Indian scientists devise unique radiation-decontamination wipes

They look like the facial wipes available in the market, but what makes them different is that they are meant to clean off radioactive material from the body during a nuclear disaster. Developed by India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the unique decontamination wipe is catching the attention of vendors who cater to NATO forces.

Scientists working on it claim the wipe, developed at the DRDO Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS) here, can remove over 95 percent of the contamination.

At Rs.10 (20 cents), the 5cm x 5cm wipe - the size of a face wipe - is easy to use and dispose of.

According to the scientists, these decontamination wipes will be useful for people working in nuclear plants and those living around them, as also during any nuclear disaster like what happened at Fukushima in Japan.

"This is one-of-a-kind product not known to have been developed by anyone else," R.K. Sharma of INMAS's CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear) division, told IANS in an interview.

"The decontamination procedure with the use of soap and water removes most of the external contaminants. But the accidental release of a number of radio-isotopes in the environment could contaminate water also, thereby limiting its availability or sometimes it may be scarce," he said.

"In view of this, the self-usable skin decontamination wipe has been developed for immediate application after the release of the contaminant," Sharma added.

Named radio-decontamination wipes, the project costs Rs. 495,000 ($9,200) and INMAS has already initiated the process for patenting the technology.

"Once we get it patented, we would propose keeping this wipes not just with disaster management forces like NDRF (National Disaster Response Force) but also at Metro stations and with local authorities like the state police," Sharma said.

Following a major earthquake, a 15-metre tsunami disabled the power supply and cooling chambers of three of Fukushima's Daiichi reactors Mar 11, 2011. There were no deaths but over 100,000 people had to be evacuated from their homes to prevent exposure to radiation.

The decontamination wipe causes no skin toxicity and has been found to be safe, effective and non-irritant.

INMAS has already received a request from British-based Branco Diagnostics and an Indian company, Novel, for transfer of technology for mass production of the decontamination wipes.

An email from the Branco Diagnotics in October said: "We understand that you are developing radiation decontamination wipes and have completed efficacy studies and skin safety studies under the Drug and Cosmetics Act 1940."

"We are interested to take this technology from your organisation for commercializing the same. Branco produces reactive skin decontamination lotion (which removes chemical warfare agents), which is used by the US Department of Defense and military forces in NATO countries," the letter said.

INMAS has sent both the requests to the DRDO's marketing wing - the Directorate of Industry Interface and Technology Management (DIITM).

The wipes come in a small packing along with a sealed disposal zipper bag so that the contamination doesn't spread further after wipe is used.

The institute has also published the results of its study in the International Journal of Pharmaceutics in September, the official said.

Sunday 4 November 2012

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/290066/indian-scientists-devise-unique-radiation.html

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Mining experts look at Pike River recovery plan

Families of the Pike River disaster victims are hoping a group of international mine safety experts will be able to give its approval to a plan aimed at re-entering the mine.

The families have enlisted the help of New Zealand mining expert David Feickert, who has been advising the Chinese Government on mine safety.

Mr Feickert and two British mining experts are in Greymouth for five days and will meet with Solid Energy, Mine Rescue and other experts in the area.

Mr Feickert says it could be possible to enter the main shaft of the mine to retrieve some of the bodies.

But he says they'll need to ensure the mine is safe enough to re-enter.

Mr Feickert is expected to sign off on the families' plan, which aims to overhaul health and safety standards in mining.

A spokesperson for some of the families, Bernie Monk, says the approval must happen before the plan can be presented to Solid Energy.

On Monday, the Royal Commission's report on the Pike River disaster will be presented to the families of the 29 men who died in explosions at the coal mine in 2010. The report will be released later in the day.

Sunday 4 November 2012

http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/119903/mining-experts-look-at-pike-river-recovery-plan

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Bodies of two more sailors handed over to relatives

For the families of the five sailors who perished in Cyclone Nilam, it was finally all over as they received the bodies of their dead kin.

While three of the families returned home on Friday night after receiving the bodies, the families of Jomon Joseph and Krishna Chandra returned home on Saturday.

The bodies of Jomon Joseph and Krishna C.P. Purayil were identified by their relatives at the Ponneri Government Hospital on Saturday morning. Jomon was among the five sailors who were declared missing when they did not return to the shore on Wednesday after the oil tanker MT Pratibha Cauvery ran aground at Elliot’s Beach in Besant Nagar.

Jomon’s family, who began their hunt for him on Thursday, had sought fishermen’s help to take them through every canal. They managed to find Raj Ramesh Khamitkar’s body on Friday afternoon.

Even when there was confusion over identification of Raj at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital here, they were sure that it was not Jomon. “He is taller, around 5feet 8inches, and this body is that of a shorter person,” one of his uncles maintained.

Jomon’s body had washed ashore in Minjur and been sent to the GH around 5 p.m. on Friday. Jomon had worked on an oil tanker in the Gulf for a year and took up a job on MT Pratibha Cauvery six months ago. His uncle said he loved cricket and was a fun-loving person who wanted to become a sailor. His father K.J. Joseph had been in no position to talk, late on Friday evening. When contacted by The Hindu he had said, “I am very tired now. I don’t feel like talking.”

On Saturday, a body clad in blue uniform was found near Ennore Creek. It was identified as that of Krishna Chandra by his relatives at Ponneri GH. Krishna’s uncle and cousins received the body. His father P.P. Chandrasekar works as a bank manager in a co-operative bank.

The bodies of K. Niranjan, Rushub Jadhav and Raj Khamitkar were handed over to the respective families on Friday evening after the mandatory autopsy.

Sunday 4 november 2012

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/chen-news/bodies-of-two-more-sailors-handed-over-to-relatives/article4062530.ece

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Last 'president-in-exile' reburial after misidentification

Smolensk disaster victim Ryszard Kaczorowski has been re-buried at Warsaw's Temple of Divine Providence after exhumation confirmed he was originally buried in the wrong grave.

After a mass celebrated by cardinal Kazimierz Nycz, the Metropolitan Bishop of Warsaw, the remains of Ryszard Kaczorowski, Poland's last president-in-exile, were interred in the Pantheon of Prominent Poles.

Ryszard Kaczorowski was one of ninety six victims of the plane crash in Russia in April 2010, in which President Lech Kaczynski was also killed.

Last month it was revealed that as a result of a mistake in the identification of the bodies of the victims, the body that had been buried in the Temple of Divide Province in 2010 was not that of President Kaczorowski.

His remains were mixed up with the body of another victim, buried at Warsaw’s Powązki cemetery. The two exhumations were carried last month.

The re-burial follows a similar mix-up over the remains of Anna Walentynowicz – one of the initiators of the 1980 Solidarity strikes – who also died in the Smolensk disaster.

The Royal Sigismund Bell, which hangs from the tower of the Wawel Cathedral in Krakow, tolled during the ceremony on Saturday. Regarded as one of Poland’s national symbols, the bell tolls on religious and national holidays, as well as on very special occasions.

Among those attending the re-burial ceremony, apart from the late President’s family, were the First Lady Anna Komorowska and the Head of the Presidential Chancellery Jacek Michalowski.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk expressed his deepest sympathies for those who had to endure such dramatic and sorrowful moments in connecetion with the necessity for exhumations and reburials. An apology was also made by Jacek Najder, former deputy foreign minister, who was directly responsible for the wrong identification of Ryszard Kaczorowski’s body.

Ryszard Kaczorowski was born in 1919. In 1940 he was arrested by the Soviet NKVD police and sentenced to death for his activities in the Polish Scouting Association. The sentence was later changed to ten years in a concentration camp in Siberia.

Following the Sikorski-Mayski Agreement of 1941, Kaczorowski was set free and joined the General Anders’s Army and fought in most battles of the Polish Second Corps, including the Battle of Monte Casino.

After the war, he settled in Britain as a political émigré.

In July 1989, he was appointed Poland’s president-in-exile and held the post for seventeen months.

On 22 December 1990 he handed over the insignia of the presidential power to Lech Wałęsa, the first democratically elected president after World War Two.

Saturday 3 November 2012

http://www.thenews.pl/1/10/Artykul/117302,Last-presidentinexile-reburial-after-botched-remains-identification

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18 die in fire caused by gun attack on bus

At least 18 people were killed and five others injured when a bus was attacked by gunmen on the outskirts of Khuzdar on Friday.

The attack on the bus which was at a fuel station ignited petrol drums which caused a massive blaze that claimed most of the lives.

According to District Police Officer Fasihuddin, the bus had stopped at the station for refuelling when it came under attack.

The fire also engulfed adjoining shops and other vehicles.

The dead included eight women and four children.

Passengers who suffered burn injuries were admitted to hospital. A woman who was in a serious condition was taken to Karachi.

Some of the deceased who were identified are Dawood, Rehan, Waris, Haji Mohammad, Yasir, Reza Mohammad, Gul Bano, Hureen, Rashida, Kulsoom Bibi and Khatoon Bibi.

Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani called the Khuzdar deputy commissioner and sought a report.

According to a statement issued here, the chief minister expressed displeasure over growing lawlessness in the district and directed the provincial home secretary and Inspector General of Police to visit the city.

AFP adds: Senior local official Abdul Mansoor Kakar said four gunmen had opened fire on the van with automatic rifles.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

A number of stalls selling petrol smuggled from Iran were engulfed in the fire, Mr Kakar said, with stallholders among the dead.

“Four attackers riding motorbikes opened fire on these petrol stalls and ran away after the attack,” he said.

Dr Akbar Harifal, the top administrative official in Khuzdar, confirmed the death toll.

Eleven of the 18 bodies have been identified, Mr Kakar said, but hospital officials reported that some were burned so badly that recognition was difficult.

Saturday 3 November 2012

http://dawn.com/2012/11/03/18-die-in-fire-caused-by-gun-attack-on-bus/

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Cyclone Nilam: Bodies of all missing sailors found

Chennai: The bodies of two sailors of the ship MT Pratibha Cauvery, which was grounded by cyclone Nilam, have been found near Chennai today. The two were part of the five crew members who went missing on Wednesday after a lifeboat they were using to leave the ship capsized. The bodies of three of their colleagues were found yesterday.

The body of one of the sailors was washed ashore near the Chennai harbour on Wednesday while the other was found near Adyar Estuary. Another body was found at sea later in the afternoon. All the bodies are yet to be identified.

The ship had run aground near the Besant Nagar beach in Chennai on Wednesday. While 16 managed to escape from the ship that had 37 crew members on board, one drowned while five others went missing.

Coast Guard helicopters had on Thursday rescued 15 more sailors who were trapped in the ship. The initial rescue operations on the day of the cyclone were carried out by fishermen.

When the cyclone made its landfall, the ship's captain had sent out a distress call, but got no response. The Coast Guard and the Tamil Nadu government's Coastal Security Group were unable to launch rescue operations immediately; they said the gusty winds and bad weather didn't allow it.

A Coast Guard official had said: "We do not monitor ships at ports, not even on a cyclone day. We rescue only when there is a call."

Chennai Port officials said the ship's captain had ignored instructions to leave for safe waters following the cyclone alert.But the family of one of the sailors who died while trying to abandon the ship has filed a petition in court alleging that the vessel was not sea-worthy and had no food or fuel on board. The family has also demanded an interim compensation of Rs. 25 lakh and an eventual payment of Rs. 1 crore in its petition. Following this petition, the Madras High Court yesterday ordered that the ship not be moved from its current location, off the Besant Nagar beach. An emergency tow vehicle though is on its way to Chennai to pull out the ship when it can.

Saturday 3 Novemeber 2012

http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/cyclone-nilam-bodies-all-missing-sailors-found-287880

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Remains of Pinoy truck driver in Riyadh explosion may be repatriated next month

Philippine Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Ezzedin Tago said the remains of the Filipino truck driver who was killed in a fuel tanker explosion in Riyadh may be repatriated to the Philippines in four to five weeks.

In an interview over GMA Network’s “News To Go” program on Friday, Tago said the family of the victim — Florentino Santiago — has been informed about the procedure for repatriating his remains.

“Hindi po kami ang unang nagbigay ng impormasyon [sa kanyang pamilya] kung ‘di yung kamag-anak niya rin dito at yung mga kasamahan niya sa trabaho,” Tago said.

He explained that the documents needed for the repatriation, which usually takes four to five weeks to be processed, are:

Police reports

Report of death

Morgue report, and

Approval of the Office of the Emir

Tago also said the next of kin in the PHL must fill-up an affidavit of acceptance of remains.

“This could be done at the DFA-Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant and Workers Affairs or in regional consular offices,” he said.

Meanwhile, in a text message to GMA News Online, Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) spokesperson Raul Hernandez, said Santiago ”was positively identified by his brother in law. His remains is now in Riyadh Central Mortuary at Shumeisy Hospital.” Hernandez also said Santiago was “just in the area when the explosion occured.”

Massive explosion

A report of the Reuters news agency said at least 23 people were killed when a fuel truck crashed into a flyover in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Thursday, triggering an explosion that brought down an industrial building and set fire to nearby vehicles. State-owned Ekhbariya television news channel reported on that the death toll had risen to 23 and emergency workers were still searching the collapsed building for more victims or survivors. Health ministry spokesman Saad al-Qahtani said 135 people were injured, mostly men and including some foreigners.

Although the incident took place near the headquarters of the Saudi Arabian National Guard and the Prince Nayef Arab University for Security Studies, officials speaking on state television said it was an accident.

Neither the guards’ complex nor the security university appeared to be damaged in the blast, which flattened a showroom for tractors, bulldozers and other industrial vehicles as well as damaging a busy flyover.

US ally Saudi Arabia is seen as a prime target for the al Qaeda branch based in neighbouring Yemen but the last successful attack inside the conservative Islamic kingdom was in 2006. Riyadh has cracked down on Islamist militants over the past decade, detaining thousands of suspects.

The civil defense department said a gas tanker had hit the Khureis Road flyover in eastern Riyadh, causing a gas leak and an explosion in the Zahid Tractor company’s showroom and warehouse, according to the state news agency SPA.

“The truck driver was surprised by a road accident on its route, causing it to crash into one of the pillars of the bridge,” spokesman Captain Mohamed Hubail Hammadi said.

Driver blamed

The civil defense chief, Saed al-Tweijri, said the fire had been brought under control. He blamed the tanker driver for the accident.

The warehouse, several storeys high, was levelled by the blast, which also caused severe damage to neighbouring buildings. Rubble, twisted metal and shattered glass littered a wide stretch of the surrounding area.

“I was inside the building when the blast came. Then boom, the building collapsed. Furniture, chairs and cabinets blasted into the room I was in,” said survivor Kushnoo Akhtar, a 55-year-old Pakistani worker, who was covered in dirt and bleeding from multiple cuts on his face and hands.

“My brother is still inside under the rubble. There are lots of people in there,” he said.

The blast at around 7:20 a.m. local time occurred on one of the capital’s busiest roads but because Saudi Arabia is still observing the Eid al-Adha holiday, traffic was lighter than normal.

An hour after the explosion, fires still raged in cars and trucks nearby and a column of black smoke billowed over the area.

By Thursday evening state television was still showing a large emergency operation at the site as workers picked through the flattened building with the aid of digging machinery.

Dozens of burnt-out vehicles surrounded the scene of the blast, including a small bus and other cars on top of the flyover, which was left buckled by the explosion.

Television footage and pictures posted on social media showed a body lying beside smoking vehicles and at least two charred bodies seated in a car. Another blackened corpse was visible in the remains of a truck.

More than 100 emergency personnel were combing through the wreckage on the flyover and searching for victims in the rubble of the building, one of two Riyadh outlets listed on the website of Zahid Tractor, a distributor of heavy machinery.

Saturday 3 novemebr 2012

http://pinoyoverseas.net/news/saudi-arabia/remains-of-pinoy-truck-driver-in-riyadh-explosion-may-be-repatriated-next-month.html

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Death toll from India cyclone rises to 20

The death toll from a cyclone that hit southern India rose to 20 on Friday as people started to return to their homes after the storm died down.

Cyclone Nilam, packing winds with speeds of up to 65 mph, made landfall Wednesday at Mahabalipuram in the Tamil Nadu state. About 13,000 people from low-lying areas in Tamil Nadu and the neighboring Andhra Pradesh state were evacuated.

Tamil Nadu disaster management chief Jatindra Nath Swain said five more deaths had been reported in rain-related incidents in the state since Thursday.

Separately, bodies of three of the five missing sailors of an oil tanker that ran aground off Chennai, were found washed ashore, the broadcaster NDTV reported.

On Thursday, the death-toll had stood at 12.

Swain said the impact of the storm had not been as serious as expected. He rejected reports that 150,000 people were displaced, saying the number would at most be a few hundreds.

"The cyclone toppled 5,000 electric poles and damaged 250 transformers causing blackouts in some areas. We are also assessing agricultural losses, as large areas of paddy crop was destroyed," he said.

"The situation is normal now with most people from coastal areas returning to their homes and schools and colleges opening today," he said.

The Indian Metereological Department in its final bulletin on the cyclone, said the storm had weakened into a "low pressure area" that would bring rains in Andhra Pradesh and neighboring states.

Saturday 3 November 2012

Read more here: http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2012/11/02/2752822/death-toll-from-india-cyclone.html#storylink=cpy

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In disaster, Google and Twitter become tech first responders

The first wave of terror struck shortly before 3 p.m. on a Friday. "The ground, the thing that doesn't move, was moving," recalled Tomoko Sudo, who was at work when the magnitude-9.0 earthquake hit Japan last year. "It felt like it was a living creature."

Then the second shock hit: She couldn't reach family members for days in some of the hardest-hit regions in the disaster that caused some 16,000 deaths.

So Sudo, 28, turned to Google's Person Finder, which the company's engineers had up and running within two hours after the shaking stopped. The service, created after the 2010 Haiti earthquake, is a tool to help track down the missing after a disaster. When the earth convulsed that March day, the Internet was for millions of Japanese the only link to critical information and to one another.

Google, Twitter, Cisco Systems and other technology companies were thrust into the role of technological first responders, underscoring a new dimension to the services offered by Silicon Valley tech companies as the Internet becomes ubiquitous and is often more reliable than other communications systems.

One by one, Sudo tracked down loved ones, including a cousin whose house was swept away by the tsunami. She said she was "shivering" with joy as she got word that they were all right.

This help, said Gisli Olafsson, emergency response director at NetHope, a nonprofit that promotes collaboration between major tech companies and global aid organizations, is worth much more than corporate cash donations. "You have really smart people working on really difficult problems," Olafsson said. "That becomes extremely valuable."

Google employees, themselves shaken up by the quake and their inability to reach family members, immediately set about deploying services for a traumatized nation from the company's Tokyo high-rise headquarters. Some worked on their laptops throughout the night.

Saturday 3 November 2012

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2012-11-disaster-google-twitter-tech.html#jCp

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Staten Is. has grim Sandy aftermath

Nineteen of the city's 40 deaths are attributed to Sandy were on Staten Island.

Development on New York's Staten Island made the borough more vulnerable to the wrath of Hurricane Sandy, an educator said.

Nineteen of the city's 40 deaths attributed to the storm were on Staten Island, where roads, houses and bridges took away natural elements that would have helped absorb some of the shock when Sandy made landfall Monday, The New York Times reported.

William J. Fritz, interim president of CUNY College of Staten Island, said the borough no longer had what he called "sponges that absorb the energy of hurricanes."

"Jamaica Bay is a natural sponge with dunes and marshes that can do that," Fritz told the Times. "Barrier islands in North Carolina did that. What have we done on Staten Island? We've hardscaped our sponge. We've made roads and parking lots and houses and paved over the sponge. We've created an urban area, and you no longer have a sponge."

Fritz said the development was "one of the reasons we have that much property destruction, and I think some of the deaths."

Among the 19 dead were two neighbors who drowned in their homes, the Times said, and two boys who were wrenched from their mother's grasp by a wave as they tried to flee.

In a wooded lot, rescuers found the bodies of an 89-year-old man and his 66-year-old wife on Thursday -- the couple lived less than 500 yards away from where the bodies were found, the Times said.

Dr. Alan Benimoff, a geology lecturer at CUNY-Staten Island, said Staten Island was geographically in the wrong place when Sandy hit the Times said.

"The water didn't have anywhere else to go," he said.

Some residents of Staten Island were upset with what they perceived as a slow effort to get help into the borough, the Staten Island Advance reported.

Resident Donna Solli said she's happy that relief arrived but "I wish they had been here yesterday."

"This is a start," she said.

Saturday 3 November 2012

http://www.disasternews.net/news/article.php?articleid=5224

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Cyclonic grief for sailors’ parents running pillar to post

If death is hard to come to terms with, identifying dead kin is probably harder.

On Friday, families of the crew of beleaguered ship MT Pratibha Cauvery, rushed from one government hospital mortuary to another, to identify the bodies of their relatives. The bodies of three of the five missing sailors, who had jumped ship reportedly on their captain’s orders on Wednesday, were washed ashore and recovered by police and sent to the hospitals.

A few families at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (GGH) were in denial, leading to some confusion over identification.

For several hours Namrata, Raj Ramesh Khamitkar’s mother, maintained that one of the bodies was not that of her son, as his hair had been shorter.

“He passed HSc. and did a course in nautical science. He spoke to us a few days before the cyclone. I used to work but gave up after he started working. He had taken a loan for his education and he told me he would take me around the world,” Ms. Namrata said amid sobs. “Now he will never come back. There is no one here and we have been sitting on the road from morning.” like beggars.” The shock of losing her son and not being comforted by familiar people was too much for her. She and her husband had their first cup of tea around noon.

Raj’s body was found around 3.30 a.m. by the family of another sailor, Jomon Joseph, and a few fishermen. “We had been searching for Jomon and we saw a body in an orange uniform under the bridge. It was wedged beneath the Napier bridge, and was finally brought it to the hospital around dawn,” said Jomon’s uncle.

As news of the recovery of the second body came, Jomon’s family arrived. His father K.J. Joseph works in a sea food company and his uncles waited as Mr. Joseph tried to bring himself to enter the mortuary and identify the body. Once in, he was relieved that it was not his son. “He worked in an oil tanker in the Gulf for a year and took up this job six months ago,” Mr. Joseph said. Jomon’s uncle said he loved cricket and was a fun-loving person person who wanted to become a sailor.

Around 7.30 a.m., Tiruvottiyur residents informed the police about a body on the beach. It was shifted to Government Stanley Hospital.

Sailor Niranjan’s father K. Kothandapani, went there to see if the body was that of his son’s. Born in Arakonnam, Niranjan completed his maritime engineering in Coimbatore. “His father is an agriculturist. Niranjan always wanted to study maritime engineering,” said his cousin, T. Satish, a software professional in the city. “He called me on Tuesday and told his mother that the ship had come ashore and he was getting into a lifeboat. He said he would be home soon,” Mr. Kothandapani added later. “There was a lot of wind and because of it we could not hear much. Then the line went dead.”

After seeing the drifting ship on a TV channel, the family came to Chennai. Mr. Kothandapani who was dressed in white dhoti and shirt, was later escorted to the Royapettah GH mortuary where he identified his son. “Niranjan was a very easy going guy with no bad habits,” said Satish, before moving on to console his uncle.

Kshitij Jadhav and his family realised that the body at the GGH was not that of Rushub Jadhav. He had stayed with his cousin, Dr. Kshitij’s family in Mumbai to finish a course in electronics. Rushub was a deck cadet.

The search is on for two more sailors – Jomon Joseph and Krishna C.P. Purayil, a trainee seaman. Krishna’s uncle Sunil Kumar described him as a happy youngster who enjoyed being on the ship. He last spoke to his family on Tuesday around 3.30 p.m. The family is still hoping Krishna will return home.

Saturday 3 November 2012

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/cyclonic-grief-for-sailors-parents-running-pillar-to-post/article4059186.ece

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Cyclone Nilam: Bodies of three missing sailors found

The bodies of three of the five missing sailors of ship MT Pratibha Cauvery, which was grounded by cyclone Nilam, have been found.

One of the bodies was washed ashore near the Chennai harbour while the other was found near Adyar Estuary. Another body was found at sea this afternoon. All the bodies are yet to be identified.

Meanwhile, the two other sailors remain

The ship had run aground near the Besant Nagar beach in Chennai on Wednesday. The five sailors went missing after a lifeboat they were using to leave the ship capsized.

So far, three sailors have lost their lives in the tragedy.

Coast Guard helicopters had on Thursday rescued 15 trapped sailors from the ship. The initial rescue operations on the day of the cyclone were carried out by fishermen.

When the cyclone made its landfall, the ship's captain had sent out a distress call, but got no response. The Coast Guard and the Tamil Nadu government's Coastal Security Group were unable to launch rescue operations immediately; they said the gusty winds and bad weather didn't allow it.

A Coast Guard official said: "We do not monitor ships at ports, not even on a cyclone day. We rescue only when there is a call."

Chennai Port officials said the ship's captain had ignored instructions to leave for safe waters following the cyclone alert.

Friday 2 November 2012

http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/cyclone-nilam-bodies-of-three-missing-sailors-found-two-still-to-be-traced-287414

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Delay in DNA tests for Baldia factory fire victims

At the only morgue in Pakistan’s largest city lie the blackened remains of 32 people killed in one of the worst industrial accidents in the country’s history, wrapped in white plastic body bags waiting for DNA tests to determine who they are.

That means an excruciating wait — so far more than a month — for families whose relatives are believed to have been killed but have not been accounted for.

One of those in the morgue may be the daughter-in-law of Aisha Bano. Bano’s son and his wife both were working as stitching machine operators in the warehouse-factory producing jeans and other clothes when it was ravaged by a Sept. 11 blaze. The son is known to have died. His wife is still missing.

Bano says her grandchildren have continuous nightmares about their missing mother, dreaming that she’s trying to get home.

“Almost every midnight one of them wakes me up to tell me somebody is outside the house calling their names and pleading to open the door,” said Bano, tears rolling down her cheeks.

The fire horrified Karachi, and residents are still struggling to deal with the extent of the tragedy. According to official figures, 259 workers died in the fire, but there are indications the toll may be even higher. The inferno laid bare the dangerous conditions at some Pakistani factories, as well as the limitations of facilities in this port city of more than 18 million people.

It took rescue workers more than 36 hours to put out the blaze. Investigators haven’t determined what caused the fire but suggested that it might have been a short circuit that ignited material and wood. Between 300 and 400 workers were inside working. An investigation found that the emergency exits were permanently locked, and the main doors were locked after the fire broke out to prevent theft.

Many of the dead suffocated to death in the basement when it filled with smoke. Those on the top floors of the five-story building could be seen on television images desperately breaking through the metal bars blocking the windows and then jumping to the ground below.

When authorities were finally able to make their way into the blackened building, they found dozens of bodies, many charred beyond recognition.

Most of the dead have been identified and handed over to their families, many in the first couple of days because the bodies were intact.

Those remaining are at the Edhi Morgue, identifiable only by DNA.

There’s no place in Karachi to do the DNA tests, so samples have been sent to a laboratory in Islamabad, said officials. Despite reassurances from the government that the dead would be quickly identified, the turnover has been slow. The lab provided results on nine bodies so far, leaving 32 still at the morgue, said Inspector Jahanzeb Khan with the Karachi police.

“We sent a lot of reminders to the laboratory to expedite the DNA match process,” he said.

Bano’s family received the body of her son, Muhammad Javed, from the hospital the day after the fire. But his wife Samina’s has still not been identified. Bano and her other sons initially thought Samina might still be alive and visited all the city’s hospitals. When realization struck that she was likely dead, they began visiting the morgue.

“We checked all the unidentified bodies so many times. We visited the Edhi Morgue 17 days in a row,” she said, sitting next to her three grandchildren and younger son.

The doctors took a DNA sample from one of the relatives and told them it would take up to three days to confirm Samina’s body, Bano said. When they contacted the police, they were told the samples were sent to Islamabad and were told to wait.

The lack of identification has also made it difficult for families to receive compensation promised by the government.

Muhammad Siddiq lost his son Muhammad Shehbaz in the factory. His son came home for lunch that day with a fever but he brushed aside his mother’s urging to stay home and returned to work. Provincial government officials told the family they have to prove they have lost a family member before they can receive compensation. So they need confirmation of his body.

Siddiq said the compensation pales in comparison to the family’s need to bury their son.

“All I need is my son’s body so his soul can rest,” he said. “His mother has almost lost her senses.”

A recent survey by a Karachi union suggests even more people might have been killed.

The Hosiery Garment Textile Workers Union along with the Pakistan Institute of Labor Education and Research surveyed families in the neighborhood where the factory was located as well as another neighborhood nearby where many workers lived. They found 65 families who said they were still missing relatives after the blaze. Some of those could be among the unidentified at the morgue, but the numbers indicate many might not be.

“If they have died, the casualties are much higher than reported,” said Rehana Yasmin from the union.

Two of the owners of Ali Enterprises, which owned the factory, are in a Karachi prison awaiting trial on murder charges for allegedly telling guards to lock the doors after the fire started to prevent theft. A third owner was allowed to stay out of jail because of poor health. Police have also arrested the factory’s general manager and three private security guards on murder charges for carrying out the orders to lock the doors.

The Federal Investigation Agency, one of the country’s highest law enforcement agencies, was tasked with investigating the fire and recently submitted a report blaming the owners and relevant government departments for not following safety and labor laws.

The second floor, where most of the casualties were reported, was not even in the approved map of the factory, the FIA found. Water hydrants did not work, and workers had not been given rescue training by the city’s civil defense department, the FIA found. The factory was not registered with the provincial labor department, in violation of the country’s labor laws.

Friday 2 Novemebr 2012

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/delay-in-dna-tests-means-families-wait-for-bodies-of-loved-ones-after-deadly-pakistani-fire/2012/11/02/6979c45a-24b9-11e2-92f8-7f9c4daf276a_story.html

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Families await bodies after Pakistan factory fire

KARACHI, Pakistan—At the only morgue in Pakistan's largest city lie the blackened remains of 32 people killed in one of the worst industrial accidents in the country's history, wrapped in white plastic body bags waiting for DNA tests to determine who they are.

That means an excruciating wait—so far more than a month—for families whose relatives are believed to have been killed but have not been accounted for.

One of those in the morgue may be the daughter-in-law of Aisha Bano. Bano's son and his wife both were working as stitching machine operators in the warehouse-factory producing jeans and other clothes when it was ravaged by a Sept. 11 blaze. The son is known to have died. His wife is still missing.

Bano says her grandchildren have continuous nightmares about their missing mother, dreaming that she's trying to get home.

"Almost every midnight one of them wakes me up to tell me somebody is outside the house calling their names and pleading to open the door," said Bano, tears rolling down her cheeks.

The fire horrified Karachi, and residents are still struggling to deal with the extent of the tragedy. According to official figures, 259 workers died in the fire, but there are indications the toll may be even higher. The inferno laid bare the dangerous conditions at some Pakistani factories, as well as the limitations of facilities in this port city of more than 18 million people.

It took rescue workers more than 36 hours to put out the blaze. Investigators haven't determined what caused the fire but suggested that it might have been a short circuit that ignited material and wood. Between 300 and 400 workers were inside working. An investigation found that the emergency exits were permanently locked, and the main doors were locked after the fire broke out to prevent theft.

Many of the dead suffocated to death in the basement when it filled with smoke. Those on the top floors of the five-story building could be seen on television images desperately breaking through the metal bars blocking the windows and then jumping to the ground below.

When authorities were finally able to make their way into the blackened building, they found dozens of bodies, many charred beyond recognition.

Most of the dead have been identified and handed over to their families, many in the first couple of days because the bodies were intact.

Those remaining are at the Edhi Morgue, identifiable only by DNA.

There's no place in Karachi to do the DNA tests, so samples have been sent to a laboratory in Islamabad, said officials. Despite reassurances from the government that the dead would be quickly identified, the turnover has been slow. The lab provided results on nine bodies so far, leaving 32 still at the morgue, said Inspector Jahanzeb Khan with the Karachi police.

"We sent a lot of reminders to the laboratory to expedite the DNA match process," he said.

Bano's family received the body of her son, Muhammad Javed, from the hospital the day after the fire. But his wife Samina's has still not been identified. Bano and her other sons initially thought Samina might still be alive and visited all the city's hospitals. When realization struck that she was likely dead, they began visiting the morgue.

"We checked all the unidentified bodies so many times. We visited the Edhi Morgue 17 days in a row," she said, sitting next to her three grandchildren and younger son.

The doctors took a DNA sample from one of the relatives and told them it would take up to three days to confirm Samina's body, Bano said. When they contacted the police, they were told the samples were sent to Islamabad and were told to wait.

The lack of identification has also made it difficult for families to receive compensation promised by the government.

Muhammad Siddiq lost his son Muhammad Shehbaz in the factory. His son came home for lunch that day with a fever but he brushed aside his mother's urging to stay home and returned to work. Provincial government officials told the family they have to prove they have lost a family member before they can receive compensation. So they need confirmation of his body.

Siddiq said the compensation pales in comparison to the family's need to bury their son.

"All I need is my son's body so his soul can rest," he said. "His mother has almost lost her senses."

A recent survey by a Karachi union suggests even more people might have been killed.

The Hosiery Garment Textile Workers Union along with the Pakistan Institute of Labor Education and Research surveyed families in the neighborhood where the factory was located as well as another neighborhood nearby where many workers lived. They found 65 families who said they were still missing relatives after the blaze. Some of those could be among the unidentified at the morgue, but the numbers indicate many might not be.

"If they have died, the casualties are much higher than reported," said Rehana Yasmin from the union.

Two of the owners of Ali Enterprises, which owned the factory, are in a Karachi prison awaiting trial on murder charges for allegedly telling guards to lock the doors after the fire started to prevent theft. A third owner was allowed to stay out of jail because of poor health. Police have also arrested the factory's general manager and three private security guards on murder charges for carrying out the orders to lock the doors.

The Federal Investigation Agency, one of the country's highest law enforcement agencies, was tasked with investigating the fire and recently submitted a report blaming the owners and relevant government departments for not following safety and labor laws.

The second floor, where most of the casualties were reported, was not even in the approved map of the factory, the FIA found. Water hydrants did not work, and workers had not been given rescue training by the city's civil defense department, the FIA found. The factory was not registered with the provincial labor department, in violation of the country's labor laws.

Friday 2 November 2012

http://www.lcsun-news.com/ci_21911686/families-await-bodies-after-pakistan-factory-fire

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Jnaneswari victims' kin to move court

KOLKATA: Miffed over delay in issuing death certificates, members of 16 families, who lost their kin in the Jnaneswari Express accident on May 28, 2010, are planning to move the court. According to them, they can't even claim their jobs and succession documents in the absence of the death certificates.

Of the 150 victims of the tragedy, about 40 bodies were heavily mutilated and later many were identified through DNA matching. Still 23 bodies are still of the train accident are lying in the morgues for identification. As several DNA profiles did not match, the state, in June, 2012, the state government's home (political) department issued a missive to the relatives of 11 victims of the Jnaneswari express advising them to take legal route. The state had said that under the provision of law it's not permissible to issue death certificates unless the bodies are identified.

Juthika Atta, whose husband Prasenjit was in the S-3 compartment, is shattered. "His body could not be traced. DNA test didn't help. I got Rs 10 lakh as compensation. But I need a job to take care of my daughter Poulami (7) and the ailing in-laws. So, I need the death certificate.",the railways won't give me a job."

The compensation package included Rs 5 lakh from the railways, Rs 2 lakh from the PM's Relief Fund and Rs 3 lakh from the CM's Relief Fund.

For Rajesh Kumar Bathra, life came to a halt, as his wife Indu Devi, daughter Sneha (17) and son Saurav (13) were in the train on the fateful day. While Sneha could not be found, an injured Saurav died in a hospital on May 31,2010. He received his wife's body on December 26, 2010. "I visit Midnapore and Kharagpur regularly to find out Sneha."

Surendra Singh, who lost his wife Nilam (37) and sons Rahul (17) and Rohit (15), goes to Midnapore every month to find traces of missing Nilam and Rahul. Rohit was found dead on the spot. "My younger son Raju gave samples thrice for the DNA test. But Nilam and Rahul are still untraced. Raju had applied for a job in the railways, but they turned it down stating that he was only eligible in his father's absence."would have if the father had died then he would have been eligible."

Unnati Mondal lost her husband Swapan Mondal and with one-year old niece Latikais yet to get their death certificates.

Hisabuddin Sheikh is lobbying with the railway officials for a job for his nephew Selim Sheikh (19), as his brother Ayajuddin died in the accident. on his way to the middle-east.

But the death certificate is an impediment.

65-year old Suresh Gajbhiy's son Amit (31) and daughter-in-law Sunita died in the accident. "It is difficult for me to come from Nagpur for the death certificate." Similarly, Pankaj Upadhyay of Madhya Pradesh finds it difficult to come frequently to Kolkata for his brother Pradip's death certificate.

For 73-year-old Sushil Kumar Sil and his 65-year-old wife Mallika, life is of little value as they lost their son Tapas (42), daughter-in-law Chaitali (31), daughter Sujata Das (35), son-in-law Shyamal Das (38) and grandsons Srijit (10), Srinjay (3) and Siddhartha (7). They shifted to Sodepur from their Dunlop residence as it was impossible for them to stay in the same house.

Former chief justice of Calcutta high court Chittatosh Mookerjee said a petition before the court can help the kin get death certificates. He said that under the Evidence Act, a person, who had not been heard of for seven years, is presumed to be dead. "But the court, through inference, can direct for providing a death certificate, if it is proved that they had died due to the accident."

It is unending wait for 16 family members, who lost their dear ones in the Jnaneswari Express on May 28, 2010. They are yet to get death certificates of their relatives and so they are now moving high court for relief. Without it many are unable to claim jobs or get succession certificate.

Friday 2 November 2012

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/Jnaneswari-victims-kin-to-move-court/articleshow/16998964.cms

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Six Indian ship crew missing after cyclone crash

Rescuers in southern India searched Thursday for six tanker crew that went missing after their lifeboat capsized as a cyclone slammed into the coast overnight, forcing thousands to flee and killing eight.

The crew of the Pratibha Cauvery oil tanker was forced to abandon ship when it ran aground on the southern edge of Chennai, and one sailor was confirmed to have drowned.

The ship, which had unloaded its oil in Chennai port, was stranded on a beach close to the shore on Thursday as three helicopters and small vessels took the 15 remaining crew members ashore.

"One sailor is dead and we are searching for six other crew members," said Jayraman, a disaster management official in Chennai.

Shipping authorities had reported that the Pratibha Cauvery was not badly damaged and that a plan to refloat it was being drawn up, he said.

The overall death toll from the cyclone reached eight, with thousands of people also forced to flee from coastal towns to seek shelter in schools and government buildings.

One other person drowned, two were killed when a wall collapsed, one person was electrocuted and three died when a tree fell on their hut.

"We have managed to restore power in all districts after the storm," Jayraman said. "Food and drinking water have been provided to all the 5,000 people who have been evacuated from their homes."

Government authorities on Thursday said the storm had weakened substantially though heavy rains continued to lash some parts of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka states.

Friday 2 November 2012

http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/741820.shtml

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Pinoy among 22 dead in tanker blast in Riyadh

At least one Filipino was killed while ten others were hospitalized in a fuel truck explosion that killed at least 22 people in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Thursday, the Department of Foreign Affairs said.

In an update posted on his Twitter account, DFA spokesman Raul Hernandez indicated three more Filipinos were injured but have been discharged.

"One Filipino was killed in the Riyadh fuel truck explosion, nine (are) in hospitals, three (have been) discharged," he said.

In Riyadh, Vice Consul Redentor Genotiva said there is a tenth injured Filipino also being given medical attention.

The gas tanker truck exploded on a main road in the Saudi capital on Thursday, killing at least 22 people, including one unnamed Filipino. The explosion also injured about 111 others—eleven of them Filipinos—and left a trail of destruction, officials said.

The lorry veered into a bridge pylon at a junction on Khurays Road in Riyadh at about 7:30 a.m., causing a gas leak that spread out and then burst into flames, destroying nearby cars and a business, the officials told AFP.

An injured man after an explosion in eastern Riyadh on November 1. At least 10 people were killed when a fuel truck crashed into a flyover in the Saudi capital Riyadh, triggering the blast that caused the collapse of an industrial building. Al Arabiya and Al Jazeera television stations reported that aside from the fatalities, at least 50 people were injured.

Philippine Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Ezzedin Tago, in an interview on GMA News' "State of the Nation," cited initial reports indicating the deceased was brought to a morgue but was not immediately identifiable. He added they are coordinating with the deceased's kin.

He also expressed condolences with the family of the deceased, and assured the families of the injured the embassy is coordinating with Saudi authorities.

In a radio interview Friday, Vice Consul Genotiva said they will coordinate with the victim's employer for the repatriation.

"Makikipag-ugnayan tayo sa employer para mapadali ang pag-uwi ng labi sa Pilipinas," he said in an interview on dzBB radio.

He said the fatality was identified by a brother-in-law.

While he withheld the name of the fatality for the moment, he described the fatality and the brother-in-law as workers for a tractor company.

Genotiva also said their latest figures indicated 10 Filipinos, nine of them employees of the tractor company, were injured in the incident.

The injured were being treated in four hospitals in the Kingdom, he added.

Genotiva also said the Embassy will coordinate with the victims' employer to make sure the injured receive medical attention.

"Sila naman ay legal worker ng kumpanya. Under Saudi law sila ay required bigyan ng insurance ng employers," he said.

He said the Embassy will talk with the injured workers and ask them if they want to continue working in the Kingdom or be repatriated.

"Pag-uusapan natin batay sa decision ng worker kung gusto manatili o umuwi," he said.

An AFP photographer at the scene of the explosion reported widespread damage to the area, with dozens of cars mangled by the blast and burned out.

A bus that had been gutted by the fire stood idle on the flyover, with witnesses saying that the vehicle had been transporting workers whose fate remained unknown.

Another truck fell off the bridge due to the impact of the explosion, the witnesses said.

Amateur video footage posted on the Internet showed thick black smoke billowing from different spots around the flyover whose pylons were also damaged.

Civil defense personnel carried two "completely charred" bodies from the site.

"The death toll of the gas truck fire in Khurays has increased to 22 people, in addition to 111 wounded," a civil defense official said.

Earlier, a civil defense official who requested not to be named told AFP that at least 14 people were killed and around 60 others hurt "in the explosion of the truck when it hit a bridge pylon."

Civil defense spokesman in Riyadh, Mohammed al-Hammadi, said the explosion took place after gas leaked from the tank of the lorry, according to SPA state news agency.

"The explosion and fire happened after leaked gas filled the area. Huge damage happened, in addition to many traffic collisions," he said, adding there were fatalities without specifying how many.

Hammadi said a nearby show yard of construction machinery was severely damaged by the explosion.

Friday 2 November 2012

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/280584/pinoyabroad/news/pinoy-among-22-dead-in-tanker-blast-in-riyadh

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OR crime lab helps solve nameless mysteries

In murder investigations, detectives are usually searching for a killer. But in dozens of cases, the mystery also includes unidentified remains.

Clackamas County Sheriff's forensic artist, Joyce Nagy, helps identify those nameless victims.

"I need to do the best job I can to give (each victim) a voice," said Nagy. "It's a process, takes a lot of prayers and good intuition to make the drawings turn out the way they should look," she said.

To develop the drawings, Nagy uses information gleaned by Oregon State Police forensic scientist, Nici Vance.

"You'd be amazed by the things we can tell by the skeleton," said Vance. "When you have a truly unidentified individual, you're starting at a deficit," she said.

That's where Portland Police detectives found themselves last June, when park rangers discovered the remains of a young woman in Washington Park. Her face was decomposed beyond recognition, her fingerprints nowhere on file.

DNA ultimately led detectives to the victim's suspected killer, Mark Beebout. He's also a suspect in an unrelated Southeast Portland murder from July.

But they still didn't know who the victim was, so investigators turned to Vance and Nagy for help.

Vance used special tools to measure the victim's skull, cranium and jaw. She then used a formula to calculate the measurements which helped determine the victim was likely a teenage girl, possibly mixed race, likely Hispanic-- all critical clues.

Nagy used that information in her drawing. After photographing the victim's skull, she used a light table to trace over the photo and develop a sketch. As they do with all unnamed victims, Nagy and Vance submitted the sketch and case information into a national online database that tries to link unidentified human remains with missing persons cases.

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System can be accessed at www.NamUs.Gov. Anyone can search it, including parents of missing people and law enforcement agencies.

Ultimately, dental records pointed investigators in the Washington Park case to 15-year-old Mayra Sophia Cruz Rodriguez, a reported runaway from San Diego County, California.

A photograph of Cruz Rodriguez revealed an uncanny resemblance to Nagy's forensic sketch.

"We have a truly exceptional forensic artist on our hands," said Vance. Nagy, said she's just thankful for closure in that part of the case.

"To allow the family to close that chapter on that life... It just brings a tear to your heart," Nagy said.

Vance said investigators are now trying to identify the remains of 81 other homicide victims in Oregon, hoping to bring some sort of closure to their families.

To accomplish that, she hopes more people will post missing persons information on NamUs.gov, which could help investigators identify more victims.

Friday 2 November 2012

http://www.kgw.com/news/local/Naming-the-nameless-victims-176705891.html

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Families remember missing loved ones

Erlinda Malicdem still remembers the last words her husband, Jimmy, uttered in Filipino before the urban poor leader disappeared on Oct. 8, 1987: “When the time comes, you’ll understand what I’m doing.”

“He was always there when they needed him,” she told the Philippine Daily Inquirer in a phone interview. She was 29 when she last saw her husband, then 34, in Sucat, Parañaque City.

Now 54, Erlinda has been visiting Bantayog ng mga Desaparecido at Redemptorist Church in Baclaran, Parañaque, since the memorial was erected in 1994. Tomorrow (Thursday), she will be visiting with her three children and five grandchildren, and over 60 other families.

“The families come here every year because they have no tomb to visit on All Souls’ Day,” said Wilma Tizon, deputy secretary general of the Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance Inc. (FIND), an organization of families, friends and colleagues of the disappeared, as well as surfaced “desaparecidos” (disappeared).

FIND has documented 1,838 cases of disappearances since 1971. Nearly half of the cases (878) happened during the martial law regime of President Ferdinand Marcos. “Every All Souls’ Day, we make it a point to visit the memorial to remember our loved ones,” Erlinda said.

She remembers Jimmy as a man for others. “Before he disappeared, every time somebody called on him for help, that person becomes his priority.” “He’s been gone for a long time, but the pain is still there,” she said.

For families and friends of the disappeared, the Bantayog stands as common ground for remembrance. The memorial lists the names of Jimmy Malicdem and hundreds of other missing people etched in granite panels.

Unveiled in September 2004 in time for the 23rd anniversary of martial law, the memorial is the refurbished “Flame of Courage Monument,” which was originally unveiled by FIND on July 13, 1994, the ninth anniversary of the disappearance of Redemptorist priest Rudy Romano.

Romano, a well-known human rights activist, was abducted in Cebu in 1985, allegedly by military agents. To this day, he has not been found.

Designed and created by sculptor Lito Mondejar, the Flame of Courage features a mother carrying a torch, which symbolizes the courage of those left behind and continuing the struggle for justice.

A child holding the picture of his father represents hope that one day, the families will be reunited with their missing loved ones, according to FIND.

Tomorrow’s (Thursday) program will carry the theme “Paggunita at Pagdiriwang sa Buhay at Pakikibaka ng mga Desaparecidos” (Remembering and celebrating the lives and struggles of the Desaparecidos).

A thanksgiving ceremony will also be held for the passage of the Anti-Enforced Disappearance Bill earlier this month. “We will also again call for President Benigno Aquino III to sign the bill immediately,” Tizon said.

“Now that Congress has approved the bill and it is now in President Aquino’s hands, we hope he will sign it soon,” Erlinda said.

“We don’t want more disappearances. We don’t want more families experiencing the pain that these enforced disappearances cause,” she added.

The first in Asia to criminalize enforced disappearances, the bill was approved by the Senate and the House of Representatives on Oct. 16, It is now pending approval by the President.

The bill defines enforced or involuntary disappearance as “the arrest, detention, abduction or any other form of deprivation of liberty committed by agents of the state or by persons or groups of persons acting with authorization or support from the state, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the deprivation of liberty or by concealment of the fate or whereabouts of the disappeared.”

The maximum penalty for offenders is life imprisonment, or equivalent to 20 years and one day to 40 years in prison. Victims of enforced disappearance and their kin will also be entitled to compensation, restitution and rehabilitation.

The crime has no prescription period, unless the victim has surfaced. This means that the perpetrators can still be prosecuted regardless of how long the time of disappearance has passed.

“Every year, the families pray for justice to be served, and for their loved ones to be eventually found,” Tizon said.

Simultaneous rites will be held in FIND chapters in provinces in Central Luzon and Bicol, Cebu, Leyte, Negros, Panay, Northern Mindanao, Southern Mindanao and Western Mindanao.

Source: Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance (FIND), “Beyond Disappearance: Chronicles of Courage”

Friday 2 November 2012

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/299438/families-remember-missing-loved-ones

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Salvaging operation of Lionair flight wreck yet to begin

1 November: Due to choppy sea and cyclonic condition prevailing in the country, Sri Lanka Navy has decided to postpone the commencement of salvaging operation of the underwater wreckage of Lionair flight, that was found near the Iranativu island, north of Mannar.

Earlier, Navy Spokesman Comm. Kosala Warnakulasuriya said that the Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) officials investigating the plane crash, have requested Sri Lanka Navy to salvage the underwater wreckage of the Lionair flight and it has been agreed to begin the salvage operation yesterday – 31 October.

Comm. Kosala Warnakulasuriya speaking to Asian Tribune said that the salvage operation has been postponed for ‘another day’ . He said at present the sea is very rough and diving operation cannot be done if the sea condition remains the same.

Asked when the Sri Lanka Navy will commence the salvage operation, Comm. Kosala Warnakulasuriya said that it all depends now again on the weather and also on an appropriate date for the Terrorist Investigation Division who has to be present when the operation commence along with Magistrate of Mannar.

The Lionair 602 which took off with 48 passengers, six crew members and two Ukranian pilots, from the Palali airport to Ratmalana, on September 29, 1998, went missing from the radar screen after 10 minutes.

Until April this year, when the TID officers apprehended a LTTE suspect who confessed to shooting down the airplane with a shoulder held missile, the disappearance of the plane remained a mystery.

Sivasubramaniam Thillaraj of the LTTE, confessed that an LTTE leader had ordered the shooting down, even though they were aware that it was carrying Tamil civilian passengers to Colombo.

The suspect in custody had identified the person who ordered the aircraft shooting down as one Gadafi, a close associate of LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran. Gadafi was killed during the final phase of fighting on the Vanni east front in early 2009.

But according to a report from the University Teachers’ for Human Rights, it was a boy of 17 years who shot down the plane!” The people of the area have identified him as ‘Arul’ who is in charge of the Sea Tiger base at Nachchikudah, as having executed the order to bring down the aircraft.

In the meantime, according University Teachers’ for Human Rights Information Bulletin No. 19 of 16th October 1998, “Jaffna daily 'Uthayan' quoting officials in the Mannar Kachcheri said that fishermen from Pesalai who were in the area had reported seeing an aircraft fall into the sea near of Iranativu, which is 15 miles north of Mannar Island.

It further said that at the request of the parents of two passengers from Vankalai, their parish priest Fr.Thevasahayampillai, was going to the LTTE controlled area to find out what had happened. The two passengers were young women, one of whom was studying in the University of Jaffna.

The following day (Friday 2nd October) the result of Fr.Thevasahayampillai’s visit appeared in the Uthayan, and he was interviewed over BBC(Tamil Service) late in the evening. He had talked to fisherfolk and a government official. Two of them had seen the aircraft on fire, nose-diving into the sea near Iranativu, and had at first run, thinking it was a bomber.

In all six bodies had been recovered in a state of decay around Valappadu north-east of Iranativu, and had been buried. They also handed over to the priest the identity card of Coomarasamy Ragunathan, a passenger resident in Negombo.

Further reports said that one body was washed ashore in Jaffna and another 20 or so near Kalmunai Point, a promontory along the coast just before Jaffna lagoon and the peninsula. It was further said that all the bodies reaching the mainland shore were buried with the knowledge of the LTTE.

The Ukranian crew of the shot down Lionair consisted of Lysaivanov Siarhei (co-pilot), Kozlov Sergei (navigator) and Anapryienka Siarhei (flight engineer). The two Lion Air cabin crew were Dharshini Gunasekera (chief stewardess) and Chrishan Nelson (steward) and Vijitha (labourer).

Thursday 1 November 2012 http://www.asiantribune.com/news/2012/11/01/salvaging-operation-lionair-flight-wreck-yet-begin

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In Mexico, the Day of the Dead brings memories of the thousands of missing

Maria Elena Salazar refuses to set out plates of her missing son's favorite foods or orange flowers as offerings for the deceased on Mexico's Day of the Dead, even though she hasn't seen him in three-and-a-half years.

The 50-year-old former teacher is convinced that Hugo Gonzalez Salazar, a university graduate in marketing who worked for a telephone company, is still alive and being forced to work for a drug cartel because of his skills.

"The government, the authorities, they know it, that the gangs took them away to use as forced labor," said Salazar of her then 24-year-old son, who disappeared in the northern city of Torreon in July 2009.

The Day of the Dead — when Mexicans traditionally visit the graves of dead relatives and leave offerings of flowers, food and candy skulls — is a difficult time for the families of the thousands of Mexicans who have disappeared amid a wave of drug-fueled violence.

With what activists call a mix of denial, hope and desperation, they refuse to dedicate altars on the Nov. 1-2 holiday to people often missing for years. They won't accept any but the most certain proof of death, and sometimes reject even that.

Numbers vary on just how many people have disappeared in recent years. Mexico's National Human Rights Commission says 24,000 people have been reported missing between 2000 and mid-2012, and that nearly 16,000 bodies remain unidentified.

But one thing is clear: just as there are households without Day of the Dead altars, there are thousands of graves of the unidentified dead scattered across the country, with no one to remember them.

An investigation conducted by the newspaper Milenio this week, involving hundreds of information requests to state and municipal governments, indicates that 24,102 unidentified bodies were buried in paupers' or common graves in Mexican cemeteries since 2006. The number is almost certainly incomplete, since some local governments refused to provide figures, Milenio reported.

And while the number of unidentified dead probably includes some indigents, Central American migrants or dead unrelated to the drug war, it is clear that cities worst hit by the drug conflict also usually showed a corresponding bulge in the number of unidentified cadavers. For example, Mexico City, which has been relatively unscathed by drug violence, listed about one-third as many unidentified burials as the city of Veracruz, despite the fact that Mexico City's population is about 15 times larger.

Consuelo Morales , who works with dozens of families of disappeared in the northern city of Monterrey, said that "holidays like this, that are family affairs and are very close to our culture, stir a lot of things up" for the families. But many refuse to accept the deaths of their loved ones, sometimes even after DNA testing confirms a match with a cadaver.

"They'll say to you, 'I'm not going to put up an altar, because they're not dead," Martinez noted. "Their thinking is that 'until they prove to me that my child is dead, he is alive."

Martinez says one family she works with at the Citizens in Support of Human Rights center had refused to accept their son was dead, even after three rounds of DNA testing and the exhumation of the remains.

"It was their son, he was very young, and he had been burned alive," Martinez said by way of explanation.

The refusal to accept what appears inevitable may be a matter of desperation. Martinez said some families in Monterrey also believe their missing relatives are being held as virtual slaves for the cartels, even though federal prosecutors say they have never uncovered any kind of drug cartel forced-labor camp, in the six years since Mexico launched an offensive against the cartels.

But many people like Salazar believe it must be true. "Organized crime is a business, but it can't advertise for employees openly, so it has to take them by force," Salazar said.

While she refuses to erect an altar-like offering for her son, she does perform other rituals that mirror the Day of the Dead customs, like the one that involves scattering a trail of flower petals to the doorsteps of houses to guide spirits of the departed back home once a year.

Salazar and her family still live in the same home in Torreon, though they'd like to move, in the hopes that Hugo will return there. They pray three times a day for God to guide him home.

"We live in the same place, and we try to do the same things we used to," said Salazar, "because he is going to come back to his place, his home, and we have to be waiting for him."

Mistrust of officials has risen to such a point that some families may never get an answer they'll accept.

The problem is that, with forensics procedures often sadly lacking in Mexican police forces, the dead my never be connected with the living, which is the whole point of the Mexican traditions.

"As long as the authorities don't prove the opposite, for us they're still alive," Salazar said. "Let them prove it, but let us have some certainty, not just the authorities saying 'here he is.' We don't the government to just give us bodies that aren't theirs, and that has happened."

Thursday 1 november 2012

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/10/31/in-mexico-day-dead-brings-memories-thousands-missing/#ixzz2AyvdLXNQ

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Rwanda: Heavy Rains Kill Kigali Family

At least 15 people including a family of four were killed and property destroyed in Tuesday's heavy rains in different parts of the country, local authorities said.

Gikondo residents marvel at the house where four family members died.

In Gikondo, a suburb of Kigali City, a family of four perished after a neighbour's wall fence caved in and buried their small house.

The deceased were identified as Irene Mukeshimana 31, her children, Yves Ndayisenga 9, Yvonne Isingizwe 5, and Better Emelyse 1and half years.

Neighbours say they discovered the death at around 8.00 pm after the heavy rain which lasted over three hours.

According to Nathan Kanyesigye, the Executive Secretary of Gikondo sector the water meandered from Rebero hill and in other areas and destroyed the mad and wattle fence.

"It is evident the main cause was poor infrastructure. The fence was weak and the deceased's house was built close to it. The house failed to withstand the impact of the wall and the force of the water," Kanyesigye said.

Mourners accused Ezekiel Kalisa, the owner of the house whose fence came down, of ignoring advice against digging a pit near the destroyed house which had weakened his fence.

The bodies of the deceased were taken to Kanombe Military Hospital for post-mortem pending burial today at Gatenga cemetery.

Meanwhile, in Rusizi district, the heavy downpour claimed four lives and destroyed property worth of millions, local authorities have said.

Six others were by press time reportedly missing as efforts to find them were underway, according to the District Mayor Oscar Nzeyimana.

Three other residents were admitted at a local hospital and health centres, with one of them in critical condition, the official said in a phone interview.

The identities of the victims were not readily available by press time.

According to local sources, many houses collapsed during the heavy rains characterised by strong winds and lasted for about four hours while others were swept away by flooding rivers.

Also destroyed were several gardens of crops.

Bugarama and Muganza sector were the most affected in the district.

By press time, the extent of the damages was still being assessed but information filtering from local authorities and residents indicates that about 400 houses were destroyed in Bugarama sector alone.

It is not yet clear how many people were left homeless but the mayor told this paper that local leaders are working to establish the affected residents and destroyed properties to mobilise help for them.

The Bugarama-Cimerwa road was also affected, with the Cyagara Bridge swept away.

“We have sent our sincere condolences to those who lost their relatives and friends and consoled those whose property was destroyed. We are working with our partners and the concerned ministries to organise the support for the affected,” he added. The heavy rains also destroyed ten classrooms at Groupe Scolaire Murira in Muganza sector.

Obed Nkundumukiza, an official from Groupe Scolaire Murira told this paper that the school has been closed indefinitely.

He said that when the rain started, some students were still at school.

“Some had already gone home as they had finished their examinations. And those who were still at school started leaving as the rains intensified,” he said.

The Permanent secretary in the ministry of Disaster Management Antoine Ruvebana told this paper that his ministry has sent a team of officials to Rusizi to assess the extent of the damage caused by these torrential rains.

“After the assessment, that’s when we should know the needs and organise support accordingly”, Ruvebana said.

He, however, added that the ministry has set up districts’ “First Responders Team’ which acts to provide first aid to victims of disasters across the country.

Last month, a heavy downpour destroyed at least 88 houses in Bugarama sector, leaving so many families homeless.

Elsewhere, seven people were reported killed following the heavy downpour in Rubavu district.

One person was left dead in Rugerero sector of Rubavu district, Western Province, after a house collapsed on an entire family. Three other members of the family sustained injuries.

The deaths were due to heavy flooding of local rivers.

Meanwhile, a Cabinet meeting yesterday expressed condolences to the breaved families and called for speedy relief services, including sensitisation on disaster preparedness.

Thursday 1 November 2012

http://allafrica.com/stories/201211010030.html

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32 fatalities from Hurrican Sandy in New York city, and still counting

At his Wednesday afternoon briefing, Mayor Michael Bloomberg put the number of fatalities from Hurricane Sandy in New York City at roughly 30.

Nobody doubts that number will rise, including the mayor, who said, "We may find a few more bodies."

A Daily News report, updated at 1:00 this morning, put the number at 32.

The number is unlikely to remain there, not only because the situation is still dynamic, but also because because the totals in large-scale disasters like this one can be calculated in different ways.

"If an elderly person survives the event itself, but they're displaced, they lose track of their medication, their displacement is stressful, they may have a heart condition, respiratory condition, if they die in the process of being displaced, do you count that as a disaster victim?" asks John Mutter, the professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Columbia University who compiled a death list for Hurricane Katrina. "Well I think you do. And there's a question of whether official numbers actually count that or not. There's no rules."

Another example of a death that might not be counted?

"If you were trying to evaccuate in the path of the storm and you had an accident and died, are you a storm victim?" he continued. "Well, probably. You wouldn't be doing that otherwise."

I asked the mayor's spokesman how the city is counting fatalities but haven't received a response yet.

Even without including those arguably more tangential fatalities, Mutter, like the mayor, expects that the number of storm-related deaths will continue to rise before it crests and then, possibly, recedes.

"I think what you'll find is the count will go up in the next few days as they find people, as neighbors will say 'Gee what happened to Old Mary who lived down the street, we haven't seen her, is she all right?'" he said. "And progressively it will be discovered that there's more fatalities than you think.

The heartbreaking lead of that News report, for example:

Hurricane Sandy added seven bodies to its lethal legacy Wednesday, boosting the killer storm’s city death total to 32 as searchers scoured a Staten Island marsh for two toddlers swept from their helpless mother’s arms on a flooded street. Little Connor and Brandon Moore disappeared Monday in the floodwaters, leaving their terrified mom to swim for her life and pray for theirs. But two days later, there was still no sign of the pair despite an increasingly desperate hunt. More bodies were uncovered inside homes once the storm departed as the hurricane increased its body count long after the 90-mph winds and surging waters receded. An 87-year-old man, Hugo Senpo, was found face down in his flooded Coney Island living room -- and at least 10 other New Yorkers drowned inside their residences.

"There's dead and missing, and some of the missing are probably dead," Mutter said.

But some of them might also just be missing.

"What often happens in these big things is the numbers go up and up and up and up, and then they come back down, as some people who left town come back," he said. "You discover people in a shelter who you didn't know were there. It will peak at some number and then come back down."

Thursday 1 November 2012

http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/politics/2012/11/6538894/32-fatalities-hurricane-sandy-new-york-city-and-still-counting

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Fishermen search for bodies after Bangladesh sinking

Bangladeshi fishermen in the Bay of Bengal on Thursday searched for about 130 people missing after a boat sank while carrying Rohingya refugees heading for Malaysia.

The boat went down off the coast near Bangladesh’s border with Myanmar and about 13 passengers were reported to have survived, according to police and a Rohingya advocacy group.

Hundreds of thousands of Muslim Rohingya have fled Myanmar in past decades to escape persecution, and recent unrest has led to further exiles trying to reach Bangladesh and Malaysia.

“Thousands of boats go out to sea for fishing every day. We have asked them to watch out for bodies,” Lieutenant Badruddoza, a coastguard commander in Teknaf on the southeast tip of Bangladesh, told reporters.

“The desperate families of the missing passengers have also been searching for bodies,” he added.

Badruddoza, who only uses one name, said no sign of any wreckage or bodies had been found, and no coastguard rescue operation could be launched because the location of the sinking was not known.

One survivor being held by Bangladesh police told officers that the boat had 135 passengers on board and was heading south towards Malaysia.

Police said five other survivors had also been reported in Bangladesh, while The Arakan Project, a Bangkok-based Rohingya advocacy group, said seven survivors had reached Myanmar.

The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) expressed its dismay at the sinking and said people fleeing Myanmar and Bangladeshi migrant workers often paid smugglers for the chance of a better life in Southeast Asia.

“This is a tragedy,” said UNHCR co-ordinator James Lynch. “Unscrupulous smuggling networks are exploiting the desperation of people facing violence and poverty.”

The agency also appealed to Bangladesh and Malaysia to keep their borders open and accept refugees from the Rohingya minority trying to escape bloody communal violence in Myanmar.

At least 89 people have been killed and tens of thousands have fled their homes in a new wave of unrest sweeping Myanmar’s western Rakhine state, where violence between Rohingya and Buddhists in June left dozens dead.

Since the unrest erupted, Bangladesh has been turning away boatloads of fleeing Rohingya, saying it is already burdened with an estimated 300,000 of the minority group.

Accounts differed on the date of the sinking, with police saying the accident occurred on Sunday but The Arakan Project saying its sources reported it happened overnight Monday to Tuesday.

Myanmar’s 800,000 stateless Rohingya, described by the UN as among the world’s most persecuted minorities, are seen by the government as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

Human Rights Watch warned this week of a potential “dramatic increase in the number of Rohingya taking to the sea this year” in the wake of the conflict.

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan said “the entire region could be destabilised” by the bloodshed in Myanmar.

The UNHCR in Malaysia has registered some 24,000 Rohingyas as refugees but community leaders estimate actual numbers in the country could be double that.

Malaysia largely turns a blind eye, allowing them into the country but denying them any sort of legal status that would allow access to health care, education, jobs and other services, activists say.

Thursday 1 November 2012

http://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1074354/fishermen-search-bodies-after-bangladesh-sinking

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Dead bodies floating in sea near Maungdaw south

Maungdaw, Arakan State: Dead bodies were floating in the sea near Udaung Village of Maungdaw south on October 28, at about 4:00 pm, according to a villager from Udaung, who denied to be named.

“Villagers believe that the dead bodies are probably from boat people who fled from Kyaukpru tried to enter and to land at Maungdaw south for shelter.”

“But, the authorities are not giving them to land and kept on the boat around three to four days. The boat load Rohingyas backed to the sea for save as they were not getting any foods, water and medicine. Even, they are not allowed to meet anylocal Rohingyas from Maungdaw south by Nasaka.”

“Maybe, on the way, one of the boats was sunk for the cause of bad weather or was sunk by the concerned authority,” said a fishing man from Maungdaw south.

According to fishermen, they saw many dead bodies were floating in the sea. There are many wounded people on the boats. The dead bodies that were died in the boats were also thrown into the sea.

Villagers informed to the local Nasaka camp about the dead bodies and a group of Nasaka went to the spot and asked the villagers to push the dead bodies into deep sea, said a local elder from the village.

The boat will be one of those which was attacked by Burmese Navy while they fleeing from Kyaukpru and trying to enter to the Akyab coastline, according to sources.

“Seven boats were seized by Burmese Navy and kept in their camp and released only four after keeping four boats.”

Similarly, a boat which had 130 people who are trying to go Malaysia from Shebrang village of Teknaf union, Bangladesh ,on 28 night which sank in the mount of Naf River for entering water in the boats, according to fisher men from Sharpordip.

“All the boat people are missing in the sea.”

“The people are from Bangladesh who tried to go Malaysia which organized by trafficker. The trafficker and boat people are taking advantage from clashing between Rohingya and Rakhine in Arakan. They all will be saying Rohingya, but only a few are Rohingya there and other all Bangladeshi.”

"The boat was heading to Malaysia illegally and we have spoken to families of missing passengers," said Mohamed Farhad, police inspector of Teknaf.

“A 24-year-old survivor was being held in custody and he does not know what happened to the others as it was dark and he was desperate to save his own life."

Thursday 1 November 2012

http://www.kaladanpress.org/v3/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3940:dead-bodies-floating-in-sea-near-maungdaw-south-&catid=155:october-2012&Itemid=2

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Fuel truck crash in Riyadh sparks explosion that destroys building

At least 10 people have been killed after a fuel truck crashed into a flyover in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, triggering an explosion that caused the collapse of an industrial building, witness and television reports say.

Al-Arabiya and al-Jazeera television stations reported that at least a further 50 people were injured. They said 10 were dead and a witness at the scene told Reuters he had seen that many bodies.

The building, several storeys high, was almost levelled by the blast, with only one corner left standing. Several adjacent buildings were damaged and nearby vehicles, including a minibus on the flyover, were set on fire, witnesses said.

Television footage of the disaster and pictures posted on social media showed a body lying by burnt-out vehicles, and at least two charred bodies seated in a car.

A civil defence official at the scene, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said a petrol tanker had crashed into a concrete flyover. He and other officials were unable to give further details of the incident.

"I was inside the building when the blast came. Then boom, the building collapsed. Furniture, chairs and cabinets blasted into the room I was in," said Kushnoo Akhtara, a 55-year-old Pakistani worker, who was covered in dirt and bleeding from multiple cuts over his body.

"My brother is still inside under the rubble. There are lots of people in there."

More than 100 emergency personnel were combing the wreckage on the flyover and searching for victims in the rubble of the building, which housed Zahid Tractor, a distributor of heavy machinery.

There was no immediate suspicion of terrorist links based on witness accounts, which suggested the fuel tanker exploded after striking part of a highway underpass.

Officials said rescue crews had not finished the search and the death toll was still not final.

All the officials and witnesses spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

Thursday 1 November 2012

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/nov/01/fuel-truck-riyadh-explosion-building

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