Stampede at China religious event kills 14

A religious temple was the scene of a stampede that killed 14 people and injured 10 others in northwestern China Sunday.

According to China’s Xinhua news agency, the stampede occurred during a ceremony commemorating a deceased religious figure at a temple and killed 14 attendees. The ceremony includes the handing out of traditional food to attendees, and it was during the distribution of this food that the stampede broke out, reportedly.

The site of the mishap was a temple in Guyuan city in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region of China.

Besides the 14 killed people in the stampede, four temple-goers were left in critical condition and six other Chinese were treated in hospital, Xinhua reported.

Monday 06 January 2014

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/06/us-china-stampede-idUSBREA0500J20140106

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Los Roques plane crash: Missoni’s body is still not found

The body of missing fashion executive Vittorio Missoni has still not been found, a statement from the Missoni family confirmed today. The Italian businessman and brother of Angela Missoni disappeared on January 4 2013, after a plane carrying him and five other passengers vanished from radars off the Los Roques coast in Venezuela.

The wreckage was found in June last year and in October, reports emerged that the remains of the passengers had been recovered - although the family has now confirmed that only the bodies of the two Venezuelan pilots and Missoni's life partner, Maurizia Castiglioni, were identified. The search for Missoni continues.

"As of today there have been no biological remains found that identify Vittorio Missoni, Guido Foresti or Elda Scalvenzi," a Missoni statement read. "In Venezuela the investigation to determine the causes and dynamics of the accident and the identity of all passengers are ongoing. In thanking the Venezuelan government and the Italian government for all their efforts in these months, the families sincerely hope that the underwater exploration of the remaining parts of the wreckage, already identified, will within a short time bring the recovery and the identification of Vittorio Missoni, Guido Foresti and Elda Scalvenzi."

Since the disappearance of Missoni, who oversaw all business aspects of the label, changes are being considered in terms of the brand's future - which could include a possible IPO. Nothing has been confirmed yet.

Monday 06 January 2014

http://www.vogue.co.uk/news/2014/1/6/vittorio-missonis-body-still-missing---search-continues

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Tanzania: Five drown, more missing in Isles boat mishap

At least five people have been found dead and 15 others are missing after their boat, MV Kilimanjaro II, was struck by a strong wave at Nungwi area when heading to Unguja Island from Pemba, eyewitnesses and port authorities said.

There were 456 passengers onboard, 396 of them adults and 60 children, according to North Unguja Regional Police Commander (RPC) Khalfan Mohamed Msangi.

Details of the deceased were not revealed but Zanzibar North A District Commissioner (DC), Ms Riziki Simai, confirmed that five bodies were retrieved while three others were saved, adding that the the search continues.

"I last communicated with my son over the phone as he screamed for help, telling me that they were dying. The boat has arrived, but my 17-year old son is missing," Mr Abdullah Mohammed, who was at the Zanzibar seaport to enquire about his son, said.

He was joined by other survivors, including Mr Suleiman Said (22), who said he had not seen his two brothers. He witnessed the boat in which they were travelling forced to lean on one side, causing several properties to fall into the water while some people also fell off the boat.

Suleiman said that the boat managed to dock at Malindi Port. Crew members of the boat, owned by Azam Marine Company, refused to talk to reporters who turned-up at the port to collect information on the incident.

The Azam Marine management at the port only opted to talk to Azam Television reporters." Fortunately, the Zanzibar Maritime Authority (ZMA) Director, Mr Abdi Omar Maalim, came to speak to the irritated reporters, confirming that the vessel experienced problems while on its way from Pemba to Unguja.

"We are still investigating reports that some people are missing and some properties drowned when a wave struck the boat at Nungwi peninsula, causing mayhem and panic among passengers," said Mr Maalim.

Government officials and Azam Marine management are blamed for not responding well to the disaster. "Some government officials were slow in acting, while Azam Marine officers provided misleading information," said an independent diver who requested anonymity.

He informed reporters that a team of divers from the rescue unit were sailing to Nungwi area, a highly turbulent area with heavy waves.

More than 200 people died at the same place in 2011 when a boat 'MV spice Islander' capsized while on its way to Pemba. Later in July 2012, another boat MV Skirgit capsized in the area while sailing to Zanzibar, killing more than 140 people.

The search team includes the police and divers from marine unit (KMKM) and the ZMA director said that a detailed report would be released as soon as investigations were over.

Monday 06 January 2014

http://allafrica.com/stories/201401060031.html

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Experts find in 2013 remains of 20 missing in Argentina

After arduous and meticulous research, Argentine forensic anthropologists managed to find and identify in 2013 the remains of 20 people, victims of repression during the State terrorism of the last civil-military dictatorship (1976-1983).

In this task, dedicated to restoring the truth and memory, participated and coordinated the work mainly the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team, and was supported, for example, by the Group of Anthropology Memory and Identity of Tucumán, among others .

The summary of the findings of the remains, among which is the young Cuban diplomat Jesús Cejas, was reported by Telam news agency.

The remains of Cejas were found in May in a metal drum of 200 liters capacity, filled with cement, in an area of the town of Virreyes, Buenos Aires Province, where excavations were carried out in search of victims of the military dictatorship.

Cejas was kidnapped on August 9, 1976 in the neighborhood of Belgrano, along with his fellow countryman Crescentius Galañena, whose body was found and identified in late 2012.

Among other bodies identified in 2013 are those of six missing in the so-called Pozo de Vargas, province of Tucumán

Monday 06 January 2014

http://www.plenglish.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2235231&Itemid=1

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Death toll from India building collapse climbs to 17

Indian rescuers pulled two more bodies from the rubble of a collapsed apartment block, taking the death toll from the country's latest building accident to 17, an official said Monday.

The building, which was under construction, crumbled mid-afternoon on Saturday while more than 40 poorly paid daily-wage labourers were on site in the southern tourism state of Goa.

Rescue workers discovered the two bodies overnight Sunday as efforts continue around the clock to try to find survivors still trapped in the rubble of the building that a witness said collapsed like "a pack of cards".

Although about 16 people are still unaccounted for, the official said the chances of finding survivors were slim given the length of time since the accident.

"Only a miracle can save them," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Another 16 people were recovering in hospital, the official said.

Rescue workers were using bulldozers, shovels and bare hands to try to shift concrete slabs and other debris from the site in the seaside village of Canacona, south of the state capital Panaji.

"The rescue work is tedious. You have to ensure that the nearby buildings don't get damaged and also the debris doesn't collapse further while digging in," the official said.

Sniffer dogs have also been brought in to try to find those trapped.



Goan police are searching for the builder and the contractor who have gone missing since the tragedy. Officers have registered cases against them, and others involved in the building's construction, for allegedly endangering human life, causing death and negligence.

The accident is the latest in a string of deadly building collapses in India, some of which have highlighted shoddy construction standards.

A huge demand for housing in India and pervasive corruption often result in cost-cutting and a lack of safety inspections.

In September a rundown residential block in the financial hub Mumbai collapsed, killing 60 people. Another building collapse in the city in April killed 74.

Monday 06 January 2013

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/140106/death-toll-india-building-collapse-climbs-17

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