Beas tragedy: 3 more bodies of students found

Three more bodies of engineering students from Hyderabad were recovered from the Beas on Thursday, bringing the total number of bodies recovered to 12. Twelve students and a co-tour guide are still missing and operation is on to search the bodies.

A body, identified as that of M Siva Prakash Verma, was found floating in the Beas at 12.35am. The other two bodies — identified as of Macharla Akhil and Ashish Mantha - one was found at Deod, 3km upstream of Pandoh dam, and another was floating in the dam, officials said.

As the students' parents, who had been camping at Pandoh since June 9, have already left for Hyderabad, Himachal government will send the bodies to their native places for cremation.

Mandi deputy commissioner Devesh Kumar said jawans of armed forces and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) are continuing with the search operation. A police official said the bodies had bloated and surfaced on their own. Teams engaged in search operation are searching for the bodies between accident site of Shalanala and Pandoh dam. After high-tech sonar system failed to detect the bodies underwater, teams have decided to wait and let the bodies come on the surface automatically.

Officials said there was a strong possibility of more bodies surfacing in the few next days. As many as 24 students and a co-tour guide were swept away in the Beas when water was released from Larji hydroelectric project without proper warning on June 8.

Friday 20 June 2014

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Beas-tragedy-3-more-bodies-of-students-found/articleshow/36844712.cms

continue reading

Mexican officials identify eight bodies from mass grave near Gulf Coast

Aided by people searching for missing relatives, Mexican officials identified on Thursday eight of 31 bodies pulled this week from a clandestine grave uncovered near Mexico´s Gulf Coast.

Mexican marines found the grave Monday on a ranch in Cosamaloapan township in the state of Veracruz. The grave is on a property formerly owned by the late mayor of a nearby town in a region dominated by Mexico's Los Zetas gang.

State officials say some of the bodies had been buried for at least six months. The investigation indicated the victims could be from surrounding communities, the officials said.

The discovery of such graves has punctuated eight years of criminal warfare in Mexico that has killed or left missing some 100,000 people. More than 340 bodies were dug from graves in the backyards of middle class homes in the state capital of western Durango two years ago. In 2011, nearly 200 bodies were recovered from pits in the town of San Fernando, about 90 miles below the South Texas border.

Officials pulled at least 70 bodies from another grave discovered last November near Lake Chapala, a resort area popular with U.S. and Canadian retirees outside the western city of Guadalajara.

This week's discovery lies not far from the oil fields of Veracruz and the neighboring Tabasco state, which Mexican officials hope will be developed by private foreign and Mexican firms. A rail line, over which train-hopping Central American migrants ride en route to the U.S., cuts through the area.

Mexican federal officials say drug-related murders have decreased by some 15% this year, compared with 2013. But critics contend warring drug-cartel rivals seem be opting to hide their victims by burying them secretly or dissolving them in acid.

Friday 20 June 2014

http://online.wsj.com/articles/mexican-officials-identify-eight-bodies-from-mass-grave-near-gulf-coast-1403215623

continue reading

14 Bodies Recovered, 63 Rescued, 20 Still Missing In Boat Incident

Fourteen people were drowned in the Sg Air Hitam boat tragedy so far, with the latest casualty a man whose body was fished out near the coast of Westport Klang at 6.30pm.

Kuala Langat OCPD Supt Azman Abdul Razak said the SAR team today recover five bodies, while a couple were rescued.

"The victims were found near the coast of Pantai Morib, Pulau Carey and Pantai Sungai Hitam.

"Out of the 14, 11 were male. So far, we have rescued 63 people, including 12 women.

"We believe that there are still 20 victims missing," he said at the Kuala Langat SAR operation centre.

Azman added that the police have yet to pronounce the missing Indonesians dead as there was still a high chance they could be alive.

The SAR effort was a collaboration between the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA), Fire and Rescue Department, marine police and Civil Defence Department.

"We have divided the search areas into five zones covering over 25 nautical miles. We may extend the search areas from time to time.

"The search will continue and our core search areas are near the coastal areas," he said.

Azman said no one has come forward to claim the bodies.

He also denied that the capsized boat was carrying smuggled items such as firearms and diesel.

"We have deployed our K-9 unit but so far have yet to find evidence of smuggling. But we know the path is one of the 10 routes frequently used by smugglers and illegal immigrants.”

On Wednesday midnight, a boat carrying 97 Indonesian nationals capsized near Sungai Air Hitam, Kuala Langat.

The boat was believed to be headed to Aceh, Indonesia.

Another boat incident involving 27 Indonesians occured in Sepang earlier today. It was travelling to Tanjung Balai when the incident happened.

Friday 20 June 2014

http://www.malaysiandigest.com/news/505782-14-bodies-recovered-63-rescued-20-still-missing-in-boat-incident.html

continue reading