Swazi multi-vehicle crash kills 10

Witnesses searched in the dark for body parts with their cellphone lights after 10 people died in Swaziland’s worst multi-vehicle accident, on Tuesday night during rush hour. On Wednesday dozens of people remained in critical condition.

A truck carrying coal to South Africa crashed into two lanes of commuter traffic east of Mbabane.

“This is a national tragedy,” said Prime Minister Sibusiso Dlamini on Wednesday.

The prime minister promised that an official investigation into the accident would be held. Such probes into road accidents are almost unknown in the country.

A truck bearing iron ore for the Solgaocar mining company overturned along the median strip at the base of a highway after crashing at high speed into stalled rush-hour traffic.

Police are investigating whether the driver was caught by surprise while encountering the traffic jam or whether the truck suffered mechanical failure.

Travelling between lanes, the truck collided with 23 smaller trucks, cars and minibuses. Some were crushed or overturned, while others burst into flames.

“Bodies were thrown everywhere. Some were headless. Some didn’t have arms or legs. Drivers were trapped in burning cars. There were screams everywhere,” said Thomas Ndwandwe, a passenger in a minibus that was halted near the overturned truck.

Although the accident occurred along a dangerous decline on Malagwane Hill, which is cited in the Guinness Book of World Records as the most accident-prone stretch of road in the world, the Solgaocar trucks have been involved in numerous accidents since they began hauling iron ore in 2011. Five Salgaocar trucks overturned in a single day along Malagwane Hill in 2012.

Hindering rescue efforts was the absence of lights.

Ndwandwe said: “Most of the highway is dark because government does not maintain the lights from Mbabane to Manzini. The only light during the Malagwane accident was from flaming cars.

“Police asked us to help them find a woman’s head that was torn from her torso. We looked in the dark with our cellphone lights. Someone found it and put it in a sack.”

Friday 02 May 2014

http://www.iol.co.za/dailynews/news/swazi-multi-vehicle-crash-kills-10-1.1682854

At least 7 killed in central Mexico landslide

Mexican authorities say at least seven people were killed in a landslide unleashed by heavy rain in the central state of Puebla.

Puebla state Gov. Rafael Moreno Valle says rescue crews have found seven bodies, including those of two children ages 5 and 11.

Moreno Valle confirmed the deaths Thursday on his Twitter account.

Moreno Valle said in a statement that heavy rain unleashed a river of water and mud that came down a street in the town of Huehuetlan El Grande, burying at least five vehicles late Wednesday.

He said soldiers and other rescue crews have been sent to the area.

Friday 02 May 2015

http://news.yahoo.com/least-7-killed-central-mexico-landslide-203906167.html

Hundreds missing in Afghan landslide

At least 250 people are missing after a landslide buried villages in northern Afghanistan, as emergency relief teams rushed to the area to search for survivors.

"About 250 to 400 people are missing," Badakhshan province deputy governor, Gul Mohammad Baidaar said on Friday.

"About 350 to 400 houses were destroyed in Argo district as a result of heavy rains that triggered landslides.

He said the death toll isn't known but rescuers were heading to the scene where they would recover bodies and search for survivors.

"We don't have any more information for now, as the network connection is poor in that part of the province," he said.

Badakhshan is a remote province in northeast Afghanistan bordering Tajikistan, China and Pakistan.

"The information that we received from our offices says around 600 families live in Aab Bareek village of Argo," said Mohammad Daim Kakar, head of the National Disaster Management Authority in Kabul.

"Over the past couple of days there were rains in this remote village, and it was followed by landslides.

"As a result, 250 families in the village were affected, and our sources say 300 to 500 people are missing.

"Around 400 people were rescued, some left the area beforehand, fearing the risks of landslides."

Friday 02 May 2014

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/05/03/hundreds-missing-afghan-landslide

Divers suffer growing fatigue from prolonged South Korea ferry search

Divers participating in the search of a sunken ferry face growing health risks from swimming in cold, murky waters for extended stretches, with several suffering from decompression sickness, officials said Friday.

Hundreds of Coast Guard, Navy and civilian divers have battled strong currents and high tides to bring a steady flow of bodies from the upturned ferry Sewol that sank in waters off the southwestern island of Jindo on April 16.

The confirmed death toll has risen to 226 and 76 still remain missing, with many of them believed to be trapped inside the ship.

The search and rescue operation has long since turned into a grueling recovery of corpses as no one has been found alive since the day of the ship's sinking. The work has been becoming even more difficult as divers have had to break through closed cabin doors blocked by debris.

As search efforts continued round-the-clock over the past several days amid growing pressure from grieving families, divers have increasingly suffered exhaustion, with some of them treated for decompression sickness after ascending from depths of over 30 meters.

On Thursday, a 31-year-old civilian diver fell unconscious after diving four times before daybreak to set guideline ropes around the ship, raising concern over the safety of divers.

He received treatment at a hyperbaric oxygen therapy center, but continued to complain of a severe headache and pains in his pelvis, typical symptoms of decompression sickness, according to hospital officials.

Decompression sickness is a painful and potentially dangerous condition that strikes deep sea divers who surface too quickly or stay in cold waters for a long time, causing paralysis, vomiting, and aching pains in joints, the ears and other parts of the body.

"For the first time in my 20 years of a diving career, I was seized by fear that I might not be able to return from underwater," a senior diver told Yonhap News after his colleague fell unconscious.

So far, dozens of divers have received treatment in the oxygen chamber that provides patients with pure oxygen in a sealed chamber that has been pressurized above normal atmospheric pressure.

As the search is expected to last throughout next week, the government disaster response team limited each diver to swimming only once a day to prevent decompression sickness.

The work is still tough as the difference between high and low tide is the highest at the disaster site during this time of year. Currents are stronger by about 40 percent during spring tides compared with the period of neap tides when the difference is the smallest.

"I become exhausted even after one diving a day due to strong currents and deep diving," another civilian diver said. "Figuratively speaking, it's like riding a roller coaster for dozens of minutes or up to one hour."

Families have also raised concern that rescue workers may not be able to retrieve all bodies from the upturned ship as several bodies have recently been retrieved from waters far from the disaster site.

One body, believed to be that of a female student, was found about 4 kilometers southeast of the disaster site. The location was in the opposite direction from a site where another body was recovered two days ago.

The government disaster response team has set up multiple nets around the area to prevent bodies from being swept away by strong currents, officials said.

Friday 02 May 2014

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2014/05/02/42/0302000000AEN20140502003400315F.html?5af5b3b8

Photographer in India earns living taking pictures of the dead minutes before they’re cremated

It’s a job not many people would take on — but photographer Shankar Jha spends his day taking photos of families with their dead loved ones minutes before they’re cremated.

The 24-year-old earns a whopping 30,000 Rupees (about $500) a month fulfilling the requests of grieving families who want one last photo of themselves with their dead loved ones in the holy city of Varanasi, in northern India.

Most would decline such a career but Shankar sees it as a perfect business opportunity.

He said: “Initially I felt awkward doing this job but now I’ve got used to it it doesn't feel bad anymore.”

Shankar was just 12 when a man approached him for the first time at the river Ganges asking if he could photograph him and his family alongside his dead father.

“It was very odd but I realised that there was a need for this kind of thing so I set up my own shop on the Ghats of the river Ganges and soon people started ordering my services,” he added.

While most would find this job not only depressing but also distasteful; Shankar believes he’s giving hundreds of grieving families treasured photos.

He said: “I’m helping people have an affordable and treasured souvenir of their dead family member. It’s something to treasure forever when they’re gone.”

Families have to pass Shankar's shop as they carry the dead towards the river Ganges, the most sacred river to Hindus. It’s widely worshipped as the goddess Ganga in the Hindu religion.

Shankar said: “If I have a quiet day with just a few orders I do approach passing families asking if they want photos. Most accept; there’s only a couple that say no. I feel I’m helping people remember the last face of their dead relatives.”

It takes Shankar under three hours to develop the photos — the same time it takes the families to watch their loved ones turn to ash and leave.

According to Hindu traditions family members have to wait and watch until the cremation ceremony is over.

Financially, Shankar has been earning much more than an average worker in Varanasi but he now fears his business will begin to suffer as more people invest in phones with cameras.

“Times are changing and people don’t need a photographer any more, they have their own phones to do my work. And I have no particular skills, I’m just in the right place at the right time, offering a much needed service.”

But for now Shankar will happily continue delivering what he believes are treasured memories.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/indian-man-earns-living-pictures-dead-minutes-cremated-article-1.1775163

Friday 02 May 2014

Illegal gold mine collapses in Colombia; 3 dead and 15 missing

Rescuers were searching for at least 15 people missing after an illegal gold mine collapsed in southwest Colombia. Authorities said three dead bodies had been recovered.

Cauca province Gov. Temistocles Ortega said the collapse occurred shortly before midnight Wednesday in a rural area near Santander de Quilichao, about 190 miles (315 kilometres) southwest of Bogota, the capital. He said illegal miners use machinery to open huge holes to extract gold, and one of the walls of a hole fell in.

By nightfall Thursday, rescue workers had recovered three bodies and three injured people, but were still searching for another 15 or so who were still missing. Police, troops, civil defence and the Red Cross were aiding in rescue efforts.

Mining accidents are common in Colombia, especially at wildcat mines in poverty-stricken areas dominated by criminal gangs with little state presence.

Less than a week ago, four people were killed inhaling noxious gases following an explosion at a mine in Antioquia province that continued to operate in defiance of an order to close.

Friday 02 May 2014

http://www.timescolonist.com/illegal-gold-mine-collapses-in-colombia-3-dead-and-others-missing-1.1018080