Indonesia plane crash search called off

Rescuers have ended their search of damaged and burned homes in Jakarta without finding further victims of a military plane crash that killed seven airmen and four people on the ground.

The Fokker F-27 turboprop was on a routine training flight when it crashed into a military housing complex on Thursday about a mile short of the runway where it was trying to land.

Two children aged two and six, their grandmother and their aunt were killed in the crash, along with the plane's pilot, co-pilot and five trainees. "Search and rescue efforts have finished," air force spokesman Colonel Agung Sasongko Jati said on Friday morning. "All the wreckage has been removed and there are no more new victims."

Eleven people were injured in the crash, which sent a huge plume of black smoke billowing into the sky. The aircraft was built in 1958 and has been used by Indonesia's air force for the past 35 years, during which time it had completed 14,900 flight hours.

It was declared airworthy before it took off for its second training flight of the day under clear skies, Jati said. "It seemed that the pilot was trying to land on a nearby paddy field," he said. "But it was not clear whether it was because of an emergency."

He said the plane did not have a black box.

The crash comes after a Russian Sukhoi passenger jet crashed into an Indonesian volcano during a demonstration flight for potential buyers last month, killing all 45 people aboard.

Friday 22 June 2012

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jun/22/indonesia-plane-crash-search-over?newsfeed=true

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Search for missing after boat capsizes off Christmas Island

Ships and aircraft scoured the Indian Ocean Friday for survivors after a boat capsized off Australia's remote Christmas Island, with three people confirmed dead and more than 80 missing.

Ships and aircraft scoured the Indian Ocean Friday for survivors after a boat capsized off Australia's remote Christmas Island, with three people confirmed dead and more than 80 missing. So far, 110 people have been rescued from the vessel which was believed to be carrying around 200 asylum-seekers, with authorities saying: "We're still in that critical window where more lives could be saved." "We have 110 survivors and three confirmed dead so far," a spokeswoman from Australia's Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), which is working with Indonesia's search and rescue authority Basarnas, told AFP.

They were taken by ship to Christmas Island, a remote Australian territory in the Indian Ocean where they were given medical checks. "They were rescued wearing life jackets and we are quite confident we will recover more survivors," added the spokeswoman, who said the water temperature was warm.

The ship, en route from Sri Lanka, issued a distress call and capsized 120 nautical miles north of Christmas Island, 2,600 kilometres (1,600 miles) from the Australian mainland on Thursday afternoon.

 Christmas Island administrator Steve Clay told ABC radio that three of the survivors were admitted to hospital on their arrival, but the rest were OK. "They were transferred to the jetty, put into buses and transferred up to the Phosphate Hill immigration facility," he said. "They're getting medical checks up there. They appear calm and they were just sitting quietly."

The capsize is the latest in a series of refugee boat disasters in the Indian Ocean in recent years, as rickety, overloaded vessels packed with desperate migrants sink on their way to Australia.

Four merchant vessels, two Australian Defence Force ships and five aircraft are involved in the search. "We're still in that critical window where more lives could be saved," said Home Affairs Minister Jason Clare. "People can survive out there for up to 36 hours if they have either lifejackets or they have debris to hold onto."

Clare said about 40 survivors were found clinging to the upturned hull of the boat on Thursday afternoon, while others were discovered holding onto debris up to three nautical miles from the scene.

Though they come in relatively small numbers by global standards, asylum seekers are a sensitive political issue in Australia, dominating 2010 elections due to a record 6,555 arrivals.

Direct asylum-seeker journeys from Sri Lanka have historically been rare but navy sources in Colombo have reported a marked increase in Australia-bound people-smuggling operations. Indonesia is a more common transit point for those trying to reach Christmas Island, which is closer to Java than mainland Australia, but many fail to reach their destination.

The UN's refugee agency said it was "deeply concerned" by the incident. "This accident again underscores the dangerous nature of these hazardous journeys, and the desperate and dangerous measures people will resort to when they are fleeing persecution in their home countries," it said in a statement.

In December, a boat carrying around 250 mostly Afghan and Iranian asylum-seekers sank in Indonesian waters on its way to Christmas Island, with only 47 surviving.

Some 50 refugees were killed in a horror shipwreck on the island's cliffs in December 2010. Fifteen were children aged 10 years or younger.

The worst known refugee boat disaster off Australia in recent years was the sinking of the SIEV X in 2001, which killed 353 of the more than 400 asylum-seekers on board.

Friday 22 June 2012

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/asia/299226/australia-fears-refugee-boat-disaster-toll-could-soar

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Nine perish in bus accident, 6 positively identified

Nine people died and more than 15 others were injured in a traffic accident along the Kwekwe-Gweru highway yesterday morning (Wednesday).

The accident occurred when a ZUPCO bus travelling to Chipinge was sliced open by iron rods that were protruding from a stationary lorry.

The injured were taken to Gweru and Kwekwe hospitals for treatment.

Police said seven people died on the spot while two others were pronounced dead on admission to hospital.

Eighteen other passengers were injured in the accident that occurred around 5:30am near Connemara Open Prison.

The crash brings to 20 the number of people killed in accidents that occurred in the region this week.

Thursday 21 june 2012

http://bulawayo24.com/index-id-news-sc-national-byo-16695-article-Kwekwe-Gweru+highway+accident+-+10+people+die%2C+15+injured.html

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Asylum seeker boat capsizes north of Christmas Island

UP to 75 asylum seekers may be dead and 40 others are clinging to the hull of an upturned boat, which has capsized in Indonesian waters.

Up to 200 people were on board the vessel, which was on its way from Sri Lanka to Australia. Prime Minister Julia Gillard distressed by asylum boat tragedy

The maritime drama began to unfold after 3pm (AEST) today when an Australian Customs and Border Protection surveillance plane spotted a vessel "in distress" 200km north of Christmas Island. The observers immediately contacted Indonesian authorities, who are leading the rescue effort alongside the Australian Navy, Defence and Customs. "It is believed up to 200 people could be on board, although this detail has not yet been confirmed," Customs said in a statement.

West Australian Police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan said about 40 people were spotted on the upturned hull, others were in the water and up to 75 others may be dead. "We have grave fears for the remainder," he said.

Mr O'Callaghan said it was likely the bodies would be taken to Christmas Island and WA might become responsible for a coronial inquiry.

Mr O'Callaghan told Channel 7 the force had mounted a significant response and a team of search and rescue officers, including specialists in night searches, was being sent to Christmas Island tonight. "We are also on standby in case we have to do a coronial inquiry and we have a team of disaster victim identification experts," he said. It would take them more than four hours to reach the island, he said.

WA Health has also been put on alert to ensure hospitals are ready to treat any victims, Perth Now said. Emergency Service personel Indonesia's search and rescue authority BASARNAS is coordinating the search with the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA). AMSA confirmed there are definitely survivors but was unable to give numbers.

The Australian mission involves Defence aircraft equipped with life rafts, a Customs maritime surveillance aircraft, and two Armidale class patrol boats, HMAS Larrakia and Wollongong.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) is coordinating the following resources in support of the search and rescue operation:

A Customs and Border Protection Dash-8 surveillance aircraft is providing aerial surveillance in assistance to the rescue. A RAAF maritime patrol aircraft deployed a number of life rafts and is providing on-going aerial surveillance.

It will be replaced by another aircraft later tonight. Two Armidale class patrol boats, HMAS Larrakia and HMAS Wollongong, have arrived on the scene and have commenced recovery operations on the water. An AMSA Dornier aircraft, with additional rescue resources and search capability including life rafts, is expected to arrive on scene later tonight.

 Three merchant vessels have also responded to a request from AMSA’s Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC) for assistance and are currently in the area supporting recovery efforts.

A number of civilian vessels are also on the way to the area. BASARNAS spokesman Gagah Prakoso confirmed two Indonesian vessels were also on their way. "At the moment, we're waiting for them to report back," Mr Prakoso said.

It was still unclear whether the survivors would be taken to Australia or returned to Indonesia. Mr Prakoso said Australian authorities had confirmed the boat originated in Sri Lanka.

Three other boats, carrying a total of about 240 asylum seekers, have been intercepted near Christmas Island over the past two days.

Home Affairs Minister Jason Clare is being briefed and is expected to make a statement in the morning. Prime Minister Julia Gillard spoke about the tragedy in a speech at a breakfast function with Indonesian President Dr Yudhoyono about protecting oceans. "Australia is a place with a very long coastline, but unfortunately a coastline that has its dangers. And today our nation has been reminded of those dangers due to the loss of a boat at sea causing loss of life." "The ocean can be a beautiful place but sometimes a dangerous place as well."

Earlier today, Immigration Minister Chris Bowen accused the Opposition of courting tragedy by refusing to support the government's bill aimed at resurrecting offshore processing. "Their destructive negativity means people continue to risk their lives on dangerous boats," he said, just hours before the news of the capsize broke.

Also speaking earlier today, Coalition Immigration spokesman Scott Morrison said the Government had no plan to stop the flow of boats. "They are globally known as a soft touch on this issue," he said.

The Australian Christian Lobby said today's capsize underscored the need for the government and opposition to find a bipartisan solution.

More than 50 asylum seekers died when a boat known as SIEV 221 crashed against rocks off Christmas Island in December 2010. The youngest was just three months old. The disaster was the largest loss of life in Australian waters in peacetime in 115 years.

And as many as 200 people drowned last December when a boat sank off the coast of East Java on its way to Australia. Just 49 people survived that tragedy, which occurred in rough monsoonal seas on December 17.

So far this year, 57 boats carrying a total of 4006 passengers and 82 crew have arrived in Australia.

For the month of June, there have been 18 boats carrying more than 1100 people. The latest arrived arrived overnight and had 117 people on board.

Timeline of boat disasters

February 2012
At least eight drown after a boat capsizes near Malaysia

December 2011
Up to 200 die when boat heading from Indonesia to Australia sinks

November 2011
Up to 20 killed when boat capsizes off Java, Indonesia

December 2010
Christmas Island boat crash claims 50 lives, including babies and children

November 2010
Boat with 97 people on board goes missing

May 2010
5 Sri Lankans drown off the Cocos Islands

October 2009
Asylum boat with 105 Hazaras on board believed to have vanished between Indonesia and Australia

April 2009 
5 Afghan asylum seekers die when their boat explodes

Thursday 20 June 2012

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-news/an-asylum-seeker-boat-has-capsized-north-of-christmas-island/story-fn7x8me2-1226404645552

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Plans for forensic dentistry

THERE are plans to offer a new course in forensic dentistry at the Fiji National University's College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences.

Australian High Commission head of mission Glenn Miles made the revelation at the opening of the Forensic Odontology in Medico-legal Investigation and Human Identification workshop earlier this week.

"These initiatives will, I understand, ultimately lead to the development of a new Postgraduate Certificate and Postgraduate Diploma in Forensic Odontology courses to be offered by the College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences," Mr Miles said.

College dean Prof Ian Rouse confirmed Mr Miles' revelation, saying they were interested in introducing forensic dentistry into the curriculum.

"The college is very interested in further development of postgraduate programs in dentistry and is very keen on a PG Certificate and Diploma in Forensic Dentistry," Prof Rouse said.

"This would need to be done in collaboration with an overseas partner with significant expertise."

The workshop, funded through AusAID, is a first in the Pacific. It is being led by the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine to help improve regional expertise in odontology expertise for death and trauma investigation, child abuse investigation, bite-mark and facial injury interpretation, age estimation, disaster victim identification and medico-legal reporting.

Mr Miles said the workshop would provide participants with knowledge and practical skills and enable them to apply it at coronary inquests and legal proceedings particularly in the field of human identification.

Thursday 21 June 2012

http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=204430

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Indonesia air force plane crashes into Jakarta housing complex

JAKARTA, Indonesia — An Indonesian air force plane slammed into homes and ignited a fireball in the crowded capital while trying to land Thursday, killing at least nine people, a military official said.

The turboprop plane crashed into eight houses, killing at least three people on the ground, said military spokesman Rear Adm. Iskandar Sitompul.

Raging orange flames were seen jumping several feet into the air as a huge column of black smoke billowed.

Hendra, a resident in the air force housing complex in eastern Jakarta who uses only one name, said he ran out of his house after hearing several loud explosions and saw flames engulfing neighbours' homes. "I could hardly believe my eyes ... there was a military plane that crashed and hit the houses!" he said. "At once, the situation turned into chaos. All the residents fled in panic.

Women and children were screaming hysterically." He said he helped at least five injured people, mostly with burns, to a nearby Air Force hospital.

He added that he saw at least three more critically injured children brought into the hospital. Sitompul said the Fokker F-27 was on a routine training flight when it crashed. The aircraft was declared airworthy before the training and skies were clear, he added.

Air Force spokesman Rear Adm. Azman Yunus said there were seven people aboard the plane including the pilot, co-pilot, instructor and trainees.

All the seven were rushed to the Air Force hospital, Yunus said. Later, he told Detik.com news portal that six of them were killed while one was still being treated at the hospital.

He said the Fokker F-27 was on a routine training flight when it crashed while trying to landing after the 90-minute flight. Private El Shinta radio reported rescuers were still searching for more possible victims among the rubble of the burning houses.

A number of ambulances were parked inside the Air Force's Rawajali Complex. The plane was build in 1958 and used by Indonesia's Air Force for the past 20 years.

Thursday 21 June 2012

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jun/21/indonesia-air-force-plane-crashes

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17 die as bus plunges into ravine

Seventeen people were killed and three were left seriously injured when a long-distance bus overturned and plunged down a deep ravine in China, state media reported.

The official Xinhua News Agency said the accident occurred early on Wednesday and it was not immediately clear what caused the crash.

The report said 45 people were on the bus, which was heading from the eastern Jiangsu province to the coastal city of Xiamen in Fujian province.

It overturned in Fujian's Ningde city. Road safety is a serious problem in China, with many accidents caused by poorly maintained roads and bad driving habits.

 Fifteen people were killed when a bus crashed into a ravine in the northern Shanxi province in February.

Wednesday 20 June 2012

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/06/20/bus-plunges-deep-ravine-china-17-killed.html

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Bus overturns in Haiti river; death toll disputed

Haiti - A bus overturned in a rain-swollen river in southern Haiti, and officials differed on Tuesday about the number of people who died.

A statement issued by President Michel Martelly's office says about 60 people were on the bus when the driver attempted to cross the Glace River.

It said that local civil protection officials have recovered the bodies of 40 people and are still searching the area.

The statement said nine people were either rescued from the submerged bus or managed to swim to safety. But Norman Wiener, an official from the Grand'Anse department, said the bus owner who collected money from the passengers told him that there were 27 people aboard and that only eight people are missing.

Wiener said another 19 people survived.

The accident occurred Monday near the town of Pestel on Haiti's southern peninsula. Marie Alta Jean-Baptiste, director of Haiti's office of civil protection, says the driver apparently ignored warnings not to try to cross the river.

Jean-Baptiste said she could not confirm how many people died or survived.

Wednesday 20 June 2012

 http://www.portalangop.co.ao/motix/en_us/noticias/internacional/2012/5/25/Bus-overturns-Haiti-river-death-toll-disputed,524d8630-e1ae-497c-89f6-4c9a2f1582a1.html

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Ghosts Scare Residents Of Dana Plane Crash Area

Some residents of Iju-Ishaga, a suburb of Lagos, where a Dana airline crashed into buildings on Sunday, have appealed to the authorities to bury the victims far from the area.

Their apprehension was based on their belief in the existence of ghosts, Idayatu Ali, a 24-year-old unemployed school leaver, said living around the scene of the crash, was superstitious and would not want the victims buried at the scene of the accident, “for fear of ghosts”.

According to her, human beings are no goats and when they die prematurely, especially, violently, their ghosts will haunt the scene for a while. “This is no superstition; I have witnessed where a young man died in an accident and his ghost continued to cry at the scene for days until a sacrifice was performed. “Please, tell them not to bury the victims here or else some of us will have to abandon our houses,” she pleaded. 


However, Jude Agwu, a commercial motorcyclist, said he and some colleagues could easily offer sacrifices to Ogun (the Yoruba god iron) in a bid to get rid of any ghost threat. 


Mr Iyiola Akande, the South-West Zonal Coordinator, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), said no decision had been taken on where to bury the victims. 


He, however, believed that identifiable bodies should be released to their relations for burial, while badly burnt ones would be given mass burial, probably far from the scene. “This is a densely populated area and erecting a memorial here may not be in the interest of the psyche of the residents. “This has nothing to do with the myth about ghosts,” Akande said at the scene of the crash. 


He also explained that a census of those living in the affected buildings—now demolished—would be taken soon to ascertain the number of those who died on the ground. 


Akande said this would also form part of the statistics for the full rehabilitation of the survivors and compensations to the families of those who lost their lives in the mishap.

Wednesday 20 June 2012

http://typicalnaija.com/ghosts-scare-residents-of-dana-plane-crash-area/

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Example of a disaster highlighting the dangers of visual ID (2010)

No coherent mechanism used to identify crash victims bodies

MANGALORE: Twelve of the 158 passengers of the Air India Express flight killed in the May 22 crash here had to be buried in unmarked graves.

According to the district administration, the 12 bodies could not be identified because of a mix-up.

Some families took away the bodies that did not belong to them in the confusion that prevailed after the crash.

The body of Mohammed Zubair Ziad (4) was taken away by a family that believed that it was the body of an adult.

Narrating a similar incident, Vidya Dinker, an activist who was involved in the relief operations, said: One family had identified their kin and filled the claims form at the Wenlock Hospital. They then moved to another hospital to look for other relatives. By the time they came back, somebody else had taken the body.

There was no coherent mechanism to identify the bodies, and some junior policemen were handling the process. Whereas, a senior police officer was managing traffic, she claimed.

Disaster Victim Identification guidelines issued by the Interpol were not adhered to immediately. Despite the Interpol's warning that visual identification is notoriously unreliable and should be avoided at all costs, 136 of the 158 bodies were handed over on this basis alone. The Interpol, instead, recommends the use of medical and forensic tests.

According to a senior district official, the Interpol's guidelines were referred to 10 days after the crash. Inspector-General of Police Gopal B. Hosur said that there was no other alternative.

All the bodies could not have been identified by DNA tests. There was no way we could have waited for the DNA tests. Keeping so many bodies in our possession for so long could have created a law and order nightmare, he said.

District Health Officer H. Jagannath said as the district’s storage facilities were woefully inadequate, the bodies would have started decomposing.

Chief Fire Officer H.S. Varadarajan said that some of the bodies could not be identified because they were robbed of jewellery by some of those who posed as rescue workers at the crash site. The police should have cordoned off the area and allowed only fire tenders to do their job, he said.

Deputy Superintendent of Police S. Girish, who was in-charge of the crash site, said: There were only around 10 firemen and public support was necessary. Dr. Jagannath said that a major reason for the mix-up was that all the bodies were not taken to one place for identification.

Several bodies were taken to private medical colleges. According to Mr. Varadarajan, there was nobody at the crash site to direct the ambulances carrying the bodies to the right place.

By the time the district administration realised its mistake and ordered that all the bodies should be shifted to the Wenlock Hospital, 28 bodies had been taken away, District Medical Officer B. Saroja.

Tuesday 19 June 2012

http://www.sfxkutam.com/news_index_arch1.asp?offset=1310

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Death toll in ferry boat sinking rises to 9

MANILA, Philippines–Two more bodies were retrieved from the waters off Palawan as the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) continued its search and rescue operations for passengers believed on board a ferry boat that sank last week en route to El Nido Island. The PCG on Monday said the two bodies–male and female–found in separate locations off Barangay (village) Binudac in Culion town were already in an advanced state of decomposition. But authorities were able to identify one of the bodies as that of Jolito Buenafe through his driver’s license, said Lieutenant Commander Armand Balilo, PCG spokesperson. So far, the PCG has confirmed 9 dead, 1 missing and 56 rescued from the ill-fated MV Joecille II, which sank late Tuesday night last week when it encountered rough seas while on its way to El Nido. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council earlier reported that there were 66 passengers listed on the manifest and at least 21 unlisted passengers. The boat was also reported to have been loaded with 65 heads of carabao. Monday 19 June 2012 http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/214805/death-toll-in-ferry-boat-sinking-rises-to-9

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2 more bodies recovered from sunken ship in Palawan

MANILA, Philippines—Two more bodies were recovered in Palawan as search and rescue operations of the Philippine Coast Guard continued for passengers who remained missing from the sunken vessel M/V Josille 2, a report from Radyo Inquirer 990AM said Monday. The report quoted PCG spokesman Lieutenant Commander Armand Balilo as saying that two still unidentified persons—a male, and a female—were fished out from the waters of Culion, Palawan near the site where Atienza Shipping Lines-owned cargo passenger vessel sank shortly before midnight Tuesday. The bodies were already in the stage of decomposition, the report said. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council earlier said there were 66 passengers listed on the manifest – 34 passengers and 11 crewmembers – and at least 21 unlisted passengers. Meanwhile, island hopping in El Nido, Palawan has been temporarily suspended since Sunday and until authorities become certain that the sinking would not cause any harm to local and foreign tourists who were planning to visit one of the country’s top destination. Monday 18 June 2012 http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/214503/2-more-bodies-recovered-from-sunken-ship-in-palawan

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Several people missing after boat sinks in Ganga

Sahibganj (Jharkhand): A number of people ferrying in a boat over the Ganga river went missing after the boat sank midstream at Sahibganj district of Jharkhand.

“Six persons have been rescued and admitted to a hospital,” Superintendent of Police A Vijay Laxmi said, adding rescue operation has begun to trace the others.

She said the boat was ferrying the passengers from Bijlighati to Harprasad in the district when the mishap took place.

Deputy Commissioner Ashok Sharma said the boat was carrying about 25 passengers after Sunday Haat.

Monday 18 june 2012

Read more: http://www.keralathanima.com/news/several-people-missing-boat-sinks-ganga.html#ixzz1y8zZ4227

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Remains of boat that sunk in Sea of Cortez last year found; 7 Calif. fishermen still missing

SAN FRANCISCO — A private salvage crew has located the wreckage of a chartered fishing boat that sank in Mexico’s Sea of Cortez last year, leaving one Northern California man dead and seven still classified as missing.

Charles Gibson, one of the 35 fishermen and crew members who survived the capsizing of the Erik, tells The Contra Costa Times that divers hired by the families of the missing men found the boat on the sea floor this week.

The Erik was on a planned six-day trip when it was swamped by waves in the Sea of Cortez on July 3, 2011. Survivors spent 16 hours clinging to coolers, floating rings and life vests before they were rescued.

Dena Jacinto, whose father-in-law remains missing at sea, says the divers have not determined whether any bodies are inside the wreckage.

Monday 18 June 2012

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15 missing after wooden ship sinks in Indonesia

JAKARTA, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Rescuers are searching for 15 crew members who remain missing after a wooden cargo-ship with 27 people on board capsized in waters off Maluku in eastern Indonesia on Sunday morning, rescuers said.

The ship sank at 10 : 25 a.m. local time (0125 GMT) in the waters of central Maluku, due to poor weather condition, Agung Sedayu, press officer at the National Search and Rewscue Office told Xinhua over phone.

"The waves were huge during the accident, they sank the ship," he said.

The ship was on route from Ambon city to Nangrole town in Maluku province, said Agung.

The boat, which had 27 passengers and crew on board, went down after it was battered by waves up to five metres (16 feet) high in Maluku province, provincial search-and-rescue team head Amin Bin Tongke told AFP. "Twelve of 27 people on board were rescued alive.

We are still looking for around 15 missing," he said.

The boat, which was also carrying food and building materials, left Ambon city late Saturday but was lashed by towering waves and strong winds two hours into its journey, National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said in a text message. "The boat's engine stalled and the boat broke up and sank," he added.

Indonesia's 240 million people are spread across 17,000 islands and are heavily dependent on a network of ships and boats, which have a poor safety record.

Sunday 17 June 2012

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-06/17/c_131658536.htm

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Dana crash: LASUTH concludes autopsy

Lagos State University Teaching Hoaspital (LASUTH) yesterday said the process of autopsy on all recovered bodies from the scene of the Dana plane crash ended yesterday. This was just as Daily Sun gathered the reasons the victims of the Dana air crash would not be given mass burial.

According to a source, a management meeting was held at the Lagos State University Teaching Hoaspital (LASUTH) with the Commissioner of Health, Dr. Jide Idris, Commissioner for Special duties, Dr. Waler Ahmed and the Chief Medical Director, Prof. Wale Oke in attendance. The source said relatives of the victims would love to bury their loved ones because it was part of their cultural attachment in the society.

“Besides, a thorough investigation such as autopsy carried out on the victims would help unravel the major cause or causes of death and even help investigate the cause of the accident by the probe panel,” said the source. He explained further that an autopsy would reveal what went wrong mid air before the plane crashed and determine whether a victim died before the actual crash or after the crash. Reports from investigations could be subsequently picked up by relevant agencies to avert similar disasters in future, the source added.

The source said with the cooperation of relatives of victims, the remains of every affected passenger and people on ground would be handed over to their families for proper burial no matter how charred or dismembered the bodies may have been. Investigations revealed that some families were yet to show up to either identify their relatives or submit samples for DNA.

That, another source disclosed, would only last for as long as the state government determines but could be influenced by the Federal Government because aviation is under the purview of Federal Government and it may choose to prolong period of identification and DNA sampling.” Our source further explained that unlike public belief, DNA was just one of the processes of identification while other necessary scientific examination carried out locally and overseas were being done on bodies.

“It is only when all of the processes are concluded and results of analysis from the victims are cross-matched with samples collected from families that a comprehensive post-mortem report will be issued and bodies released.”

Friday 15 June 2012

http://www.zimbio.com/Nigeria+Today/articles/Wes9Z0sGrJ2/Dana+crash+LASUTH+concludes+autopsy

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Fire kills 13 in southeast Turkey prison

ISTANBUL—Thirteen prisoners died from smoke inhalation after inmates started a fire during a mutiny in a jail in southeastern Turkey, officials said Sunday.

The prisoners set fire to blankets and beds in a cell in the Sanliurfa city prison late Saturday, but it was brought under control before it could spread throughout the jail, which holds 1,000 inmates, the Anatolia news agency reported, quoting governor Celalettin Guvenc.

Another five prisoners were hospitalized, as well as 12 prison staff who were injured during the rescue.

The fire broke out during a fight in a dormitory with 18 inmates, Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told media, relaying a survivor’s account.

“I was also informed by the governor that the conditions in the cell were not suitable to accommodate 18 inmates,” he added.

After an initial investigation, Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin noted that there was resistance from the prisoners when security forces tried to remove them.

“Entrance to the room was physically blocked by beds stashed at the door, which they set on fire,” he said, adding that the five rescued survivors were on lower bunks, closer to the exit.

Sanliurfa, the city’s largest jail, reportedly had an initial capacity of around 250, but was upped to 600 in recent years with additional bunk beds.

The mutiny may have been in protest at poor conditions and lack of air conditioning, the NTV news channel reported earlier, citing prison sources.

Local media frequently criticize conditions at the jail, which also holds several political prisoners including a lawmaker from the opposition Peace and Democracy Party, security sources told AFP.

The fire broke out in a cell for ordinary prisoners.

Police and gendarmerie were deployed as large crowds gathered outside the jail.

Police blocked road access and resorted to pepper spray to disperse angry families demanding to be informed of the dead prisoners’ identities.

Families were allowed to visit their relatives on Sunday after calm was restored in the prison where news of the deaths had spread panic and protests.

An investigation was under way to establish what happened.

In September 2010, a political prisoner set himself on fire in the same prison after he was transferred to the ordinary prisoners’ section, triggering protests from other inmates, but no one was killed.

The government has commissioned 196 new prisons to be built throughout the country, including a large establishment in Sanliurfa, within the next five years, according to the justice minister.

Sunday 17 June 2012

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/214141/fire-kills-13-in-southeast-turkey-prison-mutiny

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24 killed in road accident in western India

AHMADABAD, India - Police say a truck carrying workers has overturned on a slippery road after overnight rains in western India, killing 24 people and injuring another 25.

Police officer Bharat Bhai says the workers were on their way to Sanand, an automobile hub nearly 20 kilometres (12 miles) south of Ahmadabad, the Gujarat state's main city.

The accident occurred early Thursday. The 25 injured have been hospitalized in the area, Bhai told The Associated Press Road accidents are common in India.

Many are due to negligence, bad roads and aging vehicles.

Most of the victims were laborers transporting salt.

Thursday 14 June 2012

http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/714962.shtml

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11 killed after Haitian boat capsizes

CMC - The death toll from Monday’s boat accident filled with Haitian immigrants, which capsized in waters off North Abaco is expected to rise. 

Police officials in the Bahamas said that the search and rescue operations will resume today for at least 12 missing bodies. 

It’s reported that at least 28 people had boarded the boat “Glory Time” on Monday. However, 11 bodies had been recovered, while 12 other passengers were still missing. 

The police said five other passengers were able to swim to shore. 

The police said that the Haitians were heading to Florida from Abaco, when a distressed call was made after the boat encountered rough seas and was taking in water before capsizing. 

The authorities said that “officers from the Royal Bahamas Police Force, the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, the US Coast Guard, BASRA and other concerned citizens” responded to the call that had been received late Monday. 

The U.S. Coast Guard dispatched a plane based in Miami and a helicopter based on Andros Island, Bahamas, to help search for survivors. 

Haitian migrants have been coming to the Bahamas for years, fleeing severe poverty in the Western Hemisphere's poorest country. The migrants mostly try to reach the US, though some stay in the Bahamas to form a low-income workforce. 


Thursday 14 June 2012


http://go-jamaica.com/news/read_article.php?id=37805

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New technology set to 'revolutionize' the identification of disaster victims

 New online tooth atlas will enable experts to assess people's teeth Forensics across the world will be better equipped to identify the age of people who die in natural disasters.

Scientists at Queen Mary, University of London have developed an online interactive tool which will enable experts to assess people's teeth and accurately estimate their age.

The London Tooth Atlas is a culmination of years of research from Dr Helen Liversidge and her team at Queen Mary dedicated to dental development. Dr Liversidge said: "This interactive tool builds on the creation of our London Tooth Atlas hard copy version which was used in a number of disasters such as the New Zealand earthquake (2011). "We expect the new software will revolutionise the way forensics determine the age of victims."

Thursday 14 June 2012

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-06/qmuo-nts061212.php

The London Tooth Atlas was underpinned by the need to estimate the ages of victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami using dental data. It enables experts and students to see how teeth change between the ages of 30 weeks in utero to about 23 years.

Dr Sakher AlQahtani who works with Dr Liversidge at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry (part of Queen Mary), developed the London Tooth Atlas for his post-graduate research project. "The interactive version enables people to better understand and see the differences in tooth development up to the age of 23," he said. "It will be extremely useful for educating dental students, and assisting forensic odontology, disaster victim identification teams and archaeology, as well as in estimating the age of asylum seeking minors."

The software is available at www.atlas.dentistry.qmul.ac.uk and an app to support this will soon be available for downloading.

Professor of Anatomy and Forensic Anthropology at the University of Dundee, Sue Black, said: "When working in a forensic environment, immediate access to information can be vital.

The Tooth Atlas app will prove to be invaluable as a ready source of instant detail for the forensic odontologist, forensic anthropologist and forensic pathologist."

Professor Jules Kieser, Head of the Department of Oral Sciences at the University of Otago, said: "The Atlas has been a superb help to myself and my forensic odontology colleagues. Not only do we now use it routinely, but we used it to identify victims of the Christchurch earthquake.

Importantly, if it were available as an app, it will clearly be more accessible. This is an exciting prospect that I support fully and enthusiastically!"

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Quake-hit Afghan village could become mass grave

Afghanistan - An Afghan village where more than 70 people are believed to have been buried in an earthquake-triggered landslide could be declared a mass grave, an official said Wednesday.

Two shallow tremors less than half an hour apart on Monday unleashed a deluge of rock and earth that smashed into the remote village of Mullah Jan, in the mountainous Hindu Kush region.

Villagers say 71 people, all women and children, were trapped in the landslide, and a disaster management official has described the chances of anyone surviving as "slim or non-existent".

Mechanical diggers were at the site trying to clear rubble to find bodies or survivors, but Nasir Kohzad, the head of the natural disaster agency of Baghlan province, said the scale of the task made it difficult. "Part of a mountain has collapsed on a part of Mullah Jan village and there is over 60 metres of dirt to remove," he told AFP.

Pictures from the scene showed earthmovers digging through mounds of brown dirt and rock with no visible signs of buried buildings. Only three bodies have been recovered from Mullah Jan, Kohzad said, while a fourth was found in a neighbouring district.

Mullah Jan, the chief of the eponymous village, suggested declaring the site a mass grave and leaving the other victims' bodies to rest, Kohzad said.

The first quake on Monday, with a magnitude of 5.4, struck at 9.32am (0502 GMT) at a depth of 15 kilometres (10 miles) with the epicentre around 160 kilometres southwest of the town of Faizabad. A more powerful tremor, measured at 5.7 magnitude, hit around 25 minutes later in almost exactly the same place, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said.

Northern Afghanistan and Pakistan are frequently hit by earthquakes, especially around the Hindu Kush range, which lies near the collision of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates.

A 7.6-magnitude earthquake in Pakistan in October 2005 killed 74,000 people and displaced 3.5 million

Thursday 14 June 2012

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/1207373/1/.html

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Nigeria air crash: Two families lay claim to same corpse

Two families on Tuesday laid claim to the same corpse of the Dana air crash which degenerated into abusive exchanges at the Lekan Ogunsola Memorial mortuary of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) Ikeja.

This came as an unidentified relation of one of the deceased attacked LASUTH officials with a machete.

Trouble started when relations of late Mr. Jones Ifekanwa and that of another victim, identified a body of one of the deceased as theirs.

Findings by Vanguard revealed that earlier, Chief Medical Examiner, LASUTH and Consultant Pathologist and Forensic Medicine expert, Prof. John Obafunwa, had invited the Ifekanwa family to identify their late brother’s corpse which they did with some difficulty. 

The other family, it was gathered, after being invited to identify its corpse, eventually picked the same corpse earlier selected by the Ifekanwa family, as their late brother who died in the same air crash. An argument ensued and Obafunwa was forced to deny both families any claim to the body. He rather urged them to wait for a DNA test result that would be available in about four weeks.

Verbal war 
Enraged, the two families engaged in verbal war and came close to exchanging blows but for the intervention of security men.

It was gathered that while the Ifekanwas were very sure the body they identified was their late brother’s, members of the other family told Obafunwa they were not so sure that the body was actually theirs.

The Ifekanwa family, however, complained of the deplorable state of the corpse who they said was their youngest sibling, saying yesterday was the third time they had come to identify him. In their view, the corpse was getting worse with time.

A visibly shaken Jennifer Enanana, elder sister to the late Jones Ifekanwa told newsmen:”I am testifying just for my brother, Mr. Jones Ifekanwa. He was identified at the crash site. He wasn’t burnt. He had his identity card with him and some other documents in his pockets, with that they identified him.

“When we were there last Tuesday, it did not take them up to five minutes to get him to us. They even told us that we were very lucky, so they wrote his name on the body bag he was in. When we went in there, we identified his clothes and birth marks on him and everything was okay. They told us that within 48 hours he would be released. But that was not to be because they said they wanted to do DNA.

“So on Saturday we went back to check if he was properly taken care of, we found out that he was getting worse. His face was peeling off, he was deteriorating and I expressed my grievances and I told them that I did not like this and asked them when they were going to release his body to us.

“Luckily enough, Fashola said we should meet him on Sunday, which most of us did. The place was packed with people. It was agreed there that all identified bodies should be released. Can you imagine as at last Friday, they had released six bodies without us knowing.

“Meanwhile, they were claiming to us that they need DNA but they were releasing bodies without people knowing. Six bodies have gone out. It was yesterday (Monday) that we got to know about it.

Another identification
“So this morning (yesterday) I and my family came to claim our body that had been identified by them and confirmed by us to be our brother, only for us to get there, Prof. Obafunwa took us in again, traumatising my family to identify the body that had already been identified by them and confirmed and identified by us.

“They took us in and they wrapped him up as if it was a gift pack showing just his face not his ears, not his head and wrapped him up, can you imagine? And we were telling them that this is our brother whom we had identified. He has a mark on his lips and on his fore head; it is just a unique feature of him and all that.

“Could you believe that another family went inside and identified the same Jones’ body? A body that has been identified by them and confirmed by us twice, they took another family to go and identify the body, the family was already devastated and the girl came out. Because she wasn’t sure of the body, she asked him to bring out his hands because their own person has a mark in his hands. The professor refused.

“The professor came out to tell us that there was a problem on our body, that there was a contention. He said because of this he would not release the body. That means they did not store the bodies properly, that means there is something fishy going on.”

Relation attacks LASUTH officials
In another development at the same venue, drama ensued when an angry relation of the victims of the crash attacked LASUTH officials with a machete. Luckily, the unprovoked assault was aborted by a special squad of the Rapid Respond team of the Police who held on to the angry man as he shouted: “You people can eat my brother’s body if you want, since you don’t want to release him to us.”

In anticipation, the Police have stationed a special squad of the Rapid Respond team to man the mortuary for 24 hours because of such unpleasant development.

Officials of the hospital have maintained stoic silence over the matter and rebuffed overtures by media men to get his response on the development.

Two more bodies were claimed yesterday, bringing the number of claimed bodies to eight.


Wednesday 14 June 2012


http://world.myjoyonline.com/pages/nigeria/201206/88245.php

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Afghanistan Earthquake: Dozens Feared Buried After Deadly Quakes

KABUL, Afghanistan -- As many as 50 people are feared entombed under tons of rock and stone that buried a village in a landslide after two earthquakes in northern Afghanistan, authorities said Tuesday.

A single bulldozer worked to uncover the bodies of those killed in Monday's landslide after the earthquakes struck the Hindu Kush region, but villagers fear there will be no survivors.

So far, rescuers have only recovered the bodies of two women, according to Gov. Abdul Majid of Baghlan province who reached the area on Tuesday afternoon after a four-hour drive from the provincial capital of Pul-e-Khumri. "It's impossible to get to the bodies," the governor said. "They estimate that they are buried in 30 meters of rock. There are tons of rocks and stones covering the village."

Baghlan province's Burka district, the site of the landslide, is a remote collection of mountain villages. Majid estimated that the rubble covered one hectare of land (2.5 acres) around the village of Sayi Hazara, which is home to about 20 families. "Nobody will be alive," he said.

One bulldozer was working at the site, another one was being repaired and a third was being transported to the area to help with the excavation, he said. One earthquake with a magnitude of 5.4 struck the region Monday morning, followed by a 5.7 quake, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

Both quakes caused buildings to shake in the Afghan capital, Kabul, 190 kilometers (120 miles) to the south. On Monday, local officials feared that as many as 100 people could have been killed, but after visiting the site, the governor revised the number to 50 or fewer.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai said that after hearing about the landslide, he dispatched government officials to the area. He said national disaster officials reached the site on Monday night.

The police led a team of rescue workers and medics from Pul-e-Khumri, but discovered on arrival that they could be of little use. The handful of people who survived the landslide had already been driven to clinics.

Wednesday 13 June 2012

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/12/afghanistan-earthquake-_n_1590083.html?utm_hp_ref=world

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Dana crash: Victims’ relatives in DNA identification dilemma

TEN days after 153 passengers aboard Dana Flight 099 from Abuja perished along with an indeterminate number of people on the ground when the aircraft crashed into residential buildings in Iju, a suburb of Lagos, on the afternoon of Sunday June 3, 2012, the release of the remains of the victims to their relations by authorities of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH, remains a contentious issue.

In the aftermath of the air disaster described as one of the worst in recent times, a total of 11 identifiable bodies had been cleared for release up till Monday June 11, 2012. Although not all of the released bodies which have undergone autopsy at the expense of the Lagos State government have been claimed to date, the hospital authorities are, however, insisting on conducting individual DNA tests on all the remaining bodies whether or not they are identifiable, pending approval of the release of  any more bodies.

But this decision by the authorities is one that has not gone down well with the grieving relations of the victims who have made no pretence of their dislike for such rigmarole. They have openly expressed their reservations about the need for mandatory DNA test before they would be permitted to take away the remains of their loved ones who died in the unfortunate incident.

Over the last few days and in view of the foregoing, the state of events that have held sway at the premises of the Lekan Ogunsola Memorial Mortuary where the retrieved bodies are being kept within the LASUTH premises has not been particularly cordial as aggrieved relations protest the decision.

Precisely on Sunday June 10, 2012, at a “family” meeting held at the State House, Alausa, Ikeja, presumably in the effort to prevent the unintended wrongful release of bodies to the family members, in realisation of the intricacies emanating from the ongoing identification process, Governor Babatunde Fashola had given the victims’ relations two options.

The first option was to accept a mass burial of the victims, several of which were already decomposing and largely unidentifiable, while the second option was to agree to a compulsory DNA test that would require a wait of four to six weeks, but with the promise of ensuring that the right bodies were properly identified before being released to their family members.

At that meeting, the relations had voted unanimously in favour of the DNA test, so it came as a surprise when the very next day, a large group of the relations gathered at the Lekan Ogunsola Memorial Mortuary, still demanding release of bodies.

The agitation which built up from around mid-morning gradually erupted late afternoon in the form of a mild drama as the crowd of relations openly confronted the state’s Chief Coroner, Consultant Pathologist and Forensic Medicine expert, Professor John Obafunwa, and the Chief Medical Director, Professor Wale Oke.

It all began when Obafunwa and Oke were shouted down when they attempted to explain why approval was no longer going to be given for release of more bodies until DNA tests are carried out. The case of one of the victims, George Moses, was particularly instructive. A police woman who claimed to be junior sister of the deceased, protested vehemently when she was told her brother’s body could not be released pending identification through DNA test.

As it was gathered, the late Moses’ daughter had earlier declined to identify as her father’s a particular body, listed as number 22 on the list of identifiable bodies released by the morgue. But the other members of the deceased’s family, 12 of them, later stormed the mortuary to verify that, indeed it was Moses’ body.

“Give us a second chance. We know him and will not make a mistake because we can recognise him. You do not need to do DNA to be so sure. Just bring the corpse out and let us see him. We did not know he was going to die, now he is dead, you are saying we cannot see his body. It is so unfair. He is number 22, so bring him out, let us see him,” they raged.

Speaking, Moses’ sister reasoned that even if the deceased daughter had made a mistake, she (sister) would not. “He is my brother. We came from the same womb. The daughter could have been confused not identify him properly. Let me see the body myself. Even in the darkness, I can identify my brother. They are now saying we should wait three weeks. What for? That is not acceptable.

“Why can’t we see and collect a body we have already identified? Suppose they come back to tell us that the test result is inconclusive and they still end up doing a mass burial? They should release my brother so we can bury him and let his soul rest.”

But Obafunwa was unyielding. “I will not be stampeded into releasing bodies. I have nothing to gain by keeping the bodies unnecessarily. I would rather be cautious than give out the wrong body. The bodies released are the ones properly identified. DNA examination is the best option. I appesl to you to be more patient if you must get the right corpse. Until the DNA test is out, no more bodies would be approved for collection, he said with finality.”

The DNA blood test has emerged as the most infallible way of convincingly answering the question of family relationship. Often referred to as DNA blood testing, parentage testing or DNA fingerprinting, the DNA blood test is utilised to identify and evaluate the genetic information-called DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)-in a person’s cells.

It is called a “fingerprint” because it is very unlikely that any two people would have exactly the same DNA information, in the same way that it is very unlikely that any two people would have exactly the same physical fingerprint. The test is used to determine whether a family relationship exists between two people, to identify organisms causing a disease, and to solve crimes.

Wednesday 13 June 2012

http://news2.onlinenigeria.com/news/general/170496-dana-crash-victims-relatives-in-dna-identification-dilemma.html

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Nigeria crash: Getting Indians' bodies back to take time

New Delhi - With families of the two Indians killed in the Nigeria air crash upset over the delay in getting the bodies back, the Indian government Friday said they may have to wait more as it could take some more time to identify the bodies through DNA tests.

"In the case of the two Indian nationals, our understanding is unfortunately that the remains are not in a condition where you can easily identify them," external affairs ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin told reporters here.

"So, they will need (go through) a process of examination, including DNA testing and matching of that test. This is likely to take time, given the facilities there for this sort of a thing," he said.

Mahendra Singh Rathore, the co-pilot, and Rijo K. Eldhose, a young computer engineer from Kerala, were among the 153 people who perished when the Dana Airlines plane crashed in Lagos Sunday.

The Indian mission in Lagos has been in touch with the governor of Lagos over the identification of bodies of the two Indians.

Monday 11 June 2012

http://pluzmedia.in/news/crime-disaster-accident/43509/nigeria-crash-getting-indians-bodies-back-to-take-time

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Peru searchers recover bodies of all 14 victims killed in helicopter crash in snowy Andes

OCONGATE, Peru — A police rescue team on Sunday recovered the bodies of all 14 people who died in a fiery helicopter crash high in the snowy Andes, and Quechua Indians from nearby villages helped carry the remains down the steep slopes.

Police Gen. Hector Dulanto said the bodies were first taken to Ocongate, the nearest town to the accident, but were being moved by police vans to the morgue in Cuzco, the regional capital.
Officials said DNA tests or dental identification would be needed to identify at least five or six of the victims.

The helicopter exploded when it hit the mountainside and all the bodies were burned, some severely, police said.

As the search team found bodies during the day, the remains were put into black bags. Local villagers then hoisted the bags onto their backs and carried them down the mountain.

The Sikorsky S-58ET helicopter was carrying eight South Koreans and three Peruvians as well as citizens of the Netherlands, Sweden and the Czech Republic when it crashed Wednesday on Mama Rosa mountain at an altitude of about 16,000 feet (4,900 meters).

The Koreans were exploring sites for a possible hydroelectric plant. They were employed by Samsung C&T Corp., Korea Water Resources Corp., Korea Engineering Consultants Corp. and Seoyeong Co.

Eighteen South Korean relatives of those aboard the helicopter were flying to Peru to recover the remains, said South Korean Consul Hwangroh Lee, who went to Cuzco, the city where the helicopter flight originated.

Monday 11 June 2012

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/peru-searchers-find-bodies-in-andes-helicopter-crash-that-killed-14/2012/06/10/gJQATxnJTV_story.html

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Nigerian air crash: Relatives of victims reject mass burial, 50 Bodies Identified

Relatives of the passengers in the Dana Air plane that crashed in Lagos have kicked against a proposed mass burial for unidentified victims deposited at Mainland Hospital, Ebute-Metta.

Out of the 153 passengers who died, only 50 have been identified as at yester-day, seven days after the plane crashed in the outskirts of Lagos. Of the 50 identified bodies, 29 are males, 17 females and four babies.

The affected relatives made their views known yesterday at a closed door meeting with Governor Babatunde Fashola at the Lagos House, Ikeja.

A relative of one of the unidentifiable victims, Johnson Akanji, informed Daily Trust after the meeting that the Lagos State governor had touted the idea of mass burial to be carried out by the state government, but some of the affected families, particularly foreign nationals, rejected the plan.

According to him, Indians and Europeans whose relations died in the crash did not subscribe to the idea. "We were told 67 bodies have been identified so far. They said others could not be identified until DNA is carried out on them. The agreement reached was that we would wait till the test is carried out on the bodies instead of mass burial," he said.

Meanwhile, Governor Babatunde Fashola has disclosed that a special committee (Relationship Team) has been set up by the government to ensure effective communication between the state government and families of victims of the plane crash.

Briefing reporters after the closed door meeting, the governor said that some decisions had been taken during the meeting, adding that both sides have agreed to commence the process of identifying bodies which have not been identified so as to let their families claim them for burial.

Meanwhile 50 out of the 153 persons killed in the crash have so far been identified by the relations while two yet to be identified adult bodies are still lying in the morgue at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH).

The bodies, Daily Trust learnt will be released to their relations this week while DNA test have commenced on the bodies of unidentifiable bodies to ensure that bodies are not released to the wrong families.

It was learnt that the DNA test to be conducted on the corpses would take two weeks.

Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola had last week Thursday appealed to family members and relatives of victims of the Dana Air mishap of last Sunday to exercise more patience so that proper identification could be carried on the bodies before they are released.

"There is a big risk here of releasing the wrong body to the wrong family. Even yesterday, I was told that in the process of identifying, there was almost a mix up between two families because of the state of the bodies. There are foreigners also involved. There is danger of giving away Nigerian body to be taken away," he said.

Governor Fashiola stressed that the need to conduct a meticulous and scientific identification process to avoid 'costly errors' is responsible for the seeming delay and appealed for patience while experts work round the clock to help identify the bodies.

Monday 11 June 2012

http://channelkoos.com/index.php/news/1747-dana-plane-crash-relations-reject-mass-burial-50-bodies-identified

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Dana crash: DNA test runs into hitches

A week after the ill-fated Dana air crash, only four families have so far made moves to collect bodies of their relations who died in the incident, while nine others have the authorisation to pick up the bodies of their loved ones for burial.

Sunday Independent learnt that the inability of many families to retrieve the corpses of their relations is not unconnected with the protocol involved in the process of identifying the bodies, a situation that has led to Governor Babatunde Fashola slating a meeting with all affected families today (Sunday) at 2.30pm at the Lagos House, Alausa.

The protocol involved in the process of identifying the bodies includes the presentation of two direct relations of each victim which could be parents or direct siblings.

But our correspondent witnessed a situation where some relations claimed some of the victims had no parent and a sibling showed up for the identification process.

A form which had been prepared for the purpose showed columns where two direct relations are to fill their specific data and then a photograph is taken at the centre to be affixed and collated in a file against the victim’s name. “In a situation where a family has more than a victim, the protocol expects that each of the victim would equally have two direct relatives, each identifying them and present themselves for DNA sampling,” explained one of the officials at the collection site.

Our correspondent gathered that there have been arguments between families and officials over the protocol, prompting the stalling of release of even the identifiable corpses for burial. “We are constrained to release more bodies for now because we do not want litigations when we release the wrong bodies or give bodies to wrong family members and so we think the issue would equally form part of the meeting agenda the governor would be discussing with relatives of the victims on Sunday,” a source spoke in confidence.

Also expected to form part of the agenda for discussion with Governor Fashola are issues of the DNA testing, payment of the initial compensation and, more importantly, burial of the charred bodies of victims.

Our correspondent gathered that the autopsy on all the corpses would be completed by mid-week and that there is likelihood that the charred bodies would be given mass burial since they were burnt beyond recognition.

It is however unclear as yet which country the DNA processing and analysis would be carried out and how the cost would be facilitated, but a top medical board meeting which had the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris; Chief Medical Director of LASUTH, Professor Wale Oke; and Chief Medical Examiner, Professor John Obafunwa, in attendance was ongoing at the time of going to press on Saturday.

The experts are said to be discussing some of these issues which might also form part of the agenda to be relayed to the families when they meet with the governor later today. 

Sunday 10 June 2012

 http://dailyindependentnig.com/2012/06/dana-crash-dna-test-runs-into-hitches/

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Kenyan minister George Saitoti killed in helicopter crash

Kenyan Internal Security Minister George Saitoti has been killed in a helicopter crash, officials say.

They say Mr Saitoti and his deputy, Orwa Ojode, died when the aircraft went down west of Nairobi, bursting into flames as it hit the ground.

There is no word on the cause of the crash, in which six people were killed, including bodyguards and pilots.

Mr Saitoti, a former vice-president, had been planning to run in a forthcoming presidential poll. The 66-year-old was on his way to a security meeting when his helicopter crashed on Sunday morning.

A spokesman said the prime minister, Raila Odinga, had been informed of the deaths of Saitoti and his deputy, Orwa Ojode.

A former long-serving vice-president under the former president Daniel Arap Moi, Saitoti was also a presidential candidate in an election expected to be held by March next year.

A Reuters photographer counted three bodies at the scene of the crash in a forest in the Ngong area just outside Nairobi.

Debris from the burnt-out blue police helicopter was strewn in the brush where government officials and curious locals jostled to catch a glimpse. It was not immediately clear what caused the crash.

More people were feared to have been on board the helicopter. 

Sunday, 10 June 2012

 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-18384861

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5 dead, 15 injured in small plane crash near Kiev

KIEV, Ukraine -- A small plane carrying skydivers crash-landed in stormy weather near the Ukrainian capital on Sunday, killing five people and injuring 15, including an Austrian citizen, emergency officials said.

The L-410 plane belonging to a pilot school made a "hard" emergency landing during a heavy rainstorm with high winds near the Borodyanka airport some 30 kilometers (20 miles) west of Kiev, said Emergency Situations Ministry spokeswoman Yulia Yershova. No other details were immediately available.

Channel 5 television reported that the pilots decided to return to the airport minutes after takeoff due to the sudden storm, but the plane came down several kilometers (miles) away in the middle of a field.

Television footage showed the white aircraft with blue stripes flipped onto its side in the middle of a thick green field under sunny skies, after the rain gave way to bright sunshine.

The cockpit was badly damaged and debris strewn about, including one of the plane's wheels.

The plane was carrying 17 skydivers and three crew members. The injured have been taken to local hospitals. An investigation has been opened.

Sunday 10 June 2012

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/06/10/2127352/5-dead-13-injured-in-small-plane.html#storylink=cpy

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Peru rescuers to recover bodies of helicopter victims

LIMA — A police unit was climbing up a snowy peak in the Peruvian Andes on Sunday in a bid to recover the bodies of 14 people, including eight South Koreans, who died in a helicopter crash last week.

 "We are on our way to the place where the wreckage and the bodies were spotted," Cesar Guevara, the local official in charge of the case in the town of Urcos in the southern department of Cusco, told Canal N television by telephone.

He cautioned that "it could take at least four hours to get to the accident site, depending on weather conditions" and the physical strength of team members. The team will likely finish removing the bodies on Sunday, Guevara explained.

The Peruvian Air Force had tried to reach the crash site by air the previous day, but poor weather forced its helicopters to return to Cusco International Airport by mid-morning Saturday.

A Sikorsky S-58 ET chopper vanished Wednesday while flying in snow and rain in the mountainous region from the town of Mazuco, in Madre de Dios department, to the city of Cusco.

It lost contact with its base in Hualla Hualla between the towns of Ocongate and Marcapata, near the snowcapped Apu Colque Cruz peak. The wreckage was found near Mount Mamarosa, some 4,900 meters (16,000 feet) above sea level, Guevara said. On board the flight were eight South Koreans, a Czech, a Swede, a Dutch citizen and three Peruvians, two of them crew members, according to helicopter owner HeliCusco.

All were found dead, police said, giving no details on whether any of the victims survived the initial crash.

At mid-morning Saturday, a special eight-member police mountain patrol team charged with locating the wreckage reached the site where the Sikorsky S-58 ET plummeted to earth. Police General Hector Dulanto earlier told AFP that it took the police mountain climbers seven hours to hike from their base camp to the crash site.

The second police team sent up on Sunday were to remove the bodies. Driving rain and snow had hampered rescue efforts for days. Aerial searches were called off soon after the helicopter was reported missing, and police determined that it would be safer to send a search team by land than risk another crash by sending aircraft in bad weather and into the high mountains where they could face strong cross-currents of wind.

 Rescuers also feared that it would be hard to find the helicopter, which was painted white, from the air in the snow-covered area. In Seoul, the foreign ministry said the South Koreans were engineers and officials from four South Korean companies on their way back to Cusco after conducting aerial surveillance on a possible site for a hydroelectric project near Puno, in southern Peru, close to the border with Bolivia.

Two officials from the South Korean embassy in Lima were in Cusco to monitor the search and rescue operations.

Sunday, 10 June 2012

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iwh-N8qp0fGqyzvRuzSHq7s8nMAw?docId=CNG.f8186243e802c6eeaf9fe592f36f6568.91

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