Chakwal truck crash claims 20 lives

A truck fully packed with pilgrims careened off the road into a ravine near Chakwal, killing at least 20 people including six children and three women and wounding over 40 others.

Six children and three women are among the dead.

The fatal accident took place when a truck fully packed with pilgrims careened off the road into a ravine near Chakwal.

According to details, as many as 60 people of a single family living in Chhota Sahiwal of District Sargodha, were en route to visit Pir Khara shrine. Their Shehzore truck was near Chakwal when it, going out of control, speeded down the ravine.



Receiving the report of the mishap, the rescue and relief teams rushed to the accident site and kick-started the rescue work. The bodies and the injured were shifted to Medical Center and District Hospital Sargodha.

The wounded and eyewitnesses said the brake failure was responsible for the formidable crash that left 20 people dead.

As many as 13 critically injured people were transported to District Hospital Sargodha. However, they are said to be out of danger now.

Sunday 06 April 2014

http://www.samaa.tv/pakistan/06-Apr-2014/chakwal-truck-crash-claims-17-lives

Solomon Islands floods: search continues for missing

residents and aid workers in the flood-ravaged Solomon Islands are continuing to scour debris for bodies three days after flash floods tore through the capital Honiara.

Although the chances of finding more survivors appeared remote, officials said on Sunday they could not give up hope.

"We had one father who had been separated from his wife and children for two days and we were able to track the family down," Red Cross aid worker Cherise Chadwick said.

The death toll was put at 21, with aid agencies saying up to 40 people remained unaccounted for and about 49,000 had been displaced.

"Some people who went into the river will probably not be found as they would have been swept out to sea," Ms Chadwick said, adding that the Red Cross had played a leading role rescuing people after the Matanikau River burst its banks.

Floodwaters and landslides swept away riverside communities as Honiara was pounded by a torrential tropical storm on Thursday, causing severe infrastructure damage to fresh water supplies, sewerage systems and electricity.



After a meeting with aid agencies, the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs listed their priorities as emergency shelter, food, health, protection of vulnerable people, psychosocial support and water, sanitation and hygiene.

The international airport was reopened Sunday, after hasty work to remove two houses and other debris that were washed onto the runway, paving the way for the arrival of flights carrying urgently needed relief supplies.

Relatives began burying their dead on Saturday as more bodies were discovered along Honiara’s coastline.

Two mothers killed when the flood swept them away from their Koa Hill settlement were buried at Kola’a Ridge cemetery.

“We are in a state of disaster so there’s no need to take the bodies home,” a relative told the Sunday Star.

Kola’a Ridge cemetery was full but relatives scrambled and located two spaces to dig the graves.

One of the mothers also lost her two children, whose bodies are yet to be recovered.

Meanwhile, scores of people are still reported missing, as the death toll rose from nine on Friday to 13 on Saturday.

Authorities say the death toll will continue to increase.

Four bodies were recovered along Honiara’s coastline on Saturday.

Sunday 06 April 2014

http://www.smh.com.au/world/solomon-islands-floods-search-continues-for-missing-20140406-zqrjz.html

http://www.solomonstarnews.com/news/national/23307-relatives-bury-flood-victims

South Korea returns 3 DPRK sailors, 2 bodies after cargo ship sinking

South Korea returned three sailors of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) rescued two days ago in its waters along with two bodies, Seoul's Unification Ministry said Sunday.

The Mongolia-flagged cargo ship Grand Fortune 1 sank in open waters off South Korea's southern coastal city of Yeosu at dawn on Friday, with three crew members rescued, two bodies found and 11 others remained missing.

The Unification Ministry said in a statement that the South side handed over the three rescued DPRK sailors and the two bodies to the North at 2:05 p.m. Sunday local time through the border village of Panmunjeom.

The move came after Pyongyang asked for the repatriation of the rescued sailors and the bodies of the dead via Panmunjeom.

Pyongyang on Saturday urged the parties concerned to rescue its sunken cargo ship and help survivors return home at an early date "from the humanitarian point of view," the DPRK's official KCNA news agency reported.

South Korea dispatched boats and aircraft to the scene for the third straight day Sunday to search the missing crew, but bad weather has hampered search and rescue operations.

The 4,300-ton cargo ship, which ran aground at around 1:19 a.m. on Friday, was heading to China from the DPRK city of Chongjin, carrying heavy oil and steel products.

Sunday 06 April 2014

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2014-04/06/c_133242518.htm