Agency (GNA) left the Morgue, the bodies made up of six females and four males

Grieving bereaved families who had besieged the morgue to identify family members said they were devastated by the loss of their relatives.

Administrator of the Hospital, Mr Yaw Adjei Frimpong told the GNA that police was yet to present the coroner’s report to enable the pathologist perform a post-mortem before the bodies would be released to their respective families for burial.

Meanwhile, Master Kennedy Buadu, the 17- year-old sole survivor of the accident who sustained severe head injury and fracture of the left arm has been transferred to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi for further treatment.

Master Buadu, a final year student of Golden Gate Senior High School in Shama in the Western Region had been working as a mate to the driver of the Mercedes Sprinter mini bus on vacations, his relatives revealed.

The accident occurred when the driver of the articulated truck from Takoradi heading towards Accra burst a tyre, lost control and slammed into the Mercedes Sprinter mini bus which was travelling in the opposite direction but had parked to avoid a collision on seeing the truck.

Two occupants of a Toyota Hilux pick-up which was behind the bus escaped unhurt.

Wednesday 01 January 2013

http://vibeghana.com/2013/12/31/antado-accident-victims-identified/

DNA sampling rule considered for sea burials

Taking DNA samples from bodies to be buried at sea could become a legal requirement, in a move being considered by the government.

The proposal was first put forward by the Isle of Wight Coroner in 2006 after six bodies buried at sea washed up there over four years.

A site off the Needles is one of only three licensed sea burial sites in the UK.

The proposal is being considered by the Marine Management Organisation (MMO).

The organisation is working with the Home Office on the plan.

The other two sites are off Tynemouth, North Tyneside, and between Hastings and Newhaven in East Sussex.

Fishing gear risk

In September, the body of a woman buried at sea off Jersey was recovered by a lifeboat seven nautical miles north of the island.

The MMO, which controls and issues licences for all sea burials, said in a statement: "Unfortunately, despite the steps which must be followed prior to a burial at sea taking place, there is still a risk of the body being returned to shore or being caught up in fishing gear.

"Such rare events naturally cause considerable distress to relatives, friends of the deceased and all concerned, as well as considerable cost to the relevant authorities to identify the body.

"DNA testing prior to a burial at sea taking place is being considered as a proportionate and cost-effective measure in order to enable the identification of any remains, should the need arise.

"We are working with the Home Office to ensure possible processes are as straightforward and cost-effective as possible."

A spokeswoman said more details on the plan would be announced in the new year.

A newsletter from the Home Office Pathology Unit issued to coroners' offices stated that once the requirement was introduced, the DNA would be stored on the missing persons database so that any remains washed up could be easily identified.

John Lister, managing director of Devon-based Britannia Shipping Company, which specialises in sea burials, said he had hardly ever heard of bodies later washing up.

The firm carries out the majority of sea burials in the UK, and the Needles spoil ground is the most common site.

Mr Lister said his firm made its own coffins to "very strict specifications".

Each is lined with concrete to which a wire mesh cage is attached with wire cables, should the wood casing be damaged or break off.

He said they put identification straps on bodies and DNA tests were difficult on bodies that had been in the water for a long time.

He added: "After 18 months a body will have completely disappeared, and after three years the coffin will have broken up - it is completely biodegradable."

Spoil sites are marked on charts and cannot be trawled or dredged by fishing boats.

Mr Lister has officiated at more than 200 sea burials, but he says fewer and fewer people are choosing to be buried at sea.

'Unselfish act'

Ten years ago he would carry out more than a dozen a year, but this year there was only a few - with the last one a month ago.

Figures from the MMO show that in 2002, there were 21 sea burials in the UK. In 2012 there were just four.

"It's getting less and less common, I think because all the veterans from World War Two are no longer with us," Mr Lister said.

"But we still have several hundred people on our books who are, not waiting, but whose wish is to be buried at sea.

Mr Lister said he had not yet been informed of the plan to bring in DNA sampling, but does not believe it will impact on the decisions made by his clients.

"[Having a sea burial] is normally something people are passionate about for 20 or 30 years before they die.

"It's a deeply unselfish act. They often don't want a headstone somewhere that family need to feel responsible for tending to.

"One lady with a son in America and a daughter in Australia didn't feel it was fair on them with a grave here."

He says others chose it because they feel they "belong all over the world" not just in one country.

Number of UK sea burials

2013 - 8 (until September)
2012 - 4
2011 - 4
2010 - 11
2009 - 9
2008 - 11
2007 - 16
2006 - 8
2005 - 15
2004 - 13
2003 - 14
2002 - 21
2001 - 16

Source: Marine Management Organisation

Wednesday 01 January 2014

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-25335350