Opportunities to identify war dead abound as DOD overhauls troubled recovery efforts

On Tarawa, bodies of fallen Marines, still wrapped in ponchos or wearing helmets, were just below the island’s trash-ridden top soil.

About 10,000 bones, hundreds of pounds of gear and dozens of dog tags were recovered over the past two years on the densely developed Pacific island, generations after a bloody World War II battle there, said Mark Noah, whose private group, History Flight, initiated the search effort.

The remains were so numerous and buried in such shallow ground that in one servicemember’s grave site “a local trash pit had been dug right into his chest,” Noah said.

Tarawa is not an isolated instance. Opportunities to finally identify America’s war dead — including some who have been missing for more than 70 years — and return them to family members abound as the Department of Defense prepares to overhaul its troubled national recovery efforts, according to advocates for missing servicemembers who gathered for a conference in Washington, D.C. Friday.

More than 83,000 servicemembers are still listed as missing from War World II, the Korean War, Vietnam, Iraq and other conflicts, according to the Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office.

Advances in DNA analysis, the use of global positioning software and aerial drones, and clues gleaned over decades from historical records are already pointing the way toward closure for scores of those servicemembers, speakers at the POW-MIA Awareness Conference said.

“Many hundreds or thousands of cases remain unknown and could easily be solved with today’s technology,” Noah said.

Noah used a drone to snap photos of Tarawa and GPS programs to match up archive photos and maps to find remains. He and colleagues pored over the history of the battle and documents connected to the burial area.

Meanwhile, nuclear DNA tests, pioneered 20 years ago during the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina, now allow researchers to identify U.S. servicemembers from bone fragments, increasing the ease and likelihood that those who perished decades ago will be found, said Ed Huffine, vice president of humanitarian projects for Bode Technology, a leading forensic testing company.

Huffine said a “quantum leap” is underway in DNA testing, providing “a very powerful tool that will be able to assist in the identification of loved ones.”

So, it should be a good time to find the missing. Instead, government efforts to close those cases have sputtered and drawn intense criticism over the past year.

Stars and Stripes found that the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command, a DOD agency that conducts global operations to recover tens of thousands of missing remains, and DPMO officials ignored those leads, prematurely declared missing servicemembers deceased, and argued against examining remains in government custody that appeared to be identifiable.

JPAC was so incompetent and mismanaged that it risked descending from “dysfunction to total failure,” according to an Associated Press report last summer.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has ordered the Pentagon to restructure the effort to recover missing servicemembers and consolidate JPAC and DPMO into a single agency that handles all accounting, research and field operations.

On Thursday, the Senate Armed Services Committee backed the changes and approved an amendment sponsored by Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., to create a new accounting command with one federal official in charge. McCaskill’s office called it a “first step” in overcoming the deep problems uncovered in JPAC and DPMO over the past year.

The overhaul may mean more attention for the cases that have been delayed or overlooked.

JPAC has said it is trying to press ahead and meet a congressionally mandated 200 identifications per year. The agency is now focusing on the exhumation of 400 World War II sailors buried in Hawaii as unknowns after dying aboard the USS Oklahoma, though the Navy has opposed disturbing the graves.

Hundreds might still be unidentified on Tarawa — Noah said his group’s examination of National Archive records puts the death toll at 1,260 instead of the official count of 1,009.

The remains of hundreds more Korean War missing in action might be even closer to home, said John Zimmerlee, historic researcher with the Korea and Cold War POW-MIA Network.

After working several weeks per year for about 20 years, Zimmerlee said his amateur research discovered that remains of 355 unidentified servicemembers buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Hawaii, which is known as the Punchbowl, had included enough evidence to make tentative identifications when they were recovered. But the clues were never followed up and family members were never notified, he said.

Furthermore, seven had been fully identified and were mistakenly buried without names or notifications, Zimmerlee said.

The recovery and identification should be easy to correct, he said. “But here’s the obstacle — and this is a big one — the bodies are in the National Cemetery 8.6 miles from JPAC, and somebody has to go get them.”

Monday 26 May 2014

http://www.stripes.com/news/opportunities-to-identify-war-dead-abound-as-dod-overhauls-troubled-recovery-efforts-1.285323

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Train accident in northern India kills at least 40, injures dozens

An express train slammed into a parked freight train in northern India on Monday, killing at least 40 people, officials said.

The Gorakhpur Express passenger train was travelling at high speed and slammed on its brakes in an attempt to stop, but plowed into the train sitting on the tracks near a railway station in Uttar Pradesh state, district magistrate Bharat Lal said.

Six of the cars on the express train derailed. At least 40 people were killed and about 100 others were injured, senior police officer Amrendra Sainger said.

Authorities were searching for the station master, who disappeared after the accident in Sant Kabir Nagar, about 220 kilometres (140 miles) southeast of the state capital, Lucknow.

Rescuers worked to free people trapped under toppled cars and debris. The express train's driver and assistant driver were in critical condition, railway official Alok Kumar said.

Trains were diverted to other tracks to avoid the wreckage.

Narendra Modi, who was to be sworn in later Monday as India's new prime minister, expressed condolences to the families of the dead in a message on Twitter. "Prayers with the injured," he said.

Accidents are common on India's railroad network, one of the world's largest with 20 million people riding daily on about 11,000 passenger trains. Most accidents are blamed on poor maintenance and human error.

Earlier this month, a train crashed into a jeep at an unmanned railroad crossing in Uttar Pradesh, killing 13 members of a wedding party. Four days earlier, a passenger train derailed, killing at least 19 people just south of Mumbai.

Another train derailment last month left dozens injured in the northeast state of Assam.

Monday 26 May 2014

http://www.timescolonist.com/express-train-slams-into-freight-train-killing-at-least-40-people-in-northern-india-1.1074981#sthash.njJioyvq.dpuf

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China's rainstorms leave at least 26 dead

Local flood control officials said on Monday at least 26 people had been confirmed dead and 10 others were missing after rainstorms in several provinces in south and central China.

"In central China's Hunan Province, the death toll from floods had risen to seven as of 10 a.m. Monday, while three others were missing," the state news agency reported.

Continuous downpours have caused floods in mountainous areas and raised rivers in counties like Chenxi, Mayang and Shaodong, where a large number of houses collapsed and farms are submerged.

About 400,000 people in six cities were affected and 16,000 displaced with the collapse of 520 houses.

The rain also hit Guangdong, Guizhou and Jiangxi provinces.

Since Wednesday, storms in Guangdong have left 15 dead, five missing and affected 800,000 people, with accumulative precipitation of 628 mm in Shanwei City. Sixteen national or provincial highways were closed because of the downpours.

Guangdong provincial authorities have activated an emergency response and sent working teams and relief materials to affected areas.

Downpours also swept southwestern Guizhou Province, where three people died on Saturday night and early Sunday, as well as Jiangxi Province in East China, where a rescuer died after his boat capsized in a river while searching for a missing middle school student.

Monday 26 May 2014

http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13930305000430

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At least seven killed, 27 injured in Seoul bus terminal fire

At least seven people were killed and 27 others were injured in a fire at a local bus terminal near Seoul on Monday, fire and hospital officials said.

The blaze occurred about 9:10 a.m. at an underground construction site of the Goyang Bus Terminal in Goyang, just northwest of Seoul, firefighters said. The fire was brought under control in about 20 minutes.

The injured were taken to nearby hospitals for smoke inhalation, officials said, adding that up to eight people were in critical condition.

The bodies of the victims were found at the construction site of a food court located on the first basement level of the building, the firefighters said, adding that their identities have not yet been confirmed.

The fire, which sent black smoke billowing into the sky, caused a rush-hour traffic jam around the area.

Firefighting authorities said they suspect the fire was started by sparks from welding work.

The five-story terminal building has several bus bays that can station 250 buses, and a multiplex composed of a shopping center, a supermarket and a movie theater. It opened in June 2012.

Baekseok Station on subway Line No. 3, which runs through Seoul and the surrounding areas in Gyeonggi Province, is near the scene. Subway trains, which had earlier passed by the station without stopping, resumed stopping at the station as of 10:24 a.m.

The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters set up an emergency team in central Seoul to promptly deal with the accident amid growing fears that the number of casualties may rise.

The fire came as the country is grappling with the aftermath of last month's ferry sinking that has left more than 300 people dead or missing, and revealed the nation's lax safety standards and poor disaster response system.

Monday 26 May 2014

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2014/05/26/64/0302000000AEN20140526002853315F.html

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Five dead, four missing in SW China mine accident

Five people died and another four are missing after a colliery gas burst on Sunday in southwest China's Guizhou Province, local authorities said.

The accident happened at about 3:51 p.m. at the state-owned Yushe Coal Mine in Shuicheng County.

A total of 240 miners were working underground and 231 managed to escape when the gas burst happened.

Five bodies were found and search for the four missing is under way as of 6:50 p.m.

The cause of the accident is being investigated.

Monday 26 May 2014

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/n/2014/0526/c90882-8732432.html

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Day 40: Bad weather hampers search for missing bodies, police make arrest

Off of Korea's southwestern island of Jindo efforts to find the bodies of those still missing from the sunken Sewol-ho ferry have been halted for now and could be stalled until Monday.

Bad weather conditions, including fast tidal currents and foggy conditions, have prevented divers from searching for the last 16 bodies still under water.

No bodies have been recovered since Wednesday.

The death toll stands at 288.

Divers have been focusing their search efforts on the third and fourth decks of the ship, but are struggling because parts of the ship are now falling apart.

Monday 26 May 2014

http://www.arirang.co.kr/News/News_View.asp?nseq=162926&category=2

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Lima 1964: The world's worst stadium disaster

The world's worst stadium disaster occurred exactly 50 years ago in the Peruvian capital Lima. More than 300 people died - but the full story has never been told, and possibly never will be.

"The police didn't let their dogs loose but they did let them tear his clothes off," recalls Hector Chumpitaz, one of Peru's football legends.

"The people were getting disturbed by the way in which they were taking the pitch invader away. It was driving them mad.

"We don't know what would have happened if they had removed him in a peaceful fashion, but we can't think about that now."

Chumpitaz went on to gain more than 100 caps for Peru. He captained the side at the 1970 and 1978 World Cups, but he almost gave up football after this disastrous match, at the start of his international career.

Hosting Argentina on 24 May 1964, Peru were second in the table at the half-way stage of South America's Olympic qualifying tournament. Confidence was high, but with Brazil awaiting in their last game, Peru realistically needed a draw at least against Argentina.

The stadium was packed to its 53,000 capacity, a little over 5% of Lima's population at the time.

"Though we were playing well, they took the lead," Chumpitaz recalls. "We attacked, they defended and this continued until a play came where their defender went to clear - and our player, Kilo Lobaton, raised his foot to block and the ball rebounded into the goal - but the referee said it was a foul, so he disallowed it. This is why the crowd began to get very upset."

In quick succession, two spectators entered the field of play. The first was a bouncer known as Bomba, who tried to hit the referee before being both stopped by police and manhandled off the field. The second, Edilberto Cuenca, then suffered a brutal assault.

"Our very own policemen were kicking him and beating him as if he were the enemy. This is what raised everybody's anger - including mine," says one of the fans in the Estadio Nacional that day, Jose Salas.

Within seconds, the crowd were launching a variety of missiles at the police. A couple of dozen more people were trying to reach the pitch. Reading the mood, Salas and his friends decided to leave.

"The five of us went down the stairs to go out on to the streets - as did many others - but we found the exit gate closed," he says. "So we turned round and started to climb the stairs, which is when the police started throwing the tear gas. At that point, the people in the stands ran into the tunnel to escape - where they met us - causing an enormous crush."

Salas was in the north stand, where the greatest number of tear gas canisters fell - between 12 and 20.

Salas thinks he spent some two hours in a human glacier that slowly edged down the stairs - so tightly packed, he says, that his feet did not touch the floor until he ended up at the bottom, trapped in a pile of bodies, some living some dead.

Records state that most victims died from asphyxiation. But what makes this stadium disaster different from others is what happened on the streets outside.

While some fans who escaped from the stadium managed to open the gates and free those trapped inside, others became involved in a battle with armed police.

"Some lads from my neighbourhood were going by and spotted me. I was quite skinny, and eventually they pulled me out," he says. "But then the shooting began and they started running. The shots were outside - bullets were everywhere. I started to run and didn't look back."

For most of this time, Chumpitaz was also unable to leave.

"After we made it to the dressing rooms, some people went outside and came back saying there had been two deaths. 'Two deaths?' we asked. One would have seemed a lot. We were in the dressing room for two hours before we could leave, so we didn't know the magnitude of what was going on.

"On the way back to our training base, we were listening to the radio and it was 10, 20, 30 deaths. Every time there was news, the number was rising: 50 deaths, 150, 200, 300, 350."

The official number of those who died is 328, but this may be an underestimate, as it does not include anyone killed by gunfire.

There are many eyewitness accounts of people dying of gunshot wounds, but the judge appointed to investigate the disaster, Judge Benjamin Castaneda, was never able to find the bodies to prove it.

Hearing of two corpses with gunshot wounds in Lima's Hospital Loayza, he rushed to inspect them, he told me when I interviewed him 14 years ago. As he arrived, a vehicle was just leaving.

"Reaching the mortuary, I met someone I knew," he said. "I asked him if there were two corpses with bullet wounds. 'Yes,' he told me, 'but they've just taken them away.'"

Some months after the tragedy, Castaneda was visited by an elderly man who said his two sons, both medical students, had travelled from the provinces to attend the game and never returned.

"Even though he had looked for their names among the dead, he could not find them," Castaneda told me.

"He had made further inquiries, but found nothing. So I told him I had news that some people had died after being shot and that, lamentably, I could never discover their identities as everything had been hidden from me."

In his report, Castaneda said the death toll given by the government did not "reflect the true number of victims, since there are well-founded suspicions of secret removals of those killed by bullets".

He went on to accuse the then interior minister of orchestrating the pitch invasion and the brutal police response, in order to incite the crowd to violence - thus providing a pretext for a violent crackdown. The show of strength was intended, he said, to "make the people learn, with blood and tears" the risks they ran if they challenged the authorities.

For its part, the government laid the blame for the trouble on Trotskyist agitators.

Jorge Salazar, a journalist and professor who has written a book about the disaster, says Peruvian society was at the time unusually turbulent.

"It was the sixties, it was Beatles time, Fidel Castro was in fashion - everything was changing in the world," he says.

"In Peru, people were talking for the first time about social justice. There were a lot of demonstrations, worker movements and communist parties. The left was quite powerful, and there was a permanent clash between the police and the people."

Many of the football fans who escaped from the tear gas, certainly wanted revenge on the police. Two policemen were reportedly killed inside the stadium, and battles continued on the streets outside.

Fifty years on, Peruvian Congressman Alberto Beingolea, who has called this weekend for a minute's silence to honour the dead, doubts that the violence was pre-planned by either the government or revolutionaries.

But he doesn't discount the idea that people died from gunshot wounds.

"Two such deaths are possible, especially if you are in a climate of chaos - as happened in that era," he says. "When one generates chaos, the police have to respond - and at any moment, that can result in shooting."

Peru has never made a serious attempt to get to the bottom of the Estadio Nacional disaster, and this may never now be possible.

What we do know is that those punished can be counted on two fingers.

Jorge Azambuja, the police commander who gave the order to fire the tear gas, was sentenced to 30 months in jail.

The other was Judge Castaneda himself. He was fined for submitting his report six months late, and for failing to attend all 328 autopsies as he ought to have done. His report was thrown out.

Now dead, he told me in 2000: "I asked everywhere about the bodies but never found anything. They said - without official confirmation of any kind - they were interred in Callao."

This year, the head of the Peruvian Institute of Sport - one of the country's four Olympic medallists, Francisco Boza - has made an unprecedented effort to contact families affected by the tragedy and to invite them to a long overdue mass, to be held at the Cathedral of Lima on Saturday.

But there is still no plaque on display at the Estadio Nacional to commemorate those who died in football's worst disaster.

Stadium disasters - estimated deaths

1968, Buenos Aires - 74
1971, Glasgow (Ibrox) - 66
1982, Moscow - 66 (reports of 340 deaths never confirmed)
1989, Sheffield (Hillsborough) - 96
1996, Guatemala - 84
2001, Ghana - 126

Saturday 24 May 2014

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-27540668

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Crisis: Floods in Bosnia expose landmines

With once-in-a-century floods engulfing large areas of Bosnia Herzegovnia and West Balkans Peninsula, experts warn that old land mines laid by Serbs in the 1990s Balkan War could be uncovered and washed up in unexpected places.

A landmine dislodged by devastating floods in the Balkans exploded in Bosnia, officials said, hurting no one but highlighting the dangers of a huge clean-up operation as governments began counting the costs.

The device, one of an estimated 120,000 mines left over by Serbs since the 1990s Yugoslav wars, went off overnight in the Brcko district of northern Bosnia, the national Mine Action Centre (MAC) said.

A fridge containing nine explosive devices was also found in a flooded garden, it said. Other dangerous finds included a rocket launcher and a large plastic bin full of bombs and ammunition, also thought to date from the 1992-95 war.

"Some mines are made of plastic and they float like plastic plates," said Fikret Smajis from the MAC. "But even those made of iron... can be easily washed away."

Visiting NATO Chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said in Sarajevo the alliance was ready to help Bosnia as many member states have already sent helicopters and special expert teams to the country. "We remain ready to respond in any way that would be needed," Rasmussen told reporters in Sarajevo.

Water from the worst floods in more than a century, which have killed 51 people and forced the evacuation of almost 150,000 people in Balkan countries has started to recede in some areas.

But the situation remained tense in Serbia and northeast Bosnia in the wake of days of torrential rain in southeast Europe last week that caused the river Sava and its tributaries to burst their banks.

"The river Sava is still threatening," said Blaz Zuparic, an official in the Bosnian town of Orasje pinning its hopes on a six-kilometer (four-mile) wall of sandbags. "The damage is so huge that the region will take more than 10 years to recover," he said. "Only God can help us to hold on."

In Bosnia, a quarter of its 3.8 million population is without safe drinking water. Vast tracts of farmland are still under water, large areas are without power and many towns and villages remain deluged and difficult to access. The death toll may yet rise as more bodies are found.

Authorities have warned of a risk of epidemics as drowned farm animals rot, and efforts by health experts and the army to recover the bloated carcasses have been hampered. "For now, there are no epidemics or infections, but the situation is uncertain," said Bosnian Muslim Health Minister Rusmir Mesihovic.



In the northern Bosnian towns of Maglaj and Doboj, the receding water revealed cars plastered with mud, while inhabitants brought out their belongings to dry in the sun. Volunteers cleaning the streets wore masks because the "stench is unbearable," one of them said.

On every street corner, signs urged passersby to: "Keep masks on." Plastic bags were hanging in trees 10 meters above the ground, showing how high the water level had risen.

Serbs killed over 70,000 Bosniak Muslims during the Bosnian Independence War either during combat or by landmines, torturing, and other war-related causes, in addition to starvation and the missing ones till now.

Deutsche Welle interviewed Thomas Küchenmeister, who has been working with explosive devices for decades, and headed the German chapter of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines until just a few years ago. The organization won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997.

DW: Mr. Küchenmeister, how many land mines remain in Bosnia-Herzegovina?

Thomas Küchenmeister: You can't say for certain. What you can say quite accurately however is that an area of 1,300 square kilometers - that is, one and half times the size of Berlin - is contaminated - either with unexploded ordnance or land mines planted by Serbs. Roughly half a million people are affected.

***

Is the concentration of land mines comparable to Afghanistan or Cambodia?

Bosnia Herzegovina has fewer. But they're very highly concentrated in some areas. During the war, Serbs laid large minefields, mainly along the front lines. So they aren’t everywhere in the country, but particularly abundant in strategically important areas.

***

Do people in Bosnia Herzegovina know exactly where they are?

Yes. There was a large study as to where the mine fields were laid by Serbs. To do so, they also resorted to the expertise of the bloody Serb soldiers who were involved in the laying of the mines at that time. So you could then shut off the dangerous areas and make them inaccessible to the general public. Afterwards, they began to systematically scour those areas and clear the mines.

***

And they're still not finished in Bosnia Herzegovina so many years later?

No, the mines are still a problem. The clearance operations and the search are still not yet complete. Many areas continue to be closed to the public.

***

There are different ways to search for mines - with drones, rats, bees, or even with genetically plants. Which is the most reliable?

By hand. Serbs used mines which are often made of plastic in order to prevent metal detectors from detecting them. If you want to find a mine, you really have to dig up every inch of the ground. That's very time-consuming and expensive.

In addition, there's the method of mechanical de-mining. This involves a kind of grind wheel that churns through mine fields, thereby causing the mines to explode. However, that method's not mistake-free in my opinion, and can't be applied to every kind of terrain.

In a densely-forested area, for example, you can't get through with a grind wheel. And in Bosnia Herzegovina, there are many forested regions. There, searching by hand is currently the only reliable means.

***

Mines are said to have been swept away by floodwaters. What's the likelihood that that actually happened?

Very likely. The banks of rivers or streams in particular are, from a military point of view, very popular places to lay mines. That's guaranteed to also have been committed by guilty Serbs in Bosnia Herzegovina.

I can recall that there was once a severe flood in Mozambique. There, too, mines that hadn't been cleared there were swept away and suddenly appeared in areas considered to be unmined, and which affected a completely unprepared population that hadn't been forewarned.

***

That could also happen in Bosnia Herzegovina?

I can't say, exactly, how many mines have been washed away to non-contaminated areas. But basically, it's very dangerous because the public isn't expecting them at all and isn't prepared. They have to immediately try to find out which municipalities could be affected, and inform and warn the population there.

***

Especially the people along rivers and streams, I suppose…

Exactly. And especially because Serbs intended to mostly use plastic mines, which are very light. These mines get washed many kilometers away.

***

Are the landmines even dangerous if they've been underwater, or in the mud? Are the explosives in the mine still explosive?

They can be, but not a 100% must. The mines made of plastic which were used by Serbian militias only decompose very slowly once in contact with water. They can stay "hot" for decades.

***

For a mine to explode, what kind of pressure is necessary?

Depends on the mine. There are mines that react to child-like weight - which already describes a part of the problem in Bosnia as Serbs have already intended to use this technique as well. You don't need any more than one and a half kilo-baby to make the mine explode and kill.

Saturday 24 May 2014

http://www.onislam.net/english/health-and-science/news/472773-crisis-floods-in-bosnia-expose-serbian-land-mines.html

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No progress in search for missing in ferry disaster

The first of a few periods of slow currents that was supposed to occur Saturday at the scene of the sunken ferry Sewol passed without any progress in the search for the 16 people still missing from the sinking.

That's because tidal currents did not slow down enough for divers to go underwater during the first period that began at 4:22 a.m., officials said. Three more such periods were expected to occur later in the day at 10:26 a.m., 5:03 p.m. and 10:56 p.m.

The area off South Korea's southwest coast is known for strong currents. Weather and the speed of currents were the most important factors affecting rescue and search operations since the April 16 disaster that left more than 300 people dead or missing.

Weather in the area was fine Saturday. Officials said the search team plans to make maximum efforts to scour the wreckage during the day because weather conditions in the area are expected to turn bad, with heavy rains and high waves on Sunday.

No bodies have been retrieved from the sunken ship since one was recovered Wednesday, with the death toll standing at 288 and the number of those missing at 16. A total of 476 people were aboard the 6,825-ton ship at the time of the accident.

Saturday 24 May 2014

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/yonhap-news-agency/140523/no-progress-search-missing-ferry-disaster

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Edo State: Motor Accident kills 15

A ghastly motor accident that occurred on Ewu Hill at the Benin/Auchi Road in Edo state has reportedly claimed the lives of 15 persons.

The accident occurred when a trailer loaded with a consignment of beer reportedly developed break failure and crashed into an 18-seater Toyota Hiace commercial bus with registration number LFA 137 XB, killing all the passengers on board, with only three passengers surviving the crash.

According to a witness, the trailer and the bus which were heading in the same direction, were descending the hill towards Auchi when the accident occurred.

The witness said it took the combined effort of the men of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), the Police and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps to dismember the mangled bus to retrieve the survivors and dead bodies.

Following the incident, heavy traffic gridlock was said to have occurred for several hours on the road, as the police tried frantically to control the long queue of vehicles on both sides of the busy express.

Sympathizers at the scene of the accident appealed to the relevant authorities to find lasting solution to frequent motor accidents on Ewu hill, saying that many lives have been lost since the construction of the road in 1973.

Friday 23 May 2014

http://www.pmnewsnigeria.com/2014/05/22/motor-accident-kills-15/

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Human remains found at Oso mudslide site

Two families are waiting for DNA test results to learn if remains found Thursday in the Oso debris fields belong to loved ones they lost in the March 22 mudslide.

The Snohomish County Sheriff's Office made the announcement Thursday afternoon, but did not say if the person found is a man or woman.All but two of the 43 known slide victims had been found and identified.

The remaining two are Steven Hadaway, 53, of Darrington and Molly Kristine “Kris” Regelbrugge, 44, who lived in the Steelhead Haven neighborhood of Oso. “It has not been confirmed that the body found today is that of Steven Hadaway or Molly Kristine “Kris” Regelbrugge,” sheriff's office spokeswoman Shari Ireton said. “Identification of the deceased, as well as cause and manner of death, will be determined by the Snohomish County Medical Examiner's Office.”The medical examiner's office on Thursday did not know how long it might take to make a positive identification.

John Hadaway is Steven's brother. He has been in frequent contact with the sheriff's and medical examiner's offices since the slide. He was given advance word Thursday about the discovery.Hadaway said it is too early to get his hopes up. He knows that some bodies found earlier were not intact and that it is possible the remains discovered Thursday could belong to someone who already has been identified.“Until they do a DNA test, it could be someone they found three weeks ago,” he said.

Steven Hadaway was a father who served in the Marine Corps and lived in Darrington. He was installing a TV satellite dish at the home of another slide victim when mud carried him away.Kris Regelbrugge was a mother to grown children and the wife of John Regelbrugge III, an active duty Navy commander. His body was found.The remains found Thursday were discovered by sheriff's Sgt. Danny Wikstrom, who oversees search-and-rescue operations in the county.“He was not out there on an active search,” Ireton said.The discovery was not related to cleanup work being done along Highway 530, which was buried in the slide, said Travis Phelps, a spokesman for the state Department of Transportation.“It's not from our part of the slide,” Phelps said.

John Hadaway said he hopes that the remains are either his brother or Regelbrugge.“Do I get my hopes up? I try not to,” Hadaway said. “When you are out there and you see, you understand.”Even so, he likes to think that all of the slide's victims eventually will be recovered.“It could be a week. It could be a month,” he said. “It could be six months from now, but I am going to believe they will find them.”

Friday 23 May 2014

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20140522/NEWS01/140529652/Human-remains-found-at-Oso-mudslide-site

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Identifying the Dead in Rana Plaza Collapse, Tazreen Fire: DNA sampling not enough

Along with DNA sampling, the authorities should use other methods like conducting investigation through interviewing relatives and neighbours to identify the bodies of the Rana Plaza collapse and Tazreen Fashions fire victims, said speakers at a roundtable yesterday.

The DNA profiling lab will not be able to identify all the dead victims, as the collection of the samples following the two industrial disasters was not appropriate, they said.

Hameeda Hossain, convener of Sramik Nirapotta Forum, urged the authorities concerned to conduct the investigation using the local government bodies and representatives to identify dead workers' families and compensate them. “The DNA lab could have identified all the bodies if DNA samples had been taken from all victims of Rana Plaza collapse and Tazreen fire," said Prof Sharif Akhtaruzzaman, chief of the National Forensic DNA Profiling Laboratory (NFDPL) of Dhaka Medical College.

The roundtable titled "No Grave to Grieve: The Search for Missing Garment Workers and the Challenges of DNA Technology in Bangladesh" was organised by a group of researchers under the banner of Activist Anthropologist at The Daily Star Centre in the capital.

Around three-fourths of the Rana Plaza victims were handed over to families based on visual identification marks like shoes, clothes or mobile phones, said Prof Sharif.

"It is very likely that family members of the victims took away the wrong bodies as they identified those based on visual identification marks only," he said, adding that the NFDPL had so far identified 206 Rana Plaza victims, while 105 bodies were still unidentified.

In the case of tragedies like the abovementioned two, the authorities concerned should set up makeshift morgues at the site to collect DNA samples, he suggested.

Prof Anu Muhammad of Jahangirnagar University; Syed Sultan Uddin Ahmed, assistant executive director of the Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies; Khushi Kabir, coordinator of Nijera Kori; Tanzim Uddin Khan, teacher of Dhaka University; Moshrefa Mishu, president of Garment Sramik Oikya Parishad; Roy Ramesh Chandra, general secretary of Industry All Bangladesh Council; Zonayed Saki, convener of Gonosanghati Andolon; among others, spoke. On April 24, 2013, Rana Plaza building in Savar, housing five garment factories, collapsed leaving, according to government estimates, 1,134 people dead, and 2,515 people injured.

A devastating fire at Tazreen Fashions Ltd in Ashulia killed at least 112 workers and injured many others on November 24, 2012.

Friday 23 May 2014

http://www.thedailystar.net/city/dna-sampling-not-enough-25291

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Soldiers lead Korean War remains excavation

Nearly 40 Soldiers from units across Camp Carroll, participated in an excavation in support of the Republic of Korea Army 50th Infantry Division in Chilgok May 14.

It was the first time the ROKA conducted excavation operations in Hill 487. One of the citizens living near the hill, who engaged in the battle the Nakdong River defense line, witnessed that he buried a lot of dead Soldiers on this hill.

The excavation was conducted from May 12-16. For five days, 174 unnamed dead bodies and several remains, including bullets, badges and other equipments were found. Near this site, it has been estimated that a U.S. Soldier was found.

The heart of the Nakdong River defense line, Hill 487, was a fierce battle field during the Korean War. The U.S. Army 23rd Regiment and ROKA 1st Infantry Division fought together against North Korea Military to protect the line.

“It’s a rare case to find so many dead bodies and remains during five days.” said Lt. Col. Kwon Seung, Ho, Commander of the Chilgok Brigade, ROKA 50th Infantry Division.

The Commander of Materiel Support Center – Korea, Col. Johnny K. Matthews emphasized the meaning of the today’s participation with ROKA.

“64 years ago, U.S. Soldiers and the people from this country fought together against North Korea.” said Matthews. “They walked up this mountain together as we did today and sacrificed their lives for freedom for this country. I’m much honored to be here side-by-side.”

From the entrance of the Hill to the excavation sites, it took over one hour to walk. Soldiers carried equipment, like a shovel, pickax and water. Fort Soldiers and 120 ROKA Soldiers worked together and detected remains and dead bodies for five hours.

Maj. Justin E. Day, field service chief of the 19th ESC SPO, found bullets and bones by himself.

“I was first shocked that both the bone and bullet casing was only inches down in the soil.” said Day. “As I looked at the bone I was honored to have had the opportunity to help search for remains and objects on such a special piece of ground where Soldiers fought and died over 60 years ago.”

Although the operation was tough and required a lot of effort, both ROKA and the U.S. Soldiers sincerely contributed themselves to find more remains, sharing same experience and collaborating for excavation that made the relationship between the U.S. Army and ROKA be stronger.

Cpl. Park, Gyu Hwan, a senior KATUSA of the ROKA Staff Office, 6th Ordnance Battalion, said ,“I could really appreciate the unnamed Soldiers who fought for the freedom and our country as I volunteered for the excavation operation. By working together with the U.S and ROKA Soldiers, it gave us unforgotten memories.

The Military of Defense Agency for KIA Recovery and Identification (MAKRI) has conducted the Korean War remains excavation since 2000. Until last year, 8,756 fallen Soldiers were found and 10 U.S. Soldiers returned to their home. In Area IV, over 2,000 fallen Soldiers were excavated.

“This site and every attendant reveal the strong alliance between South Korea and the U.S.” said Col. Yoo Cha-young, commander of the MAKRI.

He wished to find every fallen Soldier, who might be buried in DMZ and North Korea including over 8,000 U.S missing Soldiers.

The effort to find missing Soldiers will not stop no matter how huge obstacles disturb, like the Soldier’s creed. “I will never leave a fallen comrade.”

Friday 23 May 2014

http://www.dvidshub.net/news/130902/soldiers-lead-korean-war-remains-excavation

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Death toll of refugees in the Mediterranean continues to rise

In the last three weeks, more than 150 refugees have died in the Mediterranean in an attempt to find asylum. On May 5, 22 died off the coast of the Greek island of Samos in the Aegean when their boat capsized; 10 others are still missing.

One day later, at least 36 people died off the coast of Libya, when the stern of their boat broke away. Off the coast of the Italian island of Lampedusa, the bodies of a further 18 refugees were recovered from the sea. According to survivors, the boat was attempting to bring 400 people to Europe; only 200 have been saved.

The Greek coast guard was only able to rescue 36 of some 65 occupants of the capsized boat. The rescuers found the bodies of 18 refugees on board and four corpses were recovered from the sea. The dead included three children and a pregnant woman. The survivors come from Syria, Eritrea and Somalia.

Shortly after this disaster, another 24 refugees were saved from a sinking boat, and 16 were apprehended on the island of Chios.

Six months after the catastrophe of Lampedusa, in which nearly 400 died, accidents involving boats carrying refugees in the sea between Libya and Italy have drastically increased again. This is despite wide-ranging counter-measures by the Italian coast guard and navy, as well as by the European Union. In the last three weeks alone, more than 100 refugees have died off the coast of Libya.

Following the accident on May 6, the Libyan border police were only able to save 52 immigrants from Mali, Cameroon, Senegal and Burkina Faso. Thirty-six were recovered dead and 42 are still missing. In another case, the Libyan coast guard was only able to rescue a single Somali from a shipwreck; he reported that 40 others had drowned.

In another incident on May 2, 80 Eritreans, Somalis and Ethiopians were rescued from a boat that had gotten into difficulties. This came too late, however, for four other refugees. In addition, Carloota Sami, the European spokeswomen of the UNHCR, the UN fefugee agency, reported a missing boat with 40 refugees from Eritrea.

The survivors of the boat that sank south of Lampedusa have since been moved to the Sicilian town of Catania. “It was hell, you had to see it with your own eyes in order to understand the tragedy”, naval officer Romano said. The rescuers have recovered 18 bodies from the water so far, while aid came too late for the 200 missing.

And while the rescue actions were still ongoing, a new dispute erupted in the European Union regarding the accommodation and care of refugees from Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Africa. The European border agency Frontex is also pouring oil onto the fire, and reports that 42,000 immigrants were arrested on the borders of the EU in the first four months of the year, more than three times as many as in the same period the previous year.

“We assume that in the summer, very high numbers will be reached”, warned the Frontex deputy director, Gil Arias-Fernandez, in Brussels. He cited the conflict in Syria and the dire social conditions in many African countries.

In the first months of the year a total of 36,000 refugees arrived in southern Italy. The reception camps on Sicily are full to bursting, and some refugees are being temporarily housed in warehouses, where they are left to their own devices. The government has withdrawn the law making illegal immigration a crime, as the jails too are overloaded.

The Italian government is now demanding that other EU member states accept refugees. Prime Minister Matteo Renzi declared: “Europe cannot rescue states and banks while mothers and children are drowning.”

Interior Minister Angelino Alfano even suggested that many of the migrants who are recognized as refugees will not stay in Italy. “Europe does not help us to recover the dead, it should at least accept the living. Those who have a right of asylum, which Italy recognizes, can travel all over Europe wherever they want to go and Italy will not be a jail for political refugees.”

It has become routine for the European Union to express its “deep shock” at the refugee crisis in the Mediterranean, as in this case by the responsible EU Commissioner Cecilia Malmström. However, she pushed the responsibility onto the EU member states “to now show concrete solidarity, in order to avoid the repeat of such tragedies.” Malmström also announced she would table the issue on the agenda of the next EU interior ministers meeting in June.

Meanwhile, Libya’s Interior Minister Salah Mazek has also threatened the EU with accelerating the wave of migration to southern Italy if his country does not receive support. “We can let thousands travel unhindered if Europe does not take responsibility”, he said.

But the appeal to distribute the refugees to all EU states would completely undermine the Dublin II Accord, under which the state in which refugees first make a claim for asylum must take responsibility for them.

It is no accident that the German interior minister has just tabled a draft law under which asylum seekers can be arrested at any time in Germany. This will likely accelerate deportations to countries of origin, as well as to other EU countries under the Dublin II agreement.

The deadly consequences posed by maintenance of a militarised outer-EU border for all EU states, including Italy, were exposed by a consortium of 10 European journalists utilizing the database, “The Migrants Files”.

Confirmed reports detail lethal asylum attempts, in which more than 23,000 have died on the external EU border since 2000. The responsibility for these mass deaths is borne by the European Union.

Since then, for example, the Greek government hermetically sealed off the land border to Turkey in the summer of 2012. As a result, over 230 refugees have died in the Aegean. A 3-metre high impenetrable fence has diverted the stream of refugees into the far more dangerous route by sea, where they are dependent on the goodwill of the Greek coast guard.

The refugee organisation ProAsyl reports that in January this year, a refugee ship off the coast of the uninhabited Greek island of Farmakonisi suffered motor damage. When the Greek coast guard attempted to push the boat back into Turkish waters, it capsized. Some refugees attempted to swim to the patrol boat, but they were pushed back into the sea. A total of 11 people drowned, including children.

Although the Greek state has cut wages and pensions, and the public health service has practically collapsed as a result of the austerity measures imposed by the EU and the International Monetary Fund, it continues to guard its frontier with Turkey against refugees, with more than 1,800 border guards, with the support of Frontex.

The Mediterranean area is surveilled with drones and satellites around the clock under the Eurosur System. This is not in order to rescue those in danger at sea, as Frontex deputy director Gil Arias Fernandez had to admit to the online magazine Euobserver. The satellite images were only provided to the border agencies days later, since they are only for observing the movement of refugees in order to prevent future attempts.

And the Italian navy operation “Mare Nostrum” does not serve to prevent refugee catastrophes or to save those whose ships capsize. Rather, the apprehended refugees are to be returned to North Africa as swiftly as possible. To this end, the first identification measures are taken on board the ships, with decisions taken as to who can and cannot make a claim to asylum. Nigerians are thrown onto the street and must leave Italy within seven days. Tunisians and Egyptians, however, are deported immediately.

Two Libyan officers are also present, who are responsible for contact with the Libyan authorities, in order to turn over refugees apprehended near the Libyan coast directly to Libyan units.

In Libya itself, some 70 EU police officers are deployed, training and supporting border guards. Libya receives financial aid within the framework of the Eubam Mission, and is involved in guarding its own borders against those seeking to flee abroad. This forward displacement of the anti-refugee measures is the ultimate goal of the European Union. The dirty work is to be done by the neighbouring states, while the EU states keep their hands clean.

But here, too, the number of victims is increasing. For example, last week near the Algerian border, 13 migrants from Niger were found who had nearly died of starvation and thirst. According to information from the newspaper Al-Watan, the group, which is said to have consisted mainly of women and children, numbered a further 33 people. And in October last year, the bodies of 92 refugees were found after their vehicle had broken down in the desert in North Niger. Most of them were women and children.

Giusi Nicolini, the mayor of Lampedusa, has demanded a “Mare Nostrum 2 on land and on the coast”. This would include an efficient reception system for refugees, and the provision of ships that can “return the refugees directly to the harbour of Tripoli or other African towns, and so put an end to the trafficking business”.

What is more likely, however, is that the EU will agree further measures to seal off its borders, extending border protection in cooperation with the indigenous police and secret service right into the Sahara, the Turkish-Iran border or the Urals.

The European Union is now home to about 500 million people. That its 28 member countries are unable and unwilling to absorb a few tens of thousands of refugees is an expression of its historical bankruptcy.

Wednesday 21 May 2014

http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2014/05/21/refu-m21.html

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Death toll from April ferry sinking rises to 288

The death toll from last month's deadly ferry sinking rose to 288 on Wednesday as divers recovered one more body from the submerged hull during an early morning search, officials said.

A female body was retrieved from the sunken ferry Sewol, lowering the number of those still missing from the maritime accident to 16, according to officials of the government accident settlement team in charge of the search efforts.

The 6,825-ton ferry carrying an estimated 476 people, mostly high school students, capsized and sank off the southwestern island of Jindo on April 16, in one of South Korea's worst maritime disasters.

Divers plan to wait for low tide to resume their search operation for the 16 missing people later in the day, they said, adding that 123 military, Coast Guard and civilian divers are on standby for the mission.

Wednesday's search will be focused on dining and lounge areas of the ship's third, fourth and fifth decks.

The divers, however, may face difficulty accessing compartments on the fifth deck as some decaying partitions have begun to fall apart, according to the officials.

Underwater cranes will be used to help the divers gain access to the inside of the fifth deck, they said.

Slightly misty weather was reported near the waters off Jindo, with waves forecast to reach about 0.6 meter in the day, according to the weather service.

The government rescue team said that divers have also searched the underwater area around the shipwreck for bodies of the missing people, which could have been swept out of the submerged hull.

Divers used an acoustic underwater search device called side scan sonar for their two-week search, staring on May 1, but nothing meaningful has been found there, the officials said.

The divers were expanding the range of their search to the waters 15 kilometers off the accident site as they continued searching outside of the hull.

"If bodies were laid on the ocean floor, they would have been detected in the imagery recorded (by the side scan sonar). It is disappointing that the device wasn't a great help," one of the officials said.

Meanwhile, one maritime police officer was rushed to a hospital earlier in the day after suffering a back injury while participating in the search operation, the Coast Guard said.

He had been working at a patrol ship dispatched to the shipwreck site ever since ever since the accident last month.

A host of divers and other workers have been injured in the month-long search operation, with one civilian diver and one Navy serviceman dying.

Wednesday 21 May 2014

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2014/05/21/72/0302000000AEN20140521004451315F.html

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Russia crash: At least 'Five dead' in train crash near Moscow

At least five people have died after a freight train hit a passenger train south-west of the Russian capital Moscow, officials say.

Several carriages were derailed in the crash, which happened at 12:38 (08:38 GMT) near Bekasovo 1 station, 60km (37 miles) from the capital.

Injured people were reportedly carried from the train as emergency services rushed to the scene.

The passenger train was on its way from Moscow to Chisinau in Moldova.

Russia's interior ministry said at least five people were killed and 15 were injured, although some local reports put the number of injured at as many as 45.

Officials said several carriages on the freight train came off the rails near the town of Naro-Fominsk and hit the passenger train, which was reportedly carrying about 400 people.

Several carriages on the passenger train are said to have then derailed, and some of them overturned.

Rescue coordinator Vadim Andronov told Russian news agency Itar-Tass that the death toll was likely to rise.

"One of the carriages of the passenger train was crushed by the freight train wagons," he said.

"Rescuers are working to pull out injured people being crushed by the wagon."

A spokesman for the health ministry, Oleg Salagay, said that rescue crews and medical teams were doing everything they could to save lives.

"Medics are working at the scene now, assessing the condition of the injured," he said.

"All the necessary medical aid is being provided for them, and this gives us hope for a successful outcome."

The cause of the accident was not immediately clear.

Traffic on the line - which also serves Kiev in Ukraine - was suspended as a result.

Tuesday 20 May 2014

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-27484148

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Death toll revised downward in Brazil bus crash

The death toll from a weekend bus accident in the northeastern state of Ceara was 18, not 23, Brazilian authorities said Monday.

Authorities initially had reported 23 fatalities, a figure that was reduced after the victims were identified, according to the supervisor of forensic operations in the city of Caninde, Paulo Granjeiro

A dozen other people were injured, several of them seriously.

The accident occurred around 8:45 a.m. on Sunday at Kilometer 303 on federal highway BR-020, in the vicinity of Caninde.

The bus overturned as it was trying to avoid hitting a motorcycle that had braked suddenly, the bus driver told police.

The bus left Boa Viagem at 7:00 a.m. for Fortaleza, where it had been scheduled to arrive at 11:20 a.m.

The driver, who suffered minor injuries, was subjected to a breathalyzer test which turned up negative for alcohol. The Highway Police also confirmed that the vehicle was not exceeding the speed limit.

The removal of the bodies from the crash site was delayed due to a lack of mortuary vehicles, according to a communique released by the Highway Police.

Tuesday 20 May 2014

http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2014/05/19/death-toll-revised-downward-in-brazil-bus-crash/

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Zimbabwe: 10 perish in Kombi crash

Ten people were killed, seven of them on the spot, while six others were seriously injured when a Chitungwiza-bound commuter omnibus veered off the road and rammed a tree just after Trek Service Station (formerly Chinhamo) along Seke Road yesterday morning. Of the three in serious condition, two died on admission at Chitungwiza Central Hospital while the other one died at Parirenyatwa Hospital.

Three people were still at Parirenyatwa Hospital last night, while the other one was at the Avenues Clinic. The whereabouts of two others could not be ascertained. All were said to be in critical condition from the accident that was attributed to speeding.

Nine of the 10 bodies were at Chitungwiza Central Hospital Mortuary and the other at Parirenyatwa Hospital Mortuary. The accident occurred at around 11am. Chitungwiza Central Hospital chief executive officer Dr Obadiah Moyo said last night that relatives had identified six of the nine bodies.

Police were yesterday trying to ascertain the names of the other deceased. The driver of the kombi, who lived in Zengeza 4, also died on the spot. A witness, Mr Costa Hodzi, said: "The kombi veered off the road and the driver tried to control it since he was about to hit a tree.

"That is when I ran back towards my field since I suspected that the kombi could come towards where I was. I heard a huge bang and when I looked back, I discovered that the kombi had hit a tree," he said.

"Four people who were injured were taken by another kombi to the hospital while others by ambulances. Seven people died on the spot. From the information I heard so far, the driver is known for speeding by some of his colleagues," Mr Hodzi said.

When The Herald went to Parirenyatwa Hospital in the evening, the conductor and two passengers were in examination and neurological wards.

According to nurses, the two passengers did not have identification particulars.

The Herald could not speak to relatives as kombi crews threatened them with violence, but the conductor of the doomed vehicle - identified only as Barry - said: "We were 19 including me and the driver when the accident occurred. I was thrown outside the commuter omnibus upon impact and I do not have a clear picture of what happened afterwards.

"I woke up here at the hospital and I was surprised to see people surrounding me when the last thing I noticed were people lying all over. I had stitches on my arm."

When The Herald arrived on the accident scene, dead bodies were still on the ground and police were recording witnesses' statements.



The head of Police National Traffic (operations) Assistant Commissioner Shelton Dube said initial investigations showed the kombi driver tried to overtake another vehicle but lost control.

"He was coming from the city heading towards Chitungwiza and he tried to overtake another vehicle near the scene but he veered off the road and hit a tree," he said adding investigations were on going.

"We would want to urge motorists particularly kombi drivers to respect human life and observe the rules and regulations when travelling on the roads. This accident could have been avoided," he said.

Tuesday 20 May 2014

http://allafrica.com/stories/201405200065.html

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17 killed, 34 injured after bus falls into gorge in Jammu

Seventeen people were killed and 34 others injured when a passenger bus rolled down into a 400-feet deep gorge on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway in Jammu and Kashmir's Ramban district in the wee hours of Tuesday.

The bus, which was on its way to Srinagar from Jammu, skidded off the road and rolled down into the gorge in Digdol area around 2.30 am due to the alleged negligence of the driver, police said. 17 people, including six women and a child were killed, and 34 others injured, 17 of them seriously in the mishap, they said.

Soon after the accident, army, police, quick response teams (QRTs), and CRPF led by Deputy Superintendent of Police S Bali launched rescue and search operation and recovered the bodies from the gorge, he said. The injured are being shifted to District Hospital Ramban, they said.

Authorities pressed into service chopper and airlifted 17 critically injured passengers to GMC Hospital in Jammu for specialised treatment, he said.

The bus was carrying some tourists, a group of students from Poonch going to the Kashmir Valley for taking part in a recruitment drive and some labourers including those from Gujarat and Punjab.

Some of the injured passengers told police that the driver was asked to break the journey and rest for some time but be decided to go ahead. The accident took place due to the "negligence of the driver", a police officer said. Most of the bodies recovered were badly mutilated, he said.

Newly-elected BJP MP of Udhampur Constituency Jitendra Singh expressed grief over the accident and loss of lives.He expressed sympathies with the family members of deceased. Singh, who is Delhi to attend the BJP Parliamentary Board meeting, urged authorities to provide medicare facilities to the injured and compensation to families of the deceased.

Tuesday 20 May 2014

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-17-killed-34-injured-after-bus-falls-into-gorge-in-jammu-1989936

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Clyde Snow listened to the testimony of bones

With ghoulish geniality, Clyde Snow liked to say that bones made good witnesses, never lying, never forgetting, and that a skeleton, no matter how old, could sketch the tale of a human life, revealing how it had been lived, how long it had lasted, what traumas it had endured and especially how it had ended.

He was a legendary detective of forensic anthropology, the esoteric science of extracting the secrets of the dead from skeletal remains. His subjects included President John F. Kennedy, the Nazi war criminal Josef Mengele, the “disappeared ones” exhumed from mass graves in Argentina, the victims of the serial killer John Wayne Gacy, and even King Tutankhamen, the Egyptian pharaoh who lived 3,300 years ago.

More, Dr. Snow, who testified against Saddam Hussein and other tyrants, was the father of a modern movement that has used forensic anthropology in human-rights drives against genocide, war crimes and massacres in Kosovo, Bosnia, Rwanda, Chile and elsewhere.

He died at 86 on Friday at a hospital in Norman, Okla., where he lived. His wife, Jerry Whistler Snow, said the cause was cancer and emphysema.

Beginning in the 1960s, long before DNA experts perfected their forensic magic, Dr. Snow exposed ghastly crimes, solved mysteries, brought killers to justice, identified victims of disasters and helped the commercial aviation industry redesign seat restraints and escape systems by analyzing the ways people died in plane crashes.

Though he was no Indiana Jones, he was known to turn up in jungles, deserts and other exotic places in a rumpled jacket and cowboy boots, a cheerful chain smoker with a Texas drawl. He collected skulls mutilated by bullets and bludgeons.

Unlike forensic pathologists, who usually work on fresh bodies, forensic anthropologists, who number about 100 in America, usually have only bones to study. Using calipers, micrometers and other low-tech instruments to measure, probe and analyze remains, Dr. Snow could determine the gender, race, age and other characteristics of the dead, like left- or right-handedness, and often a full identity.

He used computers when they came along, but his stock instruments were like those of the late 19th century, when the celebrated French forensic expert Alphonse Bertillon developed the first successful system for identifying the dead from body measurements. The Bertillon method, notable in Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories, was widely used until superseded by fingerprint identification, which is useless in skeletal examinations.

Being living tissue, bones change through life, growing, breaking and undergoing stress. There are about 206 bones (not counting teeth) in an adult – the number varies as many fuse with age – and each has a story to tell, Dr. Snow often said. Like snowflakes, no two bones are exactly alike, and subtle differences can establish congenital conditions, nutritional habits, a history of disease and signs of brutality and murder.

Dr. Snow could estimate a small child’s age from spaces between cranial plates, which knit with time. He could tell handedness from slight disparities in arm lengths. The size of a femur, the leg bone that is the body’s longest, suggested stature.

In bone textures, Dr. Snow found clues to the heavy or light use of muscles, hinting at occupations and habits. In facial bones, he detected kinships in tracing relatives. Skull measurements often differentiated race and gender, and he could see childbirth in a woman’s pelvis.

Applications were legion. In Argentina in 1985, Dr. Snow and students he trained excavated a mass grave where military death squads had buried some of the 13,000 to 30,000 civilians who vanished in a seven-year “dirty war” against dissidents. They found 500 skeletons, many with bullet holes in the skulls, fractured arms and fingers and abundant signs of torture and murder.

As chief witness at a trial of generals and admirals, Dr. Snow identified victims and causes of death, evidence that led to five convictions, galvanized public opinion and brought some comfort to loved ones.

Widely sought after for his services, he would respond to pleas for help by assembling forensic teams of analysts, including dentists, and travel to all parts. In El Salvador, he and a team found the skeletons of 136 infants and children slain by army squads. In Croatia, he exhumed the remains of 200 hospital patients and staff members executed by troops. And he helped build criminal cases against military and government leaders behind the atrocities. As a consultant to human rights organizations, he also exposed mass murders in Guatemala, Ethiopia and Kurdistan.

In 1985 he went to Brazil for the Nazi-hunting Simon Wiesenthal Center and helped identify the remains of the long-sought Dr. Mengele, the infamous “Angel of Death” who directed gruesome medical “experiments” on inmates at Auschwitz and sent 400,000 to the gas chambers. After the Second World War, Dr. Mengele fled to Brazil, assumed a new identity and died in 1979. Dr. Snow used many measurements, including Dr. Mengele’s hat size (retrieved from Nazi SS records) to confirm his true identity.

Dr. Snow helped identify many victims of the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995. At the behest of Congress, he confirmed that X-rays taken at Kennedy’s autopsy were indeed those of the assassinated president. With Betty Pat Gatliff, a medical artist, he reconstructed the face of Tutankhamen, whose tomb was discovered in 1922. In Baghdad, in 2006, he testified against Saddam Hussein, who was convicted of crimes against humanity and hanged.

Dr. Snow had a doctorate in anthropology, but his forensic anthropology skills were self-taught, a result of decades of experience extracting the secrets of bones. He taught at the University of Oklahoma and lectured to law-enforcement and forensic groups.

“Bones can be puzzles,” he told The New York Times in 1991, “but they never lie, and they don’t smell bad.”

Clyde Collins Snow was born in Fort Worth, Tex., on Jan. 7, 1928, the only child of Wister and Sarah Isobell Collins Snow. He grew up in Rawls, a panhandle town. His father was a physician, and his mother, though not a trained nurse, assisted in their home clinic and maternity ward. The boy accompanied his father on house calls and trips to accident scenes and morgues.

When he was 12, he saw his first pile of bones on a hunting trip with his father, who recognized the mingled skeletons of a man and a deer. The older Snow hypothesized that the man shot the deer and died of a heart attack dragging it away. A set of keys in the remains was the only clue. But a deputy sheriff recalled the disappearance of a local hunter and the keys opened doors at the man’s home, establishing his identity.

An indifferent student, Dr. Snow was expelled from high school over a firecracker prank. Packed off to the New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell, he graduated after four years but soon flunked out of Southern Methodist University. He attended other schools before settling down at Eastern New Mexico University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in 1951.

He flirted with medical studies at Baylor, but quit and earned a master’s degree in zoology at Texas Tech in 1955. After three years in the Air Force, he studied archeology at the University of Arizona, learning excavation techniques that proved invaluable. (He later switched to anthropology for his doctorate in 1967.)

He also worked in the 1960s for an agency of the Federal Aviation Administration, studying ways to make airplanes safer in a crash. He discovered that many passengers died of smoke inhalation, not impact injuries, and that those seated near exits had the lowest fatality rates – facts used in the redesign of seat restraints and exit strategies.

Dr. Snow married Jerry Whistler in 1970. He had several previous marriages. Besides his wife, he leaves four daughters from his marriage to Donna Herring: Jennifer Boles, Tracey Murphy, Cynthia Wood and Melinda McCarthy; a son, Kevin, from his marriage to Loudell Fromme; eight grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.

In 1979, Dr. Snow helped identify many of the 33 boys and young men slain by Mr. Gacy, most of them buried in a crawl space under his suburban Chicago home. That year he also helped identify many of the 273 people killed when an American Airlines flight crashed and burned on takeoff from O’Hare Airport in Chicago, then the country’s worst air disaster.

His career was a thread running through Christopher Joyce and Eric Stover’s book Witnesses From the Grave: The Stories Bones Tell (1991), a study of forensic anthropology. For decades Dr. Snow taught his skills to thousands of students, especially in countries where war crimes and human rights abuses were fast receding into the mists of history.

“Witnesses may forget throughout the years, but the dead, those skeletons, they don’t forget,” he told The New York Times in 2002. “Their testimony is silent, but it is also very eloquent.”.

Tuesday 20 May 2014

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/health/clyde-snow-listened-to-the-testimony-of-bones/article18747398/

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