The doctor will sea you now: Hospital boat could rescue victims of natural disasters

We've all heard of the flying doctors - now we could soon have the floating doctors thanks to a hospital boat developed by an Italian yacht designer.

Marino Alfani, 29, came up with the concept after talking to his childhood friend Dr Taddeo Baino, who had just returned from a medical mission in Africa.

The hospital boat would be able to come close in to shore and ferry passengers to it by ambulance and helicopter

Mr Alfani realised that a hospital boat could treat people from coastal areas that have no or ill-equipped hospitals and could also respond to emergencies at sea like the recent Costa Concordia wreck. It could also provide relief to victims of natural disasters like the 2004 tsunami, which wiped out whole road networks.

So he designed a catamaran that would be equipped with state-of-the-art medical examination areas, operating theatres, laboratories, recovery rooms and a hyperbaric chamber (for oxygen therapy). There would be a small helipad on the bridge and a garage accessible from the stern to store an ambulance.

The boat would accommodate three crew members and nine doctors and nurses and could treat 50 people a day - which would be 1,500 a month. As a catamaran it could come close in to shore.

Speaking to L'Eco Di Bergamo, Mr Alfani said: 'The earth is surrounded by water and it is unthinkable that there is no tool that allows immediate first aid at sea.'

He added that the boat was modeled on the emergency room of the Bergamo Hospital in Italy.
The boat, made from aluminium alloy would measure 115ft long, 48ft wide and stand 25ft tall. It would be propelled by two 1200 diesel electric motors and travel at a top speed of 10knots. The boat would have a fuel capacity of 50,000l.

Mr Alfani has an architecture degree from the Politecnico di Milano as well as a Masters in Yacht Design and now has his own studio where he can tackle boat design to construction. He is also an experienced interior designer.

The hospital boat concept won a prize this month at the 2012 Millennium Yacht Design Awards.

22 February 2012

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2104254/Hospital-boat-designed-Marino-Alfani-rescue-victims-natural-disasters.html#ixzz1nAXZR0S6

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Scores killed in Argentina train crash

A packed train slammed into a barrier at a Buenos Aires station today, killing 49 people and injuring hundreds of morning commuters.

Federal Police Commissioner Nestor Rodriguez said the dead include 48 adults and one child.

It is Argentina's highest death toll from a train accident since 1970, when 200 were killed in a train collision.

Earlier, Alberto Crescenti, the city's emergency medical director, said at least 550 people were injured and that 30 people remained trapped inside the first car, where rescuers carved open the roof and set up a pulley system to pull them out.

The commuter train came in too fast and hit the barrier at the end of the platform at about 12mph, smashing the front of the engine and crunching the leading cars behind it, Argentina's transportation secretary told reporters at the station.

Most damaged was the first car, where passengers make space for bicycles. Survivors told a TV channel that many people were injured in a jumble of metal and glass.

Passengers said windows exploded as the tops of train cars separated from their floors.

The trains are usually packed with people standing between the seats, and many were thrown into each other and to the floor by the force of the hard stop.

Many people suffered bruises, and many with lesser injuries were waiting for attention on the Once station's platforms as helicopters and more than a dozen ambulances took the most seriously injured to nearby hospitals.

"This machine left the shop yesterday and the brakes worked well. From what we know, it braked without problems at previous stations. At this point I don't want to speculate about the causes," said Ruben Sobrero, a union chief.

AP 22 Febr 2012

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/scores-killed-in-argentina-train-crash-7298954.html

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Five-year-old girl among eight bodies found on Costa Concordia

A five-year-old girl was among eight bodies found inside the crippled Costa Concordia cruise ship.

Dayana Arlotti, from Rimini, whose father William Arlotti is also missing, is the youngest person who died in the disaster.

The grim discoveries came as prosecutors announced that they had widened their investigation to include four more of the ship’s officers and three employees of Costa Cruises, the Genoa-based company that owns the liner.

The bodies were found by Italian fire service divers on the fourth deck of the giant ship, which was at the start of a week-long cruise of the Mediterranean when it ran aground on Giglio island, off the coast of Tuscany, on Jan 13.

The first four bodies were found in the morning, with another four located in the flooded hull later in the day.

Aside from the little girl, rescue officials said the dead included a man and a woman. It was not known whether they were passengers or crew members.

The discovery of the bodies brought the confirmed death toll to 25, with at least seven people still missing.

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Chile sends experts to Honduras to investigate prison disaster

TEGUCIGALPA – This afternoon, the first group of experts from Chile’s Legal Medical Service (Servicio Médico Legal), or SML, arrived in Honduras to collaborate in the identification of the victims of the Comayagua prison, where a fire left more than 350 inmates dead.

Their arrival was confirmed by the Minister of Justice, Patricia Pérez, who hopes that the four experts who left early this morning will be able to start their work immediately.

The remaining eight professionals will arrive in Honduras tomorrow, and will collaborate with local authorities on how to best use their skills to help out however they can.

“The Servicio Médico Legal and the Civil Registry are both services of the Ministry of Justice, which has gained experience in tragedies, not only what occurred in San Miguel prison, but also in other unfortunate events that have afflicted the country, such as the earthquake and the tragedy of Juan Fernández,” said the Minister on Chilean TV station Canal 13.

The group of 14 specialists, two of which belong to the Civil Registry, will stay in Honduras for approximately two weeks. Among them are thanatologists, forensic orthodontists and biochemists who will investigate the tremendous loss of life at the prison.

The director of SML, Patricio Bustos, explained that “the identification process would involve fingerprint analysis, forensic dentistry, or, if neccessary, comprehensive genetic screening.”

Of the 820 prisoners that were housed in the prison, only 475 survived the blaze. These figures may change before too long, since there are several critically injured people still in intensive care at the hospital.

The Honduran government has declared three days of national mourning and President Porfirio Lobo ordered various government agencies to provide the assistance to the police and prosecutors.

The government of Chile has expressed its condolences to the families of those who lost their lives, and their hopes and prayers for a quick recovery for the wounded.

President Piñera had a telephone conversation with President Lobo in which he expressed solidarity among the Chilean and Honduran people during this tragedy.

February 16, 2012

http://ilovechile.cl/2012/02/16/chile-experts-honduras-investigate-prison-disaster/48363

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Volta Lake Disaster: 10 Bodies Retrieved As Boat Owner Flees

Ten bodies including a three-month-old baby have been retrieved from the Volta Lake at Krachi West after a boat with 12 passengers onboard capsized on Sunday.

The coordinator of the National Disaster and Management Organisation (NADMO) in the area, Amudu Baba Seidu, confirmed the incident to Citi Eyewitness News on Monday. He said the boat, which was travelling from Keta to Krachi West hit a stamp in the lake resulting in its wreckage.
He said the 10 people who died included four children and six mothers.

“On the boat they were 12, but when the boat capsized 10 died and two were able to swim across the river. Four were younger girls including a three-month-old baby and then six were mothers,” he said.

Mr. Seidu said all the 10 victims have been identified and relief items are being sent to their families, adding that NADMO would also help offset the bills for the burial of the victims.

According to Mr. Seidu, the owner of the boat managed to escape and has since not been found.
He, however, indicated that the matter has since been reported to the police for further investigations.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

http://www.ghananaija.com/news/2012/02/volta-lake-disaster-10-bodies-retrieved-as-boat-owner-flees/

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Search for disaster victims held on Fukushima coast

SENDAI — Some 100 officers from the Miyagi Prefectural Police force conducted an intensive search Monday for remains near an elementary school in Ishinomaki that lost 70 of its 108 students to the quake and tsunami on March 11.

Nine of the 13 teachers and administrative staff at Okawa Elementary School also died, and four students and a teacher are still listed as missing, along with 45 other residents of the Okawa district.

Police searched the Fuji River, which runs in front of the school, and have dammed up the waterway for about 1.3 km in order to dredge riverbed mud in the search for remains.

"Our search operation will not end as long as there are missing people," one of the officers said.

In Fukushima Prefecture, police began a three-day search along the coast Sunday for people still listed as missing inside the no-go zone around the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.

On the first day of the three-day search operation, which involved around 300 officers, including personnel loaned from other prefectures who are being deployed within the zone for the first time, efforts were focused on the Ukedo district in the town of Namie, where around 120 people died or remain missing.

The Fukushima Prefectural Police force has been reinforced with 350 officers from Tokyo and 21 other prefectures, and 145 of them have been assigned to deal with the increasing number of thefts in the hot zone.

"I am acutely aware that huge scars have been left by the quake and tsunami," said Koji Tanaka, a 30-year-old police officer from Saga Prefecture who joined Sunday's search.

"Since Saga also has a nuclear plant, I'm thinking every day what we should do if a similar disaster occurs." he said.

Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2012
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120221a5.html

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Christchurch begins grim memorial

A special cemetery for victims of the February 22 earthquake was officially opened today - a day before the one-year anniversary of the Christchurch disaster.

The unidentified remains of four earthquake victims were laid to rest earlier today in a communal grave at Avonhead Park Cemetery in the west of the embattled city.

Four of the 185 people who died in the disaster, and whose remains could not be formally identified, were buried in a single casket in a private interment ceremony.

The victims: Shawn Lucas, 40, of Christchurch, Rhea Mae Sumalpong, 25, Philippines, Elsa Torres De Frood, 53, Peru, and Valeri Volnov, 41, a Russian-born New Zealand resident, were all in the CTV building that collapsed and caught fire, killing a total of 115 people.

At 6pm, Christchurch mayor Bob Parker officially unveiled a memorial plinth to the unidentified, and unfound, victims of the killer magnitude-6.3 quake ahead of tomorrow's poignant and emotional first-year anniversary.

Mr Parker, who has pledged funding for the interment site from the Christchurch Earthquake Mayoral Relief Fund, said earlier that the Avonhead Park Cemetery interment site will provide a "special environment" for everyone to enjoy the beautiful surroundings and remember those who lost their lives.


Hundreds gathered at the cemetery for the unveiling tonight, including Prime Minister John Key, Governor-General Sir Jerry Mateparae, high-ranking police officers, and foreign dignitaries.

Anglican Bishop Rev. Victoria Matthews told the gathering during a solemn 15-minute service that the memorial plinth would "point us to the future" and "comfort us in our sorrows."

More than 20 bereaved families have accepted the Christchurch City Council's offer of a burial plot dedicated to those who died in the killer magnitude-6.3 earthquake.

Many of them gathered at the service tonight, with family groups hugging and supporting each other during the ceremony, especially when young singer Taylor Roche performed a touching rendition of 'Amazing Grace'.

After the short service, the families were asked to lay flowers at the memorial, and the media was asked to leave, to allow the families to grieve and pay tribute to their loved ones.

Avonhead Park Cemetery was identified as the most appropriate city cemetery by officials, especially as it has not been affected by liquefaction which has plagued large areas of the city after the large earthquakes.

The location of the cemetery site, and the design, were also developed "with close consideration given" to the victims' families.

The "inner circle" of the gravesite has been reserved for the unidentified remains held by the chief coroner following the close of the victim identification process.

The central feature is a striking memorial, intended as a gift from the city, which includes six granite plaques featuring words, repeated in English, Filipino, Maori, Russian, Spanish and Braille, saying: 'Etched in our City's memory, never to be forgotten. The City of Christchurch.'

A stainless steel band around the memorial says: 'The people of Christchurch will forever remember the unfound victims of the 22 February 2011 Earthquake'.

Another plaque reads: 'Interred here are unidentified remains recovered following the 22 February 2011 Christchurch Earthquake'.

Each victim will have their own granite plaque and the cemetery is open to the public from tomorrow.

Earlier in the day, the Governor-General and Lady Janine were welcomed to Canterbury by Ngai Tahu at Rehua Marae.

The couple also visited Cashel St Mall and its unique container shops which have attracted worldwide attention since they opened after the mall was decimated in the February 22 quake.

Memorial services are being held across the city, and New Zealand, tomorrow to remember those who died in the disaster.

- APNZ Tuesday Feb 21, 2012
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10787083

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Death toll from steel plant blast in Liaoning rises to 13

SHENYANG, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from a blast at a state-owned steel plant Monday night in northeast China's Liaoning Province has risen to 13, said local authorities and rescuers Tuesday.

The accident happened when a mold exploded at 11:30 p.m. Monday at a steel-casting workshop owned by Angang Heavy Machinery Co., Ltd. in the city of Anshan, according to a statement issued by the publicity department of the provincial committee of the Communist Party of China.

Ten people were found dead as of early Tuesday, while rescuers recovered the bodies of three workers who were previously identified as missing in the blast by Tuesday noon.

Another 17 people were injured in the blast and they were receiving medical treatment in hospital, said the statement.

Rescuers are searching for the missing worker. The cause of the accident is under investigation.

The state-run Angang Heavy Machinery Co., Ltd. founded more than 70 years ago, is one of China's largest machine manufacturers in the metallurgy industry, according to the company's website.

February 21, 2012

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90882/7735387.html

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Lagos may begin cremation of corpses as bill awaits passage

If members of the Lagos State House of Assembly eventually pass the Cremation Bill 2012 into law, then cremation of corpses, especially unclaimed ones will commence in the state.

The bill is titled “A Bill for a Law to Provide for Voluntary Cremation of Corpses and Unclaimed Corpses within Lagos State”, enacted by the state House of Assembly.

The lawmakers, in their submissions said that inability of relations to claim corpses of their relatives contributed immensely to the bad situation of the mortuaries in the state. It also uncovered that heaps of corpses at the state mortuaries can also lead to an epidemic situation in the state.

The purpose of the bill will be to establish a crematorium that will take care of unclaimed corpses and for voluntary cremation of corpses within the state to solve the problem associated with getting land for mass burial, and to decongest the state mortuaries, battling with cases of unidentified and unclaimed corpses.

According to Section 6 of the bill which talks about getting permission to cremate, the following persons may apply for a permission to cremate, a child or children of the deceased; a close relative of the deceased; an undertaker and an agent/legal representative.

Section 8 of the bill which talks about Cremation of unclaimed bodies at the state hospitals, states that the Medical Director of the state hospitals shall order for the cremation of unclaimed bodies in their respective Mortuaries after six weeks of which such bodies are not claimed, which shall be with the consent and approval of the Commissioner for Health.

Under Section 10 of the bill, which talks about dealing with ashes, the cremator in charge of a crematorium must not dispose of the ashes remaining after a cremation except in accordance with any reasonable written instructions of the applicant.

“However, the cremator in charge may bury the ashes in a burial ground if, within one year after the cremation, the applicant does not give reasonable written instructions for the disposal of the ashes.

TUESDAY, 21 FEBRUARY 2012

http://www.nigeriancompass.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12854:lagos-may-begin-cremation-of-corpses-as-bill-awaits-passage&catid=54:nigeria-today&Itemid=594

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Relatives storm Honduras morgue demanding remains

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras Hundreds of relatives of inmates who burned or suffocated to death in a Honduras prison fire have forced their way into a morgue to demand the remains of their loved ones.

Prosecutors spokesman Melvin Duarte says women and a few men pushed into the morgue, broke into a refrigerated container and opened at least six body bags.

He says police used tear gas to chase the people from the morgue in Tegucigalpa, which is Honduras' capital. He says no one was injured during Monday's confrontation, although at least one woman fainted.

The fire in a crowded prison last week in the city of Comayagua killed 359 prisoners. There were 852 inmates at the prison, more than double the capacity.

20 Febr 2012
Read more here: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2012/02/20/1834085/relatives-storm-honduras-morgue.html#storylink=cpy

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Unidentified Christchurch quake victims buried

The remains of four people who could not be formally identified after Christchurch's earthquake on February 22 last year have been laid to rest.

Four of the 185 people who died in the disaster were buried in a single casket in a private ceremony at the Avonhead Cemetery on Tuesday morning, ahead of a formal dedication of the internment site in the evening.

The unidentified victims were Shawn Lucas, 40, of Christchurch, Rhea Mae Sumalpong, 25, from the Philippines, Elsa Torres De Frood, 53, from Peru, and Valeri Volnov, 41, a Russian-born New Zealand resident, who were in the CTV building that collapsed and caught fire.

21 Febr 2012
http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/top-stories/12966179/unidentified-chch-quake-victims-buried/

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Honduras Prison Fire: International Forensics Teams To Help Probe

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras -- Countries are reaching out to Honduras after its deadly prison fire, sending medical aid and forensic doctors, with the United States dispatching an investigative team to help find the cause of the blaze.

Mexico and Chile are sending forensic experts to help identify the 355 dead, many of whom were burned beyond recognition in the inferno at the Comayagua prison north of Honduras' capital. France and Spain are offering medical aid for survivors of the deadliest prison fire in a century.

The fire that began late Tuesday night exposed a dysfunctional and underfunded prison system with overcrowded facilities, and insufficient staff. Honduran President Porfirio Lobo issued a plea for international assistance in carrying out a thorough investigation "to determine beyond any doubt what led to this tragedy and determine responsibility."

The U.S. State Department said Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigators arrived Thursday in Honduras. The team includes forensic chemists, explosives enforcement officers and dogs that can sniff out explosives and accelerants.

"The purpose of the mission is to establish how the fire started," the U.S. Embassy said in a statement.

Five forensic doctors who work for the Mexican Attorney General's Office arrived Thursday to help identify the dead, that country's Foreign Relations Department said in a statement.

The department said Mexico also sent medical supplies and medicine to treat burn victims after Lobo requested the aid in a telephone conversation with Mexican President Felipe Calderon.

Chile announced plans to send a team of 14 experts to also help identify the dead. The team helped in the aftermath of a fire that killed 81 in a Chilean prison and was set during fighting between rival gangs in 2010.

France and Spain have sent medical supplies to help treat survivors, and Spain offered to send a police team to help with the investigation.


Jose Miguel Insulza, secretary-general of the Organization of American States, said he has asked the president of the Inter-American Human Rights Commission to send a delegation to Honduras to investigate the fire. He expressed "deep shock at the dramatic events."

Israel's ambassador to Honduras, Eliau Lopes, said he planned to meet with Lobo on Friday to present a proposal by an Israeli company to build four modern, safe, high-security prisons.

Lopes said the cost of the project is high but "it can be achieved with international aid."

"We are talking about facilities where no one will escape, where there won't be fires," he said.

19 Febr 2012
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/18/honduras-prison-fire-international_n_1286315.html

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Funerals begin for Honduras fire victims

Forensic experts from seven other Latin American countries are joining the Honduran team identifying the bodies.

Hondurans are burying victims of one of the world's worst jail fires as they search for answers about what caused the disaster.

On Saturday, the death toll rose to 358 after two severely-burned inmates died in a hospital.

Several funerals took place in various towns around the country Friday after authorities released the bodies of the first 24 victims of a horrific inferno that has rattled this Central American nation.

"This was a barbaric crime," said Trinidad Varela, who bid a final farewell to her 28-year-old son, Edwin Ortega, in the town of Talanga, northwest of the capital.

"We cannot leave it just like that."

Four days after the blaze swept through the overcrowded Comayagua jail - which had held double its capacity with 852 inmates - the cause of the fire still was unclear.

A US team from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives arrived late Thursday to investigate and Chilean experts also searched the jail.

About 60 per cent of the prisoners in Comayagua had not yet been sentenced.

In the Honduran capital, Tegucigalpa, exhausted families waited for their relatives' bodies, kept at a distance because of a strong odour from the morgue.

Forensic experts from seven other Latin American countries are joining the Honduran team identifying the bodies.

Under tents set up outside the morgue, the team drew blood samples from relatives of the victims for DNA testing.

"There are bodies that can only be identified with DNA testing," coroner Antonieta Zuniga said after explaining that many bodies were charred beyond recognition.

Lindolfo Hernandez, brother of one of the victims, said: "They told me that it would be difficult to give me my brother's body because it is in a bad state, but I'll stay here until they've done it."

His brother, jailed for 10 years for rape, was due to be released in two months.

Delmi Matute could not understand the fate of her husband's remains.

"We have been waiting here four days but they have not given him to me. My husband died of smoke inhalation, he should be easy to identify, and they still have not given him to me," she sobbed as she sat with loved ones.

Honduran President Porfirio Lobo suspended top officials from the country's prison system and called for foreign assistance in the investigations, amid accusations that authorities had been overwhelmed by the scale of the disaster.

He pledged compensation for the victims' families.

Human rights groups and witnesses questioned the role of the guards and the authorities, suggesting negligence or even premeditation.

The Committee for the Defence of Human Rights said in a statement that firefighters arrived too late, the prison director was absent and guards failed to open cell doors to save lives.

The Committee of Families of Missing Prisoners expressed concern about a complaint from a non-identified prisoner who told local media the fire was started by police to cover up a planned escape.

National police spokesman Hector Ivan Mejia denied the suggestion and added that no prisoners had escaped.

But President Lobo acknowledged that some inmates caught up in the fire did escape, without saying how many.

Besides those killed in the blaze, "other inmates fled, but they will be caught," Lobo told reporters at a press conference.

He also ordered a safety review of the nation's 23 other jails.

Leftist opposition parties blamed the blaze on "criminal negligence."

Some 500 inmates who survived the fire remained inside the jail in a wing that was not affected.

"I don't want to stay in this prison," said Marco Valladares, who communicated with his wife by mobile phone from inside the jail.

"It's cursed. We knew for a long time that the fire would happen."

Another survivor, Hector Martinez, said: "The facilities are damaged. I'm afraid."

Honduras, which has the world's highest murder rate - 80 per 100,000 people according to the United Nations - has 24 detention centres with a capacity of 8000. The prison population is currently around 13,000.

19 Febr 2012
http://news.msn.co.nz/worldnews/8422053/funerals-begin-for-honduras-victims

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Funerals of victims of Honduras jail fire begin

TEGUCIGALPA - Hondurans have begun burying victims of a deadly fire in a jail, which left 356 people dead this week, as questionmarks still hung over the role of the authorities in the disaster.

Several funerals took place in various towns around the country Friday after authorities handed over to families the bodies of the first 24 victims.

"This was a barbaric crime," said Trinidad Varela, who bid her final farewell to her 28-year-old son, Edwin Ortega, in the town of Talanga, northwest of the capital. "We cannot leave it just like that."

Four days after the blaze swept through the overcrowded Comayagua jail - which had held double its capacity with 852 inmates - the cause of the fire was still unclear.
A U.S. team from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) arrived late Thursday and Chilean experts also searched the jail.
The death toll from one of the world's worst prison catastrophes rose by one to 356, after an inmate died in hospital.
Around 60 per cent of the prisoners in Comayagua had not yet been sentenced.
In the Honduran capital, Tegucigalpa, exhausted families waited for their relatives' bodies, kept at a distance due to a strong odor from the morgue. Only 15 bodies had been identified Friday, when the first burials began.
"They told me that it would be difficult to give me my brother's body because it is in a bad state, but I'll stay here until they've done it," said Lindolfo Hernandez. His brother, jailed for 10 years for rape, had been due to be released in just two months.
Honduran President Porfirio Lobo suspended top officials from the country's prison system and called for foreign aid with investigations, amid accusations that authorities had been overwhelmed by the scale of the disaster.
Rights groups and witnesses questioned the role of the guards and the authorities, suggesting negligence or even premeditation.

The Committee for the Defense of Human Rights said in a statement that firefighters had arrived too late, the prison director was absent and the guards failed to open cell doors to save lives.
The Committee of Families of Missing Prisoners expressed concern about a complaint from a non-identified prisoner who told local media that the fire was started by police to cover up a planned escape.

National police spokesman Hector Ivan Mejia ruled out that suggestion, and said that no prisoners had escaped.
But President Lobo acknowledged that some inmates caught up in the fire did escape, without saying how many.
Besides those killed in the blaze, "other inmates fled, but they will be caught," Lobo told reporters at a press conference.
Leftist opposition parties blamed the blaze on "criminal negligence."
Some 500 inmates who survived the fire remained inside the jail, in a wing which was not affected.

"I don't want to stay in this prison," said Marco Valladares, who communicated with his wife by mobile phone from inside the jail. "It's cursed. We knew for a long time that the fire would happen."

Another survivor, Hector Martinez, said: "The facilities are damaged. I'm afraid."
Honduras, which has the world's highest murder rate - 80 per 100,000 people according to the United Nations - has 24 detention centers with a capacity of 8,000. The prison population is around 13,000.

Saturday, February 18, 2012

http://www2.canada.com/nanaimodailynews/news/story.html?id=6175122

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Coal mine accident kills 15

CHANGSHA, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- Fifteen miners were killed, and three others injured, following a mine-car crash Thursday morning in central China's Hunan province, local authorities said.

The accident happened around 12:30 a.m. in the Nanyang township of the Leiyang city, after six cars of an eight-car carriage carrying 18 miners unhooked and plunged into a tunnel rapidly in the Hongfa Coal Mine, according to the Hunan Provincial Administration of Coal Mine Safety.

The 15 were killed instantly in the crash, while the other three were injured after jumping or being thrown out of the car, according to rescuers.

An initial probe found that the miners had violated safety rules by riding in the mine cars, which are designed to transport coal only. Police have taken custody of the coal mine's managers.

Hongfa Coal Mine is a licensed coal mine.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2012-02/16/c_131413504.htm

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Inmate Blamed For 'Nightmare' Prison Blaze

A fire that killed at least 358 people at a Honduras prison was started deliberately by one of the inmates, according to a local politician.

Paola Castro, the governor of Comayagua, said: "One inmate got in touch with me just after 11pm to say another inmate had set fire to the prison in block number 6, presumably by setting fire to a mattress."

I only saw flames, and when we got out, they were being burned, up against the bars, they were stuck to them.

She called the Red Cross and the fire brigade after receiving the phone call on Tuesday but they were unable to enter the prison for 30 minutes because guards believed they were dealing with a riot or an attempted breakout.

Survivors told investigators that an unidentified inmate had set fire to his bedding after officials had earlier suggested that it was sparked by a short circuit.

The blaze spread through the locked barracks within minutes.

Inmates described how they climbed walls to break the sheet metal roofing and escape, only to see prisoners in other cell blocks being burned alive. Some were found stuck to the prison's metal roofing, their burned bodies fused to the metal.

"I only saw flames, and when we got out, they were being burned, up against the bars, they were stuck to them," said Eladio Chicas, 40, who was in his 15th year of a 39-year sentence.

"It was something horrible," he said. "This is a nightmare."

Honduran forensic workers remove burnt inmates from prison

Inmates were unable to escape as the fire spread through the locked barracks in minutes

In the block where the fire was started only four of the 105 prisoners housed there survived, Supreme Court Justice Richard Ordonez, who is leading the investigation, said.

Inmates' bodies were found piled up in the prison's bathrooms, where they apparently fled to turn on the showers and hope the water would save them from the flames.

Many victims were so charred, officials said they would need to use dental records and DNA to identify them.

The prison in the central town of Comayagua, 53 miles north of the capital Tegucigalpa was built in the 1940s for 400 inmates but was packed with more than double that number.

There were only 12 guards on duty when the fire broke out, state prosecutor German Enamorado said.

The prison, which was made up of 12 barrack units, had more than 850 inmates

Honduran President Porfirio Lobo said on national television that he had suspended the country's senior penal officials and would request international assistance in carrying out a thorough investigation.

"This is a day of profound sadness," Lobo said.

He promised to "take urgent measures to deal with this tragedy, which has plunged all Hondurans into mourning".

In 2003, a blaze broke out after a riot in another prison in northern Honduras, killing 68.

An investigation found police and prison staff had shot and stabbed inmates in the melee.

The government pledged to improve the system but just a year later more than 100 prisoners were killed in a fire in San Pedro Sula. Survivors of that blaze said guards fired on inmates trying to escape or left them locked up to die.

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Honduras prison fire kills hundreds

At least 300 prisoners have been killed after a massive fire swept through a jail in Honduras, officials say.

Many victims were burned or suffocated to death in their cells in Comayagua, north of the capital Tegucigalpa.

The officials say at least 300 are confirmed dead, but a further 56 inmates, out of the 853 in the prison, are missing and presumed dead.

Relatives of prisoners clashed with police as they tried to force their way into the prison, desperate for news.

Police responded by firing shots into the air and tear gas.

An inquiry is under way whether the blaze was caused by rioting or an electrical fault.

Honduran President Lobo pledged a "full and transparent" investigation into the "lamentable and unacceptable" tragedy.

He said local and national prison authorities would be suspended while the inquiry was conducted.


Police fired tear gas as relatives tried to break into the prison's main building
'Hellish' scenes
The fire broke out late on Tuesday night and took more than an hour to be brought under control.

Dozens of prisoners died trapped in their cells and were burned beyond recognition.


Fire survivor: 'We had to break on to the roof to be able to get out'
Comayagua firefighters' spokesman Josue Garcia said there were "hellish" scenes at the prison and that desperate inmates had rioted in a bid to escape the flames.

"We couldn't get them out because we didn't have the keys and couldn't find the guards who had them," he said.

One prisoner, who managed to escape, later told reporters that he first had heard "the screams of the ones (inmates) on fire and everyone just started fearing for their lives".

"The only thing that we were able to do was start breaking the roof apart so we could go out from above. We started ripping apart the ceiling above us."

Lucy Marder, who heads the forensic services in Comayagua, said that 356 people on the prison roster were unaccounted for.

It was feared many inmates had fled the prison in Comayagua, about 100km (60 miles) north of the capital Tegucigalpa.

Amid the confusion, relatives gathered outside the prison to try to get information.

"I'm looking for my brother. We don't know what's happened to him and they won't let us in," Arlen Gomez told Honduran radio.

Local hospitals are treating dozens of people for burns and other injuries.

Authorities have yet to establish a cause of the fire
Some of the injured have been taken to Tegucigalpa for treatment, among them 30 people with severe burns.

Firefighters said they had struggled to enter the prison because shots had been fired.

Honduran media reported that there had been a riot in the prison before the fire broke out.

Prison service head Daniel Orellana denied this.

"We have two hypotheses. One is that a prisoner set fire to a mattress and the other one is that there was a short-circuit in the electrical system," he was quoted as saying by Reuters.

Prisons in Honduras, which has the world's highest murder rate, are often seriously overcrowded and hold many gang members.

Recent deadliest prison fires

Dec 2010 - 81 are killed at Santiago's jail in Chile. The fire started during a fight between rival gangs
Nov 10 - 16 die at Ilobasco's juvenile prison, El Salvador, in the blaze blamed on an electrical short-circuit
May 04 - 107 die at San Pedro Sula's jail, Honduras. An electrical fault reportedly caused the fire
Sept 03 - 67 inmates die at Riyadh's prison in Saudi Arabia. The cause is unknown
"The majority could be dead, though others could have suffered burns, escaped or survived," Ms Marder said.

15 February 2012

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-17038259

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Analysis technique could help to identify bodies more reliably

A new corpse-analysis technique could help forensic scientists identify bodies more reliably and cheaply than with current methods.

Researchers from the University of Granada in Spain developed a method of comparing a set of reference points on a skull and those on a picture of the subject while they were alive to see if they match.

Lead researcher on the project Fernando Merino said this craniofacial superimposition technique was faster and more reliable than other forensic identification methods.
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‘As this technique is much less expensive, forensic scientists might use it firstly and, only when necessary, resort then to other techniques.

‘This technique can be complementary to other techniques, as it can serve to discard potential identities before using more expensive or slower identification techniques, such as DNA analysis.’

In particular, the researchers think the new technique could be useful for identifying a corpse from among multiple bodies, for example following a mass disaster, by significantly reducing possible candidates.

To carry out the study, the researchers used a sample of CAT scan images from 500 people and determined the spatial relationship between each point on both the skull and the photo of the face to obtain a vector between them that could be applied to any sample.

The researchers then applied this technique to real cases where only a skull was available in order to verify their results using a 3D virtual model of the skull.

15/02/2012

Read more: http://www.theengineer.co.uk/sectors/medical-and-healthcare/news/analysis-technique-could-help-to-identify-bodies-more-reliably/1011702.article#ixzz1mRwYScE1

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Missing War Victims Identified in Zagreb

[ZAGREB] Nine exhumed victims of the war in Croatia were identified on Monday by their families in Zagreb, leaving a total of 1,768 missing persons yet to be found in Croatia.

Victims identified yesterday at Zagreb Judiciary medicine institute were exhumed in the Vukovar and Sisak areas of Croatia as well as in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Ten families were invited to identification, but one did not come.

Five of the identified men were Croatian soldiers during the war. The status of the other victims wasn't revealed, nor it was explained what happened to those exhumed in Bosnia.

Croatian veterans minister Predrag Matic was at the identification, expressing condolences to the families. "We won't leave off until we have found the last missing person," Matic said.

"All hopes that your relatives could be found alive have vanished, but you have bravely carried that burden. The government and war veterans ministry will support you in all your difficulties. We are here to help you," Matic said.

Of a total of 1,768 missing from the war in Croatia, 984 disappeared in the second half of 1991 and first half of 1992, when Serb forces were expelling Croatians from their homes. Most of those missing are of Croatian nationality.

From the period May to August 1995, when the Croatian army retook Serb-controlled territories, 784 persons, mostly Serbs, remain missing. For years Croatia didn't recognize those people as equal victims, but that has changed in recent years under international pressure.

According to the war veterans ministry, at the climax of war in 1991, about 18,000 people were missing in Croatia. Today, the fates of more than 16,000 have been solved one way or another.

Until today, from 143 mass graves and more than 1,200 individual graves 3,780 victims of the war in 1991/1992 have been exhumed, of whom 3,189 victims were identified.

In addition, 809 victims from Croatian army operations Flash and Storm in 1995 have been exhumed, out of which 489 were identified.

14 February 2012

http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/nine-missing-war-victims-identified-in-zagreb

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PNG ferry death toll likely to rise to at least 200

THE death toll from the sinking of the passenger ferry MV Rabaul Queen off the Papua New Guinea coast two weeks ago is likely to be more than 200 - double the previous official estimate - according to the director of the disaster response effort.

A preliminary list of 183 missing was published in a national newspaper yesterday, together with an appeal to relatives and friends for help in confirming the final tally.

With the search for survivors and bodies likely to be called off tomorrow, 14 days after the overloaded ferry sank in heavy seas on the way from Kimbe, on the island of New Britain, to the mainland port of Lae, officials are still trying to reconcile reports of missing passengers with the ''defective'' passenger manifest provided by the shipping company, said Patilias Gamato, director of the disaster response and deputy administrator of Morobe Province.
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Three life rafts from the MV Rabaul Queen float above the sunken hull of the ferry in the open waters off Papua New Guinea's east coast.

Life rafts from the MV Rabaul Queen float above the sunken hull of the ferry. Photo: AP

Mr Gamato said that according to witness accounts there were more than 560 passengers on the ferry, which was licensed to carry 310 people.

Similar reports have been running hot on PNG's social media sites, where distress and anger over the tragedy is compounded by continuing political chaos, concerns over eroding safety systems and the failure of regulators to enforce rules.

Yesterday, the Morobe Disaster Centre published an unconfirmed list of 183 names of missing passengers in the Papua New Guinea Post-Courier.

''This is a preliminary list because the manifest is not accurate, so we are inviting relatives to contact us,'' Mr Gamato said. He told The Age that he expected that the final list of missing, presumed drowned would total more than 200. Mr Gamato said 234 rescued people had been confirmed as survivors. Despite an extensive search, just four bodies have been recovered so far: that of a two-year-old boy, and those of three young women. ''This week we've found only debris and clothes.''

Kimbe buried the first of its dead in an emotional service last weekend. Belinda Kembu, 28, had been on a visit home to Kimbe to tell her family of her betrothal, according to local reporter Alexander Nara. Having gained her parents' blessing she sent a text message to her fiance when she boarded the ferry back to Lae, saying: ''I will bring you to Kimbe sooner than you expect.'' Six days later, he escorted her body home.

According to survivor accounts, many people travelling on lower decks would have been trapped when the vessel capsized and sank in three to four-metre swells. Mothers, infants and small children dominate the list of the known missing. Many of the survivors were students and teachers on their way to the mainland for the new school year.

PNG Prime Minister Peter O'Neill has asked the Australian Maritime Safety Authority to investigate the tragedy. ''We can't engage our own people, mainly because they will be subjected to the investigation too,'' he said. ''Those that are found to be negligent in this disaster will face the law, this is the biggest and worst sea disaster we have had in the country.''

Mr O'Neill has also announced an independent inquiry by retired Australian judge Warwick Andrews.

In the days after the sinking, PNG Transport Minister Francis Awesa said he could have predicted the disaster given the state of the country's vessels and complacent attitudes over safety.

February 15, 2012

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/png-ferry-death-toll-likely-to-rise-to-at-least-200-20120214-1t450.html#ixzz1mRsQ22Fw

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