300 ‘Sendong’ victims remain unidentified

Over 300 victims of Tropical Storm Sendong (Washi) buried in unmarked graves here and in nearby Iligan City have remained unidentified despite DNA tests conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) medico-legal teams three years ago.

Dr. Tammy Uy, NBI-Northern Mindanao medico-legal chief, said money to buy the chemicals to complete the identification process had run out in 2012, forcing the agency to stop matching the extracted DNA with those of family members.

“We extracted the DNA from the bodily fluids of the cadavers, taken swabs from the family members but we cannot complete the matching with their family members. There is no more money for it,” Uy said.

No single death certificate for unidentified bodies

Tropical Storm Sendong inundated riverside communities in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan cities in the early morning of December 17, 2011, killing some 1,100 residents and affecting around 660,000 families.

Three years after Sendong, the NBI has yet to issue a single death certificate for the unidentified bodies.

Uy said NBI Disaster Victims Identification (DVI) teams took DNA samples from 200 unidentified bodies in Cagayan de Oro and 124 more bodies in Iligan.

He said the bodies were buried in an unmarked vault in Bolonsori Public cemetery in Cagayan de Oro and in a cemetery in Iligan.

He said over 800 family members came to the NBI office in Cagayan de Oro to have their DNA taken by the NBI DVI teams.

Three years after, Uy said the money to complete the DNA tests ran out in 2012.

The official said the NBI and the courts would only declare a person dead through dental identification, fingerprints and DNA tests.

He said many families in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan are left in limbo not knowing whether their missing relatives are among the unidentified bodies.

“I really pity the families. There are no closures for many of them,” Uy said.

Uy said around P25 million is needed to buy the chemicals to complete the matching process to identify the cadavers.

He said the NBI DVI office in Manila tried to get the money from the P200 million DNA test funds for Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) victims last year but did not continue because the Commission on Audit will not allow diversion of funds.

“If only someone or maybe the local government fork up the money and buy the chemicals. We will immediately complete the process,” he said.



Losing loved ones

In a small house at Phase 1, Sendong Relocation Center in Barangay Indahag, this city, Alma Beromoy, 36, and her neighbor, Jennilyn Anguis, 27, sat and talked about their missing children a day before the third anniversary of Sendong.

Beromoy lost all of her five children aged one to seven years, while Anguis also lost all of her three children -- the youngest was just a 13-day baby -- on that tragic night.

Both mothers went to the NBI office in Cagayan de Oro to have their DNA taken in the hope that the tests can identify their children among the bodies.

“It’s really difficult every time December 16 and 17 comes around. We simply cannot forget what happened to our children,” Anguis said.

Anguis said she went to the NBI office to have her DNA taken and hoped, but three years later, no word about her lost children came.

“No word came, not even a whimper. We heard there was no more money,” she said.

“We could have moved on if we only knew what happened to our children. The tests could have done it,” Beromoy added.

Beromoy said she spent a tidy sum of money to submit documents and papers that the NBA required. Earning P200 a day selling rags, Beromoy said a lawyer even asked P900 from her for notary fees.

Anguis said she too incurred expenses when she went to the NBI and was asked some documents to prove her claim.

“We decided not to go to the NBI anymore because of these expenses,” she said.

Tuesday 16 December 2014

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cagayan-de-oro/local-news/2014/12/17/300-sendong-victims-remain-unidentified-382427

Two aircraft tragedies foster close cooperation, solidarity

Two tragedies involving Malaysia Airlines' aircraft resulted in unprecedented global solidarity in modern aviation history as big and small countries pooled their resources to help Malaysia find the missing flight MH370 and deal with the aftermath of the flight MH17 crash.

The mysterious disappearance of flight MH370 on March 8 had made the search for it the largest mission in aviation history involving 26 countries, including major powers such as China, the United States and the United Kingdom.

The shooting down of flight MH17 in Ukraine on July 17 witnessed Malaysia's cooperation with Russia, the Netherlands, Australia and Ukraine as well as attracted the attention of the United Nations.

It was encouraging to note that when various parties believed attempts to negotiate with rebels to claim the bodies, the flight MH17 black box and secure safe passage for investigating teams to the crash site was impossible, Malaysia managed to negotiate with separatist leader Alexander Borodai in acquiring everything with no conditions set and at no cost.

In fact, the negotiation between Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak and the separatist leader was lauded by American Congressman Eni F H Faleomavaega who commended Najib's leadership in negotiating on the matter as reported in the media on Aug 1.

"Prime Minister Najib's personal involvement in the negotiation has set diplomatic standards worldwide. I appreciate that Prime Minister Najib did not delegate the negotiations to his assistants," said Faleomavaega.

The New York Times, in a report dated July 21, titled "Malaysia Premier Brokers Deal to Recover Black Boxes", hailed Malaysia's success while negotiations by the more powerful countries failed.

The newspaper stated: "Malaysia's strategy was more effective if compared to the pressure exerted by the major powers of the world against the rebel groups and the negotiation was an extraordinary process of diplomacy via telephone behind closed doors between Najib and Alexander."

The prime minister had tabled a motion on the unfortunate MH17 tragedy at a special parliament sitting on July 23, strongly condemning the barbaric, inhumane and savage act of those believed to have shot down the aircraft.

Last September, the Dutch Safety Board (DBS) announced the preliminary report of the MH17 tragedy which revealed the aircraft blew up in the air due to structural damage after some "object at high speed" penetrated and there was no evidence of technical or human error which may have caused the crash.

Malaysia is currently a member of an international criminal investigation team probing the MH17 tragedy, and all fragments of the aircraft have been gathered for an investigation that would be led by the Netherlands.

As for flight MH370, which is now 10 months into its disappearance, the search mission is now centred in the Indian Ocean floor at a depth of between 3,000 to over 7,000 metres.

Flight MH370, with 227 passengers and 12 crew on board travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, disappeared from radar screens about an hour after departing from the KL International Airport.

The cooperation and assistance extended by the people during these two tragedies, a silver lining as expressed by Najib, triggered greater solidarity among the people, who came together as one to mourn with those who lost their loved ones.

Tuesday 16 December 2014

http://www.thesundaily.my/news/1268733

India: Surat now carries out DNA profiling of unidentified bodies

DNA profiling or DNA fingerprinting is being done of all the unidentified bodies that are found in Surat for past one month. Till now, DNA profiling was done only in specific cases to establish the identity of a deceased in the city. This change makes Surat the only city in Gujarat to do DNA profiling of all the unidentified bodies for establishing the proper identity of a deceased person.

Surat police commissioner Rakesh Asthana said, "DNA profiling will help towards proper identification of unidentified bodies."

DNA profiling had helped in establishing the identity of a woman victim of July 26, 2008 serial bomb blast in Ahmedabad and several others in all over the state, sources said.

"Its efficiency is unquestionable. When we fail to get any identity marks on a body, it is DNA profiling which helps us to establish the identity of a victim. I had a case where the body of a woman was found from the river. We got the report published in the newspaper and when her family came down from Ahmedabad we established her identity through DNA profiling," said JT Sonara, police inspector, Katargam.

Over 500 unidentified bodies are found in the city every year.

"It is very difficult for police to establish the identity of each victim in serious cases of accidents where there are multiple deaths. In such cases, DNA profiling comes in handy in proper identification of the disfigured bodies," a police officer said.

Dr Oliver Solanky, founding president, Ekta Trust, a city based NGO, which works for proper disposal of unclaimed bodies, said, "It is a big step taken by the city police. We appreciate the police commissioner on his decision to get DNA profiling done on all the unclaimed bodies found in the city."

"We are already overburdened. However, we will do our best," said an officer of Regional Forensic Science Laboratory, Surat.

Tuesday 16 December 2014

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/surat/Surat-now-carries-out-DNA-profiling-of-unidentified-bodies/articleshow/45531427.cms

DR Congo boat disaster: 129 bodies recovered

At least 129 people drowned when a passenger ship capsized on Lake Tanganyika in the southeast of Democratic Republic of Congo, according to a new official death toll Sunday.

"Rescue workers recovered a total of 129 bodies," Laurent Kahozi Sumba, minister for transport of DRC's Katanga province, told AFP, adding there were a number of women and children among the victims in Thursday's disaster.

The new toll represented a dramatic increase on the provisional figure given Saturday by the government of DRC's Katanga province, which had spoken of at least 26 dead.

So far, the number of survivors stood at 232, mostly men, Kahozi Sumba said, adding that rescue workers had found more people in the water after clinging to petrol cans and other floating objects for more than 48 hours and were now in a very weakened condition.

"The search for other survivors and bodies is continuing," he added.

The accident took place Thursday night in the north of Katanga province, between the towns of Moba and Kalemie.

Officials said strong winds and overloading caused the M/V Mutambala, which was bound for Uvira further north in South Kivu province, to capsize.

The boat was carrying cargo as well as passengers.

The Great Lakes of Central Africa, the best-known of which are Lake Victoria, Lake Tanganyika and Lake Malawi, can be as treacherous in bad weather as many seas.

Shipwrecks involving overloaded vessels are frequent and the numbers of fatalities often very high due to a shortage of life jackets and the fact that many people in the region cannot swim.

In March, at least 210 Congolese refugees returning home from Uganda drowned when an overcrowded boat sank on Lake Albert, on the border between the two countries.

That shipwreck, which came days after Kinshasa launched a campaign to enforce the wearing of life jackets on the nation's waterways, was the deadliest in Congolese history, the government said.

Lake Tanganyika, which is one of the world's biggest freshwater lakes as well as being the longest, also borders Tanzania, as well as Burundi and Zambia.

The first Europeans to discover the lake were Richard Burton and John Speke, who stumbled across the inland sea on an 1857 expedition to explore inland from the east African coast.

Tuesday 16 December 2014

http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/662878-129-drown-in-dr-congo-boat-disaster.html

Indonesian landslide death toll rises to 56, another 52 people still missing

Indonesian rescuers dug through mud with shovels and their bare hands for a third day on Monday in the hunt for dozens of people still missing after a landslide engulfed a village, as the death toll rose to 56.

Fifty-two people are still unaccounted for after heavy rain triggered the landslide that swallowed houses in Jemblung village on Java island late Friday. Officials say the chances of finding anyone alive are now slim.

More than 1,000 rescuers, including police and soldiers, have been digging through huge mounds of red mud and debris that cascaded onto the village, which lies in a valley surrounded by hills, with a sound like thunder.

"We hope and pray that we can rescue some of the missing but the chances are slim," local search and rescue chief Agus Haryono said.

National disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said late Monday 17 bodies, including those of four children, were retrieved Monday, taking the death toll to 56.

Bulldozers and excavators were still trying to clear a huge pile of fallen trees and earth blocking the main road to the site, in the hope of speeding up the rescue effort, he added.

Several people were seriously injured in the disaster and hundreds of others evacuated from the area.

Rescue efforts have been hampered by persistent heavy downpours.

President Joko Widodo visited the scene at the weekend and urged authorities to speed up rescue efforts.

Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo has said the search-and-rescue effort at the site of the landslide in Banjarnegara, Central Java, will continue until all victims have been found.

“We expect that by Dec.21, all the victims will have been found. Up to now the bodies of 40 victims have been recovered,” he told The Jakarta Post in Banjarnegara on Monday.

Heavy rains that fell in Central Java over the past several days have caused landslides in several highland areas such as the one that occurred in Jemblung hamlet in Banjarnegara regency, Central Java, on Friday evening.

As many as 108 villagers were buried when the side of a 300-meter-high hill collapsed and covered their houses.

According to official data, Jemblung hamlet comprised 103 houses with a total population amounting to 320 people. Fifty-three of the houses, along with their occupants, were buried during Friday’s landslide disaster, while many of the other houses were severely damaged.

Hundreds of survivors have been evacuated to temporary shelters in village halls, schools, musholla (houses of prayer) and undamaged houses.

Landslides triggered by heavy rains and floods are common in tropical Indonesia during the rainy season. The national disaster agency estimates around half the country's population of 250 million lives in areas prone to slippages.

The vast Indonesian archipelago is prone to natural disasters and is frequently hit by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

Tuesday 16 December 2014

http://www.straitstimes.com/news/asia/south-east-asia/story/indonesian-landslide-death-toll-rises-56-another-52-people-still-mis

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/12/15/governor-expects-all-landslide-victims-be-found.html