Floods, earthquakes, wildfires and heat waves: the worst natural disasters of 2015

Floods, cyclones, wildfires, heat waves, earthquakes and landslides made 2015 a devastating year for a lot of people around the world. We take a look at some of the worst natural disasters of the past...

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Search ends for missing in Myanmar jade mine landslide

Rescuers in northern Myanmar called off their search for workers feared buried in a jade mine landslide, police said on Sunday (Dec 27), with no missing people or bodies recovered. A wall of rocks,...

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SAR mission enters final stage as death toll reaches 66

A week after the KM Marina Baru ship sank in Bone Bay, National Search and Rescue Team (Basarnas) has announced a decision to extend its search for the ill-fated ship passengers until Tuesday, in hopes...

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After 11 years, memories of Aceh tsunami live on

Aceh residents gathered on Saturday in a number of venues across the province to send their prayers to the victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami that devastated the region on that same date, 11 years...

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Dozens feared dead as another landslide hits Myanmar's jade mines

Dozens of people are feared missing or dead after a landslide hit a jade mining region in Myanmar’s northern Kachin state. Officials say a search for survivors and bodies is continuing after Friday’s...

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Nnewi disaster: Relatives lament, search bushes for bodies of missing persons

Following the gas explosion that rocked Nnewi industrial town which plunged residents into mourning when scores of persons were reportedly burnt to ashes, relatives of the victims are now combing bushes...

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Philippines marks second anniversary of devastating Typhoon Haiyan

The Philippines Sunday marked the second anniversary of Typhoon Haiyan - with the bodies of possible victims of the disaster which left at least 7,350 people dead or missing still being uncovered....

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Death toll in Lahore factory tragedy jumps to 49

More bodies of the victims of the Sundar Industrial Factory tragedy were recovered on Saturday, raising the death toll to 49. Rescuers are of the view that there are still chances of survival of...

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Typhhon Yolanda:6 more bodies dug up 2 years later

Six remains have been recovered under the debris two years after Typhoon ‘‘Yolanda’’ devastated the province of Leyte. Mayor Alfred Romualdez said firewood gatherers found the bodies behind the San...

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Death toll from Lahore factory collapse rises to 35

The bodies of two more labourers were recovered from under the rubble at the site of a collapsed factory at the Sundar Industrial Estate near Lahore on Friday, as the death toll from the tragedy rose...

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All bodies from air crash in Egypt identified

Relatives of the victims in the plane crash above Sinai have identified visually all the bodies, spokesman of the Healthcare Ministry Oleg Salagai told reporters on Friday. "The procedure of visual...

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Brazil dam burst: at least 15 feared dead after disaster at BHP-owned mine

A dam that burst at an iron-ore mine in south-eastern Brazil on Thursday is thought to have killed at least 15 people, devastating a nearby town with mudslides and leaving officials in the remote region...

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Hundreds of bodies lie unclaimed in city mortuaries

Nearly 200 bodies have been unclaimed from state mortuaries around the Tshwane metro in the past three years. And throughout Gauteng, more than 4 000 bodies were unidentified or unclaimed during...

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Pakistan factory collapses, killing at least 18, scores trapped

At least 18 people were killed and up to 150 trapped on Wednesday when a factory collapsed near the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore, officials said, adding to a number of industrial disasters to hit...

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Plane crash kills up to 41 passengers in South Sudan

Up to 41 people are feared dead after a plane crash-landed into a nearby community shortly after taking off from South Sudan’s capital Juba, reports say. A police officer and local media reported...

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Bodies of 33 victims of Saturday's plane crash in Egypt identified

A Russian official says families have identified the bodies of 33 victims killed in Saturday's plane crash over Egypt The Russian jet crashed over the Sinai Peninsula early Saturday, killing all...

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Island has nowhere to bury the drowned

The mayor of the Greek island of Lesbos has said there is no more room to bury the increasing number of asylum-seekers killed in shipwrecks of smuggling boats coming in from nearby Turkey. Mayor Spyros...

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Wreckage in Atlantic confirmed as missing cargo ship

Debris discovered at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean has been confirmed as the ill-fated cargo ship El Faro. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) revealed on its Twitter account that...

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First 10 bodies of Egypt plane crash identified

The first 10 bodies of victims of Saturday's plane crash over Egypt were identified by their families Tuesday, Russian officials said. Metrojet's Airbus A321-200 en route from Egypt's Sharm el-Sheikh...

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Thailand: Coordination committee of missing persons and unidentified bodies to be set-up

A coordination committee will be set up to handle cases of missing persons and unidentified bodies, said Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam. Mr Wissanu said authorities who receive complaints...

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Overcrowded bus veers off mountain road in Nepal, killing 30

A bus packed with passengers riding both inside and on its roof veered off a mountain road in northwest Nepal on Tuesday, killing 30 people and injuring 35 others, officials said. Government administrator...

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Dozens missing as ferry sinks on Chindwin River

At least four people have died and as many as 80 more are missing after a boat sank on the Chindwin River in Mandalay Region’s Kalaywa township yesterday. Rescuers said they were able to save about...

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Sinai plane crash: first bodies arrive in Russia, Family members providing DNA samples

The bodies of 140 of the people killed when a Russian airliner crashed in Egypt’s Sinai desert have begun arriving back home in Saint Petersburg as Russian officials confirmed the aircraft broke up...

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Four babies among 13 migrants who drowned after two boats capsize on deadly crossing from Turkey to Greece

At least 13 migrants including four babies drowned when two boats making the perilous crossing from Turkey to Greece capsized today. One boat overturned off the Greek island of Samos - just 20 metres...

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Wreckage believed to be of doomed ship El Faro which vanished with 33 crew on board found in 15,000ft deep water near where it sunk during Hurricane Joaquin

Wreckage believed to be of the doomed ship El Faro, which sank off the coast of the Bahamas with 33 crew on board, has been found by the US Navy. Officials said a search team is believed to have...

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15 killed, 13 injured in Zambo market fire

At least 15 people, including six children, were killed and 13 others were injured when a fire broke out at the old public market along Magay street here at dawn yesterday. Authorities said the fire...

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Sinai plane crash: Search widens for bodies and debris

Teams investigating the fate of a Russian airliner which crashed in Egypt's Sinai peninsula on Saturday killing all 224 on board have widened their search for bodies and debris. So far 163 bodies...

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Italy navy says eight migrants die in Mediterranean, 113 rescued

Eight bodies have been recovered from a rubber boat carrying migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean, the Italian navy said in a Tweet on Sunday. It said the ship Bersagliere had rescued 113...

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A dozen refugees drown enroute to Greece

At least 12 people have drowned after a boat carrying refugees attempting to reach the Greek island of Lesvos sank in the Aegean Sea, Turkish officials said on Saturday. Canakkale Governor, Hamza...

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Colombia, rebels reach deal to search for thousands missing in war

The Colombian government and leftist FARC rebels have agreed to two measures they say will help find tens of thousands of people who have disappeared during 50 years of war, as the two sides take the...

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Coast guard suspends search for El faro, 32 still missing

At sundown tonight, the search for El Faro will end. For six days, the Coast Guard has been searching for the Tote Maritime ship that set sail from Jacksonville to Puerto Rico, only to sink in Hurricane...

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Death toll from Guatemala landslide rises to 191

Rescue workers pulled 20 more bodies from a landslide outside the Guatemalan capital, bringing the number of confirmed dead to 191, officials have said. "The latest toll of victims is 191," said...

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Death toll in Guatemala landslide rises to 161

The death toll from a landslide that devastated a Guatemalan village has risen to 161 as emergency workers continue pulling bodies from the mud and debris, officials said Tuesday. The search for...

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More bodies recovered from Himachal's Larji Dam

Two more bodies were recovered from Pandoh Dam and Larji Dam today bringing the total number of bodies fished out in the past three days to 17, of which 16 were identified as the passengers of July...

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