Toll in DR Congo train crash rises to 74

The toll in a train crash in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has risen to 74 dead.

Many people were trapped for days in the mangled wreckage of the goods train that flew off the rails last week in a swampy region about 65 kilometres north of Kamina, in the southeast of the country.

"There are 74 dead on Sunday night" and a further 163 injured, minister Felix Kabange Mukwapa told AFP news agency, adding that about 20 bodies had been recovered from under one of two carriages that overturned and was still lying on the tracks five days after the accident.

Earlier tolls had been revised from 57 to 48 but later went up again.

A newly purchased locomotive hurtled off the track on Tuesday as the goods train, bursting with illegal passengers, rounded a bend.

Many seriously injured were taken to Lubumbashi, the capital of the mineral-rich Katanga province, some 600 kilometres from Kamina, where the train began its journey.

Its planned destination was Mwene-Ditu in the diamond-mining province of Kasai-Oriental.

Witnesses said the train was carrying hundreds of passengers both inside and on top of its carriages, many of whom had paid an illegal reduced fare to ride the train without a proper ticket.

Monday 28 April 2014

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/04/28/toll-dr-congo-train-crash-rises-74

A 1956 plane crash in the Grand Canyon made flying safer

In 1956 two planes collided over the Arizona desert, killing all 128 people on board and scattering the debris deep inside the Grand Canyon. This week, the National Park Service designated the crash site a National Historic Landmark—even though they don't actually want you to go visit it.

At the time, the tragedy was the deadliest civilian plane crash on American soil. It also served as a devastating wakeup call to the fledgling airline industry, which was suffering from growing pains and lack of government support.

A United Airlines DC-7 and TWA Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation both left LAX on the morning of June 30, 1956, the United flight headed to Chicago Midway and the TWA flight headed to Kansas City. Both planes were flying at different altitudes in uncontrolled airspace when the TWA flight requested permission from air traffic control to fly at higher than normal altitudes due to thunderstorms. Air traffic control said no, due to the United flight nearby. Then the pilot requested to ascend above cloud level, operating under visual flight rules or VFR (instead of instrument flight rules). It was understood that at this altitude, the pilot would be employing the "see and be seen" principle—responsible for visually spotting and avoiding planes nearby.

The planes knew they would be sharing airspace but did not have any way of knowing they were in such close proximity. It's also likely that both planes were off-course slightly to show their passengers the scenic landscape below. As the two pilots headed over the Grand Canyon, clouds probably obscured their views, and the planes collided at a 25-degree angle.

Although there's a burial site for the TWA passengers in nearby Flagstaff, Arizona, the crash site itself has never been formally recognized. For one, they're not exactly sure where the crash itself happened. The planes hit the ground at 700 feet per second near the confluence of the Colorado and Little Colorado Rivers. Each ignited fires that were so hot they fused the body of the plane onto the canyon rocks. No bodies were recovered intact.

There are parts of the planes which remain at the bottom of the canyon; due to the treacherous terrain it was impossible to recover all the pieces. But also due to that treacherous terrain, the National Park Service is not revealing the exact location of the crash site because it doesn't want people hiking there.

So why even have a landmark at all? In this case, the landmark status is more about the changes this site brought about. Because of the crash, the country enacted sweeping reforms for communication and safety for the airline industry. Due to the heavy press coverage the crash received, the public was outraged, and there was a movement to demand congressional hearings about the case. Between 1950 and 1955 there had already been 65 mid-air collisions over U.S. airspace.



In 1957, a motion was introduced to boost air traffic control funding, both to modernize the system and hire and train controllers. This would include ways to better manage visual and instrument flight rules. Airports also added radar, which would prove invaluable for tracking planes. And a few years later, the Federal Aviation Agency was formed to oversee all American airspace.

Although memorials for crash sites are commonplace, this is the first time a plane crash site has been landmarked. And it's also the first landmark which technically honors something which happened in the air, not on the ground, National Historic Landmarks Program branch chief Alexandra Lord told The Atlantic Cities:

"We've never done an actual crash site," said Alexandra Lord, branch chief of the National Historic Landmarks Program in Washington, D.C. "In some ways we can argue that the crash itself—which led to the scattering of pieces over a huge debris field—is what's crucial. And it sort of doesn't matter if you think of it as on the air or on the ground."

Next time you're flying over the American Southwest and your pilot tells you to look out the window to see the Grand Canyon, know that the reason you're flying safely is because of that site somewhere below. A single tragic crash spurred along the technology that made the skies a better place for all. And for that, a landmark is very fitting indeed.

Monday 28 April 2014

http://gizmodo.com/why-a-1956-plane-crash-site-in-the-grand-canyon-was-nam-1568330158

S Korea ferry disaster: Floating buoy used to spot bodies being carried away

Search teams say they'll use floating buoys in an attempt to stop bodies drifting away from the accident site.

The buoys will be used to detect various environmental factors such as the wind direction, speed, water temperature and water pressure to convey information in real time about the possible location of bodies that may have been carried away by strong sea currents.

Among the 188 bodies recovered so far, around 40 were found outside the vessel.

There's currently a net 13 kilometers long surrounding the site.

The search team is also expanding its operations to a 60 kilometer radius around the accident site.

Divers were battling atrocious weather conditions and powerful swell on Sunday in their grim search for bodies believed trapped in a sunken South Korean ferry, a coastguard spokesman said.

Rolling seas whipped up by strong winds were badly complicating efforts to find the remains of more than 100 people still unaccounted for 11 days after the Sewol capsized with 476 people -- many of them schoolchildren -- on board.

Despite waves up to three metres (nine feet) tall and near gale-force winds, teams of divers were still trying to get into the ferry.

"The situation is very difficult due to the weather, but we are continuing search efforts, using the occasional calmer periods," a coastguard spokesman said, adding 93 divers would take part in Sunday's operation.

Heavy seas prevented divers from getting into the ship on Saturday.

Forecasters warned wind and rain would pick up throughout the day.

"There is a possibility that a high wave advisory will be issued in sea areas around Jindo Sunday afternoon," Yonhap news agency quoted a weather service official as saying.

Frogmen -- who were unable to get inside the ferry for the first two days -- have battled strong currents, poor visibility and blockages.

The conditions each mission can be no more than a few minutes in length.

But even in this short time, they are coming across scenes of horror in the murky water, including one dormitory room packed with the bodies of 48 students wearing lifejackets.

Around a quarter of the dead recovered so far have been found in waters outside the sunken vessel, and there are fears that some of the missing may have drifted free from the wreck.

That could be exacerbated if the sea is churned by the gathering storm, scattering bodies.

Authorities -- wary of the anger among relatives about the time the search ios taking -- have mobilised trawlers and installed 13-kilometre-long (eight-mile-long) nets anchored to the seabed across the Maenggol sea channel to prevent the dead being swept into the open ocean.

South Korea has asked Japan and China to inform it about any bodies that wash up on beaches, reports said Monday, as fears grow that some of those who died when a ferry sank may never be found.

Park Seung-Gi, a spokesman for the government's Joint Task Force which is co-ordinating actions, vowed Monday to redouble efforts to prevent bodies getting lost in the sea.

Special teams have been set up to search underwater around the sunken vessel, as well on the sea surface, nearby islands and shores, he said.

"We will try our best to find bodies by using all our resources including helicopters, warships, patrol ships and search personnel," Park told reporters.

"We have asked China and Japan to contact us if they, by any chance, find any unidentified bodies washed up on shore," it quoted one rescue official as saying.

In deeply Confucian South Korea, the proper burial of bodies -- often in the deceased person's home town -- is considered a way to show respect for the dead and to allow their soul to rest in peace.

Waterlogged debris, cramped conditions and poor visibility is making their gruesome task very difficult, say officials, with several frogmen reporting injuries or decompression sickness.

Monday 28 April 2014

http://www.arirang.co.kr/News/News_View.asp?nseq=161586

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/storm-swell-hampers-s/1084776.html

Tornado sweeps across southern US leaving at least 12 dead

At least 12 people have been killed after a powerful storm system wreaked havoc through the southern and central US on Sunday night.

A spokesman for the Arkansas governor, Mike Beebe, said 11 people were were killed in his state when a tornado carved through several suburbs north of Little Rock.

Local television station THV 11 said the local sheriff in Faulkner county had confirmed that six people died in the town of Vilonia.

"It's just devastating," Sheriff Andy Shock told THV 11. Shock said the town was facing a "mass casualty situation" and that nearby interstate 40 had been closed in both directions after cars and trucks were overturned.

Emergency workers and volunteers went door-to-door to look for victims. "It turned pitch black," said Mark Ausbrooks, who was at his parents' home when the storm arrived. "I ran and got pillows to put over our heads and ... all hell broke loose."

"My parents' home, it's gone completely," he said.

The large tornado stayed on the ground as it moved north-eastward for at least 30 miles (48km). Television footage showed badly damaged buildings and vehicles.

The neighbouring town of Mayflower was also badly hit. About 45 homes were destroyed and a lumberyard was damaged, said Will Elder, an alderman in the town of 2,300 people. He said at least one person was injured.

The tornado passed through the east side of town, tearing up trees and bringing down powerlines, making it difficult for the emergency services to find stricken areas in the the darkness.

"It's extremely hazardous here right now," said Elder. "The power lines are down, roads are blocked and they will have to proceed with caution."

In the western part of the state, Pulaski county sheriff's lieutenant Carl Minden said three people were killed when a tornado hit the area. Minden said several others were injured at the scene.

"I'm standing on the foundation of the house now. It's totally gone," Minden told the Associated Press.

The storm system passed through Arkansas at about 7.30pm as around a dozen twisters were reported across the region.

At least one person was killed in a tornado in the small Oklahoma town of Quapaw.

A police dispatcher in Ottawa County, Oklahoma, said a search and rescue effort was under way in Quapaw, but could not confirm reports of fatalities.

Tornadoes were also reported in Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska and Missouri on Sunday afternoon and evening, causing some damage but no known injuries, according to local officials and the weather service.

Monday 28 April 2014

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/28/tornado-kills-two-in-oklahoma-as-sheriff-reports-mass-casualties