'People think you have a destiny': Sole survivors of plane crashes reveal how they struggle with guilt after walking away from accidents that killed hundreds

Only a handful of others have shared the same experiences as George Lamson Jr, who was the sole survivor of a Reno plane crash that killed everyone except him.

Lamson, who was 17 when the passenger jet he was on crashed, killing his father and 69 others in 1985, may have walked away with his life, but he has been haunted by survivor's guilt ever since.

And, with only 25 people alive today who have shared the same experience, Lamson has had trouble finding others who can understand how he is feeling.

'People look at you and think you have a destiny ... that's completely unrealistic,' he told CNN, saying he felt under pressure after the accident to do something with his life.

After nearly three decades of struggling to come to terms with his experience, Lamson has reached out to other sole survivors.

His journey has brought him in contact with Jim Polehinke, the co-pilot of a plane that crashed on take off in Lexington, Kentucky, in 2006; and 14-year-old Bahia Bakari who was found clinging to the wreckage when her plane went down off the coast of Comoros in 2009.

This small band of survivors recalled their accidents and struggle to come to term with events afterwards on CNN documentary Sole Survivor.

While Lamson says he was buoyed by the relief of walking away from a crash and the ensuing media circus that followed, when it ended he was left in a void.

'There's people in all walks of life who suffered loss like I have' Lamson said, but they were not in the limelight. 'When it stopped it left a vacuum. I'd eat a lot, sleep a lot, anything to stop thinking about it.'

It wasn't until the birth of his daughter, Hannah, that he finally felt his life had meaning.

Unlike Lamson who was the focus of intense media scrutiny, Cecelia Chichan, who was four when her whole family were wiped out in a 1987 crash in Detroit, was a teenager before her extended family fully explained what she had been through.

Her parents and brother were among the 154 people killed when the plane went down.

She became known as the 'miracle child' after she was dug out of the burning wreckage by a rescuer who heard her whimper.

Northwest Airlines flight 255 crashed shortly after take-off at an airport in Romulus, Michigan en route to Phoenix, Arizona on August 16, 1987.

It remains one of the deadliest air disasters in U.S. history.

Rescue workers had given up hope of finding anyone alive when they heard Cecelia moaning and trapped under her seat.

It was believed that Cecelia survived the crash because her mother shielded her with her own body. Her mother, Paula, father Michael and brother, David, six were among those killed as the family returned from their vacation.

The four-year-old suffered serious injuries including a fractured skull, broken leg and collarbone and third-degree burns. She underwent four skin grafts for the burns on her arms and legs.

'When I read about [other crashes] I feel inferior,' Cecelia, who has a tattoo of a plane on her wrist said. She has never attended the annual memorial to those who lost their lives, saying: 'I feel like I would get too much attention. I don't want to be in the spotlight.'

There was intense global interest in the little girl, which saw her feature on magazine covers and receive piles of gifts from strangers.

More than 2,000 presents and 30,000 cards were sent to the University of Michigan Medical Center but her guardians asked that they be distributed to local children's hospitals. The family also set up a trust fund after she received more than $150,000 in donations.

Her uncle Franklin Lumpkin and her aunt Rita, her mother's sister, kept her sheltered from the attention once she left hospital after seven weeks of treatment, allowing her to grow up in obscurity in Birmingham, Alabama.

Cecelia, who is now 31 and married, had never spoken publicly but has a small tattoo of an airplane on her left wrist to remind her of a tragedy that she thinks about 'every day'.

Lamson has also stayed away from memorials, saying he felt the relatives of victims would be angry at him for not doing more with his second chance at life.

'Survivor's guilt is a monster. Still not figured out how to absolve myself of that burden,' he told CNN

When he recently traveled to Normandy in France to meet fellow solo survivor Bahia, for the first time he was able to talk to someone who was going through the same emotions.

For Bahia, who after the crash was left clinging to wreckage in the sea for more than nine hours, meeting Lamson helped her open up about the depression she has suffered since.

'I am happy, I don't feel so alone anymore,' she said as the two compared notes on how they have coped with their experience.

Like Bahia, Lamson was a teenager at the time of the crash. He was on his school sports teams and had a promising future ahead in his home town in Minnesota.

On the night of the crash two other passengers on the plane had asked Lamson and his father to change seats just before take off. The family did and, when the plane went down, Lamson was thrown clear of the fiery crash.

Lamson: 'We started falling from the sky and the pilot told us we were going to crash.' He had just seconds to pull his legs up and cover his face before the plane went down.

For Polehinke, who was at the controls of the plane when it crashed on take off, the survivor's guilt is even more intense. He still feels responsible for all his passengers and crew. 'I would have rather died with everyone else,' Polehinke, who was left paralyzed, said.

He has kept cuttings of the pictures and profiles of those on board that day. 'I look at it, not to torture myself but to see what they had done,' he told CNN. 'I don't think there will ever be a time I can forgive myself.'

Each of the survivors are finding their own ways to cope, and nearly all still take flights, but the memories of what they have been through remains.

Friday 10 January 2014

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2536953/People-think-destiny-Sole-survivors-plane-crashes-reveal-struggle-guilt-walking-away-accidents-killed-hundreds.html

Kegworth air disaster: Detective Inspector Kelvyn Ashby recounts the grim task of dealing with the fatalities

Detective Inspector Kelvyn Ashby had just got home after a busy 12-hour shift when he received a call from his detective sergeant.

“It was about 8.45pm, at first it was thought to be one of the routine exercises declared at the airport, but 10 minutes later he rang back to confirm a plane had gone down,” he said.

The 63-year-old, who retired as a detective chief superintendent, rang his then boss, Superintendent Graham Blandford, and they agreed to meet on the bridge over the motorway near the crash scene.

He said: “I wasn’t sure what we would do when we got there, but it soon became apparent there was no plan in place for dealing with bodies from where the plane had crashed.

“There was a plan for crashes at the airport, but not for one outside its perimeter.

“I said, ‘shall we go and find somewhere to use as a mortuary?’.

“We went to the airport and were directed to a barn-type building and opened it up. There were already bodies arriving. Thankfully, it was January and it was freezing.

“By now, it was about midnight. We had no template for this. We called in all detectives on duty. There were about 15 of us. Two officers were assigned to each body.

“We got out chalk used for road accidents to mark out where the bodies would go.”

Officers then painstakingly gathered together all the victims’ belongings and completed personal description forms noting identification marks such as tattoos and birthmarks.

Mr Ashby and his men took little break from their grim task over the next week, determined to return the victims’ bodies to their loved ones as soon as possible.

He said: “Three or four post-mortem examinations at a time were carried out. The priority was to get the bodies away.

“It was not a pleasant experience. Some of the bodies were mutilated, most involved broken bones and multiple internal injuries. Dealing with children was the worst.

“Over three or four days, people got to grips with what had happened. We were offered counselling, but what we did as a group was go to the pub – it was the best debrief we could have had.

“But it was too much for one officer, who left the force on ill health because he never recovered from the experience and was suffering post-traumatic stress disorder.”

Lessons learned at Kegworth were passed on to other forces.

Mr Ashby said: “One of the things which came out of the debriefs was what if this had happened in July? It happened in January when it was freezing, but we had to search for a cold store large enough to deal with a situation like this if, God forbid, it ever happens again.”

Friday 10 January 2014

http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/Kegworth-air-disaster-Detective-Inspector-Kelvyn/story-20414499-detail/story.html

Zimbabwe: Zim's first DNA testing centre registered

The country's first ever DNA testing centre has been registered with the Medical Laboratory and Clinic Scientists Council of Zimbabwe, bringing local solutions to paternity disputes and other civil and criminal challenges.

Although the African Institute of Biomedical Science and Technology (AIBST) is charging US$500 to conclude investigating a case, indications are that the charges will come down as more such facilities are opened.

DNA tests can be done to establish the child's biological parents in maintenance cases, to establish a rapist in criminal investigations, identify bodies of accident victims, in murder investigations, tracing the family histories in chieftainship wrangles, and many other uses.

Over the years, paternity cases were being referred to South African companies, but AIBST - based in Harare - acquired the requisite DNA equipment and got accreditation mid-last year.

AIBST conducted DNA tests to identify bodies of the victims of the Chisumbanje accident towards the end of 2013.

AIBST president and chief scientific officer Professor Collen Masimirembwa, said the development was a major milestone in the history and development of forensic science in Zimbabwe.

"In Zimbabwe, for a long time, forensic science had remained behind using traditional and manual means like taking finger prints and using the magnifying glass for identification purposes.

"For drug crimes, there were no machines. The police and health (officials) are also working towards buying the same machines that we use here and they have come several times to see how we operate.

"As AIBST, we have invigorated the country. We have acted as a catalyst to prove that Zimbabweans can do it.

"We have brought an evolutionary jump. Suddenly within less than a year, Zimbabwe can now conduct DNA tests putting us at the same level as other countries like South Africa," said Prof Masimirembwa.

Prof Masimirembwa said their organisation had worked with the Government on the Chisumbanje accident and they were ready to assist the police, courts, hospitals and other State institutions whenever necessary.

Several people were burnt beyond recognition when a Green Fuel tanker was involved in an accident with a Madza T35 light truck that was ferrying mourners in Chipinge last year.

The resultant fire from the ethanol tanker burnt dozens of people beyond recognition and there was fear that family and friends would not be able to give their loved ones proper burials as they could not identify their bodies. DNA samples were subsequently sent to AIBST.

Prof Masimirembwa said everything was done in Harare at the AIBST laboratory and no samples were sent out to other countries.

"We do everything from here from taking of samples to the presentation and announcement of results," he said.

AIBST started conducting paternity tests at the end of last year and it was mainly dealing with cases of individuals and families who wanted to ascertain the facts without the involvement of the courts.

"We are assisting individuals and families who make their own decisions to get tested for their own personal reasons but we are yet to get referrals from the courts.

"Maybe the courts are not aware that we are doing the same locally in order for them to refer cases to us," he said.

Paternity disputes have all along been referred to South African experts for DNA verification.

Friday 10 January 2014

http://allafrica.com/stories/201401100586.html

India train fire:wait to identify four badly charred bodies

Agonising wait for the families of four passengers missing after Wednesday's fire on the Mumbai-Dehradun Express.

The already traumatised families of the four missing passengers of the Mumbai-Dehradun Express that caught fire on Wednesday have been told that it may take up to six weeks to establish the identities of the four bodies charred beyond recognition.

Nine people died in the fire that ripped through three bogies near Dahanu Road station, and the Western Railway (WR) officials were able to identify five of the deceased within a few hours of the accident.

The railway officials reported that around eight passengers had been missing, and at least 45 opted out when the train resumed the journey around six hours after the incident.

By Thursday afternoon, the WR officials were able to locate four of the eight people missing, and all 45 passengers who had opted out had also been contacted.

Four people, including two from Mumbai, are now on the final list of the passengers missing, and their relatives, who have been waiting at the J J Hospital where post-mortems had been conducted, are in for lengthy, agonizing wait.

The hospital dean, Dr T P Lahane, said: "The DNA samples have been sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory in Kalina. It may take up to six weeks for the results to arrive."

Two of the four still missing are from Mumbai -- Null Bazaar resident Sakina Arsiwala, 57, and Jamir Ahmed, 60, from Jogeshwari - while the other two are an Indorebased couple, Hakimuddin Rassiwala, 63, and Zaibun Rassiwala, 53.

The railway doesn't want to take any chances, considering the goof-up barely a week ago in the aftermath of the December 28 Andhra train fire. The DNA reports revealed that the body of one of the victims, Aurangabad-based Eshwar Nagare, 70, had been buried by the family of another victim, S Bheemaiah, 55, from Sedam in Gulbarga district. The authorities' decision to release the body to Bheemaiah's relatives on the condition that they bury, and not cremate it, saved the day. Relatives of Sakina Arsiwala, a resident of Jariwala building, said she had celebrated the engagement of her son some time ago, and was travelling to Dahod in Gujarat for a family gathering. The stationmaster at Dahanu recognised her from the photograph her family members were carrying, and 'thought' he had helped her back on the train after the incident.

"We are hopeful that she's alive. Our relatives are in Dahanu, Vapi, Valsad and other places, looking for her in hospitals and clinics," said her relative Amir Masta.

Indore-based Hakimuddin Rassiwala and his wife had travelled to Mumbai to attend a wedding, and were on their way to Godhra in Gujarat. The couple's son, Mustali, said he and the relatives have been waiting at the hospital since 7 am Thursday. "The hospital authorities tell us to approach the Palghar police. They should show some compassion," he said.

Divisional Railway Manager (Western Railway) Shailendra Kumar said the railway officials were trying their best to help out the relatives, but without the DNA reports, there is only so much they could do.

"We made sure we contacted all those who opted out and traced the missing passengers. Now, we have no option but to wait for the reports," he said.

Friday 10 January 2014

http://www.mumbaimirror.com/mumbai/others/It-will-take-6-weeks-to-identify-the-four-badly-charred-bodies/articleshow/28608010.cms