100 bodies recovered from Ganga, DNA samples collected

Curiosity is brewing with recovery of 50 more bodies from river Ganga in Unnao on Wednesday, taking the number of such recoveries over the last few days to 100 and prompting the Centre to ask Uttar Pradesh government what was happening. While about 30 bodies were recovered on Tuesday, 50 more were found today from the river Ganga in Safipur area of Unnao district.

So far 80 bodies have been taken out from the river near Pariyar ghat, District Magistrate Saumya Agarwal said. She said the exact number of the recoveries could not be confirmed as bodies were still being recovered. Unofficially, the body count is said to be more than 100.

As the curiosity was brewing over the mysterious recoveries, Inspector General of Police (Law and Order) A Satish Ganesh said these were bodies ostensibly of unmarried girls and children who were disposed off in the river by their kin as part of last rites. The bodies surfaced after water receded near Pariyar Ghat, he said.

"During preliminary investigation, local residents informed that instead of cremating the bodies of unmarried girls they are set adrift in the Ganga river," the IG said. "Most of the bodies were badly mutilated so it was difficult to ascertain their gender," he said.

The DM said post-mortem was not possible as per the opinion of the doctors and instead sampling was being done for DNA testing. A team of doctors led by Chief Medical Officer Geeta Yadav is taking forensic sample of the bodies.

In a related development, the sanitation workers have refused to take out the bodies from the river as they are in a very bad shape, an officer said. In Delhi, Union Minister for Water Resources and Ganga Cleaning Uma Bharti said, "We have also received information through the media, party workers and ministry officials over the issue."

She said she had spoken to the District Magistrate of Unnao and "I have also sought information from the Uttar Pradesh Government on how it happened."

DNA collected from bodies

A team of forensic experts on Wednesday collected DNA samples from 80 bodies. A team of 10 doctors from Unnao were requisitioned by the district administration for the job. The samples have been collected for assessing the cause of death and establishing the gender of the dead.

About 100 bodies were found floating near Pariyar Ghat in Unnao. Reports said that the Ganga here, after taking a bend in its course, follows a shallow path, which is why the bodies surfaced. The Unnao District Magistrate has been asked to submit a detailed report to the Home Department. IG (Law and Order) A. Satish Ganesh said since some of the bodies were in an advanced stage of decomposition it was not possible to collect their DNA extract. “The doctors expressed their inability to conduct any examination given the putrid state of the bodies,” Mr. Ganesh told reporters. The IG said prima facie the deaths appear to have been caused by natural causes. “The process of collecting DNA samples is being videographed,” he said.

Mr. Ganesh said a consensus to bury the bodies was agreed upon by public representatives, gram pradhans of the villages near the Pariyar Ghat, villagers and officials. The burial ritual would be conducted after mass prayers, called “shanti path”, as a mark of respect to the deceased, the IG (Law and Order) said. He added the DIG, Lucknow Range, R.K. Chaturvedi camped at the site overnight to oversee the meeting.

To identify the bodies, the gram pradhans have been asked by the Unnao district administration to submit information of those who died in their villages in the last six months. This would enable the authorities to trace their families.

Wednesday 14 January 2015

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-100-bodies-recovered-from-ganga-centre-seeks-information-from-uttar-pradesh-2052463

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/dna-samples-collected-from-bodies-found-in-ganga/article6789645.ece

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QZ8501: Officials face challenges in identifying recovered bodies

Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) officials are facing several challenges in identifying the bodies recovered from AirAsia QZ8501. One of the issues is incomplete ante-mortem data such as fingerprints or dental records.

Many of the bodies now being discovered no longer have fingerprints or recognisable physical features. DVI officials must turn to either DNA samples or dental records to accurately verify and identity an individual.

Budiyono, head of East Java Disaster Victim Identification, said: "Many have asked me why we're announcing identified bodies in small batches. That's not our intention. In fact, we are facing difficulties matching ante-mortem and post-mortem data.

"The bodies that we're handling are severely decomposed. But our DVI team is continuously working on them - thus we've been able to identify some each day."

Identifying bodies is a painstaking process, as each body that comes in to the morgue, must be compared to the ante-mortem data of the other 162 people on board QZ8501. Ante-mortem data include fingerprints, dental records, DNA samples, physical features and the last clothes worn by the deceased.

Forensic orthodontology expert A Fauzi, from the Indonesian National Police, said: "Teeth is one of the body's hardest parts which can take trauma. However if it is submerged in sea water, it can decompose quickly. So far, most of the teeth are in their sockets. But in situations where they are submerged in sea water for a long time, they can be dislocated from the sockets."

DVI officials have been working long hours to find matches as incomplete ante-mortem data have proven to be a major challenge. The officials are now taking a proactive approach in completing the ante-mortem data of the remaining unidentified passengers.

Instead of waiting for relatives to come forward, the officials have travelled to locations as diverse as the metropolis of Jakarta and a remote village on Leti island, 30 hours away by sea from Ambon, to get the data they need for a full ante-mortem profile. The DVI officials are scheduled to return to Surabaya by Tuesday.

Search for victims extended

Indonesia search and rescue agency BASARNAS has been forced to extend the search for bodies from the downed AirAsia QZ8501 beyond the “legal timeframe”, BASARNAS chief Bambang Soelistyo told a parliamentary hearing on Tuesday (Jan 13), according to a Detik.com report.

In a briefing to Indonesia's House of Representatives on the search and recovery of QZ8501 crash victims, Mr Soelistyo said seven days is the legal timeframe for retrieving bodies, noting that BASARNAS has done everything by the book. The search and rescue agency was focused on finding bodies for the first seven days, while Indonesia's armed forces focused on finding the fuselage, he said.

On Jan 7, which was the 11th day of the search, the search entered a new phase when the tail was found and BASARNAS' focus switched to finding the black box – though the search for bodies continued, said Mr Soelistyo.

When asked about the chances of finding more bodies, Mr Soelistyo said it is harder to find bodies underwater than on the surface. All 48 bodies recovered so far were spread out, though BASARNAS expected most bodies to be found in the fuselage of the plane.

Tuesday 13 January 2015

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/qz8501-officials-face/1587534.html

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/search-for-qz8501-bodies/1586998.html

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National Highway mishap: DNA samples of 49 victims obtained

Samples of 49 people killed in a bus accident at Karachi National Highway have been obtained for the DNA test on Monday.

The samples of 49 corpses which were transferred to morgue have been sent for the verification test.

Three police officers including Sub-inspector Abdul Aziz, Shahadat Ali and Chand Muhammad will take a legal action after the identification of the dead bodies so that they can be handed over to the relatives.

Police officers have failed to capture the accused bus driver whereas Senior Superintendant of Police (SSP) Malir Rao Anwar stated that the Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) was also called on to check the bus.

Moreover, a case has been registered in Memon Goth Police Station against the owner and the driver of the tanker. Earlier, at least 62 people including women and children were killed when their bus crashed into an oil tanker, igniting a fierce blaze at Super Highway early Sunday, officials said.

Authorities fear the death toll could rise, with most of the bodies burnt beyond recognition. Initial reports said the oil tanker was travelling in the wrong direction along the dilapidated stretch of road, police said.

In an accident, right people from one family also lost their lives.

“We have received 62 dead bodies but the death toll may rise as most of them are completely burnt and stuck to each other,” Doctor Semi Jamali at Karachi s Jinnah hospital.

Jamali said the bodies of at least six children were stuck to women who may have been their mothers, adding it was impossible to separate the remains.

“They are beyond recognition, they can only be identified by DNA test,” she said.

The overloaded bus, carrying more than 60 passengers, was en route to the town of Shikarpur from the southern port city of Karachi when the collision occurred.

Television channels showed live footage from the fiery crash site where rescue workers were busily evacuating dead bodies and any injured. Earlier, senior police official Rao Muhammad Anwaar said the bus “hit the oil tanker, which according to initial reports was coming in the wrong direction” and caught fire.

Another senior police official, Aamir Shiekh said an investigation has been launched but it appeared the poor condition of the single track road also contributed to the cause of the accident.

“We are trying to ascertain if the driver of the oil tanker was solely at fault or whether the bus driver also showed negligence,” Anwaar said. A few passengers escaped unhurt after they jumped out of the bus windows, police official Muhammad Jan said. It was the second major fatal crash in Sindh province in less than three months.

Tuesday 13 January 2015

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/sindh/13-Jan-2015/national-highway-mishap-dna-samples-of-49-victims-obtained

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Passengers still missing in Cape Verde ferry sinking

Three have died and a further 12 are missing after ro-ro ferry Vicente sank in heavy weather off Cape Verde, Africa, on Friday.

The vessel, built in 1965, was carrying 26, as well as a cargo of vehicles and containers en route from Praia, with some local news reports indicating the vessel was dangerously overloaded.

Eleven survivors have been rescued according to the latest reports.

A local official described the search as “not very encouraging”, indicating that, “Although weather conditions are not the best, we’re going to keep up the searches, and we’ll be here tomorrow.

“Of course with every day that goes by the likelihood of finding survivors decreases, but we’re hopeful that we’ll still be able to save more lives. If we don’t find survivors, I hope we can at least recover the bodies that are still in the water.”

Monday 12 January 2015

http://www.seatrade-global.com/news/middle-east-africa/passengers-still-missing-in-cape-verde-ferry-sinking.html

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Bad weather kills four in northern Turkey, eight missing

Snowfall and storms have killed four people in northern Turkey while eight others remain missing.

An avalanche in the northern Turkish city of Trabzon killed a worker and trapped four others on Saturday. Three fishermen drowned while four others went missing during a fishing trip in the northern province of Samsun when their boat capsized in stormy weather.

Rescue efforts were underway yesterday for the missing workers in Trabzon, but bad weather dealt a blow to the search. Five men were at a tunnel construction site in Trabzon's Çaykara district to repair a malfunctioning generator when the avalanche hit. Nusret Er's body was recovered by search and rescue crews on Saturday and four others remain trapped. Media outlets reported two of the workers were inside a vehicle when the avalanche struck.

The state-run Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) dispatched teams to the area to recover the missing workers. A statement by AFAD said heavy snowfall and a severe blizzard slowed down the efforts. The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) also sent helicopters to the area to join the search, but they could not participate due to bad weather, which prevented them from flying. Crews managed to reach the spot where the snow had a depth of more than two meters 22 hours after the avalanche.

Crews advanced with difficulty to reach the area because small mountains of snow blocked the roads. A number of vehicles carrying crews were also stranded on the snowy roads while a snowplough overturned. Meanwhile, crews were able to rescue 40 other workers trapped at a snowbound construction site.

Northern Turkey, also known as the Black Sea Region, is home to steep mountain ranges where avalanches are common. In January 2009, 10 people were killed when an avalanche struck a group of trekkers on Mt. Zigana in the Black Sea province of Gümüşhane.

In the Samsun accident, seven people were aboard a small fishing boat when it capsized in a violent snowstorm. Dursun Namlı, 30, aboard the boat, tried to swim to the shore and was found and carried to the hospital by fishermen waiting ashore. He later died in hospital. Two more bodies were recovered later yesterday.Authorities said these men ignored the warning against fishing in the lake during bad weather.

Meanwhile, a group of friends of the victims sailed to retrieve the missing fishermen despite warnings. Search and rescue crews that flocked to the scene, searched Gıcı Lake for the missing fishermen.

Turkey is battling bad weather that is bearing down across the country. Snowfall and blizzards have closed down hundreds of roads in the Black Sea Region and other regions with temperatures dropping below zero Celsius. Snowfall is expected to be replaced by rainfall on Monday and temperatures will rise nationwide on Wednesday, as a new, sunny weather pattern will cover the country.

Monday 12 January 2015

http://www.dailysabah.com/nation/2015/01/12/bad-weather-kills-4-in-the-north-8-missing

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Bodies of 6 S. Koreans from fishing tragedy in Russia arrive home

The bodies of six South Koreans who died from a fishing boat sinking in Russian waters last month arrived in South Korea on Sunday, the safety ministry said.

They are among the 60 who were fishing for pollack in the western Bering Sea on Dec. 1, when the 1,753-ton Oryong 501 sank after the crewmen failed to remove excess water from the ship during a storm, authorities said.

Only seven -- one Russian inspector, three Filipino and three Indonesian crewmen -- survived, with 27 others confirmed found and 26 others remaining unaccounted for.

A 5,000-ton Coast Guard patrol boat carrying the bodies arrived Sunday afternoon in Busan, a southeastern port city that the South Koreans had left in July.

The bodies were moved to a nearby morgue, but family members refused to take them, demanding apologies from the government and the operator of the ill-fated fishing boat as well as proper measures to search for those still missing.

Late last month, six Filipino and Indonesian survivors of the boat tragedy arrived in Busan, along with the bodies of 21 foreign victims.

South Korea, the United States and Russia had conducted the search for the missing crewmen, but no major progress was made due to inclement weather.

The South Korean government officially terminated the search last week, sparking protests from the bereaved families, who demand that all missing South Koreans be retrieved before they can be reunited.

Sunday 11 January 2015

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2015/01/11/43/0302000000AEN20150111001151315F.html

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Karachi bus crash: 62 die after collision between bus and oil tanker in southern Pakistan

At least 62 people, including women and children, were today killed when their overcrowded bus collided head-on with a speeding oil tanker, sparking a major fire in southern Pakistan, in the deadliest road accident to hit the country in recent times.

The deadly accident occurred in the early hours on the Super Highway about 50 kms from here in Sindh province as the bus was travelling from Karachi to Shikarpur, Karachi Commissioner Shoaib Siddiqui said.

The overcrowded bus, carrying around 80 people with some sitting on its roof, collided with an oil tanker coming from the opposite direction and wrong side of the road.

“It was the mistake on part of drivers of both vehicles as they were overspeeding and the passenger bus was overloaded with some passengers even sitting on the roof,” Siddiqui told

“It was a very tragic incident because those killed include women and children and most were burnt alive after the bus and tanker caught fire,” Siddiqui said.

He said rescue workers recovered bodies of children stuck to their mothers as they were apparently trapped after the collision and could not escape the fire.

The devastating incident also killed nine members of a Karachi family, including its 80-year-old head and a two-year- old toddler. So far, 62 bodies were recovered from the site and sent to the state-owned Jinnah Hospital here.

Seemi Jamali, the emergency department in charge at the hospital, said most of the bodies were beyond recognition and could only be identified with DNA tests.

An unspecified number of injured have also been shifted to the Jinnah Hospital, where emergency has been declared.

“The death toll has climbed since this morning as rescue workers recovered bodies from the burnt vehicles after the fire was put off,” she said. The bus was completely burned on the inside due to the fire.

“Some even tried to save their lives by trying to leap out of the windows and from the roof of the bus,” senior police official in Shikarpur Nadeem Khan said.

Earlier, senior police official Rao Muhammad Anwaar said the bus hit the oil tanker and caught fire.

A probe has been launched but it appeared the poor condition of the single track road also contributed to the fatal accident, another senior police official Aamir Shiekh said.

Sunday 11 January 2015

http://indianexpress.com/article/world/world-others/57-killed-in-bus-oil-tanker-collision-in-southern-pakistan/

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AirAsia QZ8501: Three more bodies identified

The bodies of a South Korean couple have been identified, together with the body of a 19-year-old Indonesian passenger, announced Indonesia police in Surabaya at a press conference on Sunday (Jan 11).

However, the baby daughter of the South Koreans has not yet been identified, said police, adding that they have not received any bodies of a 1-year-old child - the age of the Korean baby.

The bodies of the South Koreans are still at the hospital, and police said that they are in touch with the South Korean embassy, adding that the next-of-kin of the couple have yet to arrive. A Korean Disaster Victim Identification team said they will stay on in Surabaya to wait for the baby, as well as help identify other Indonesian victims.

A total of 48 bodies have been recovered, with 32 bodies have been identified so far, said police. Another 16 bodies have not been identified.

At the press conference, police urged families to provide information if their loved ones have ever been to a dentist. Authorities said dental records are very important at this stage of the identification process, adding that they have contacted dentists to try and get dental records to help where information is not complete.

Korean Lee Kyung-Hwa was identified using data like dental records and also because she was wearing maternity bra, as she had an infant on board, said police.

Sunday 11 January 2015

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/airasia-qz8501-three-more/1582898.html

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India: GRP portal helps kin of rail accident victims trace them and get closure

For three years, Bajirao Pawar and his wife searched high and low for their teenage son, Mahesh, who had left home saying he wouldn't return till he made it big. Two months ago, Bajirao, as a last resort, visited the GRP commissioner's office and went through their portal 'Shodh' that uploads pictures of unknown rail accident vicims. After scouring through pages and pages of pictures, Bajirao broke down. He had spotted Mahesh's picture on the website. Today, he believes that finally knowing what had happened to their boy gave the family some closure.

There is an average of 10 deaths reported on the railways every single day.

Shodh was developed by the GRP to help families of missing persons trace them. And yet, despite police's efforts, there are 1,100 rail accident casualties from 2014 that are yet to be identified.

"Shodh can be accessed from anywhere but not every family is net savvy. Our personnel help them surf the portal based on the description of their missing relatives. We have also prepared a database of photographs of unknown victims that the families can go through. This rules out the need to personally visit mortuaries, which can be a very disturbing experience for a family member," says GRP commissioner Ravinder Singhal. Police have to often double up as counsellors. "Bajirao couldn't accept that the picture on the portal was his son's. We asked Bajirao's relatives to come over and not leave him alone even for a minute after he left our office," said a GRP officer. Police records showed that Mahesh was killed at Khar in April 2012, eight months after he left home. Bajirao, a night watchman based in Chembur, was away at his hometown with the rest of his family when his son left.

For Pravin Waghmare, discovering the picture of his missing grandmother on Shodh, came as a shock as she had always been found safe in the past whenever she had wandered away from home. "My grandmother, Yashwanta, was in her late seventies and had a problem remembering things. Once every few months, she would step out for buying something or for a stroll and disappear. She was usually found in Chembur where we stay, or at Wadala where our aunt lives. When she went missing earlier this year, we knew the drill. Missing complaints were registered at Chembur and Wadala police stations. But there was no trace of her," said Waghmare.

The GRP website showed that Yashwanta had been killed near Diva station on March, 30, 2014, eight months before her family learnt of the mishap.

"An unclaimed body has to be disposed of within a week. At times, we keep it in the mortuary for a fortnight if there's a slight chance of tracing the family. In cases where bodies are disposed of as unclaimed, pieces of their clothes or belongings are stored for their families to identify," said an official.

Sunday 11 January 2015

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/GRP-portal-helps-kin-of-rail-accident-victims-trace-them-and-get-closure/articleshow/45828146.cms

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QZ8501: Team of highly specialist divers to be deployed

The Indonesian government is preparing to deploy a team of highly specialist divers to improve the chances of locating more bodies around the crash site of AirAsia flight QZ8501.

At Kumai Port in Central Kalimantan 10 from the specialist diving team known as SAR are poised to head out to sea, assisted by crews from the country's search and rescue agency BASARNAS.

Diving teams are performing one of the most important roles of this operation. Every day they are being sent down into the murky waters to try and find any debris, bodies or even the the black box.

It is an arduous task and they are being hampered by severe weather conditions – strong waves and heavy underwater currents.

Rendra Hertiadhi is the team's field commander and has 30 years of diving experience.

“Our job is to dive and recover bodies from the fuselage of the aircraft if it is found and also to retrieve whatever instrument like the flight data recorder if it happened that we found it near the bodies," he said.

“We have to release (the bodies) from whatever is trapping them, we put them in the body bags, tied to a shoot line then float them to the surface where on the surface our guys on the boat will recover the bags and bring them to shore."

The dive teams are severely affected by currents, waves and wind.

The team said if the underwater current is less than five knots it is still safe for them to go down. It requires technical and tactical expertise. Recreational divers cannot generally dive in currents stronger than two knots.

Reinhart Thamrin is a Disaster & Conflict specialist and explained that her team deployed in just 12 hours.

"We have a passion for diving and we are willing to help," she said. "The government calls us and we come."

The team will operate for seven to 10 days before being replaced by their 'beta team'.

Saturday 10 January 2015

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/specialreports/qz8501/search/qz8501-death-divers-on/1579982.html

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Surabaya issues death certificates for crash victims

Thirteen days into the search for passengers of the AirAsia plane that crashed into the Karimata Strait off Central Kalimantan, Surabaya municipality has issued 17 death certificates to victims’ families.

“We have issued 17 death certificates and will issue the rest in accordance with the identification procedure,” Surabaya Civil Registry and Population Office head Wardoyo said as quoted by Antara news agency at the Crisis Center at the East Java Police headquarters in Surabaya on Friday.

The office said it had issued the certificates based on records from the police and Bhayangkara Police Hospital and given them to the victims’ families.

“We must be very careful before issuing the certificates,” said Wardoyo.

As many as 78 of the 162 passengers on board the doomed Surabaya-Singapore flight were residents of Surabaya.

“The data has been validated through population identification numbers. We hope there won’t be any contradictory data,” said Wardoyo.

The death certificates, added Wardoyo, were required by families to claim insurance for the victims. The Surabaya municipality has provided facilities, including an integrated online system at the municipal post office at the East Java Police headquarters, to ease the issuance process.

He said complete data, including legalization of the victims’ identity cards, household cards and certificates from the hospital and police, would be sent through the online system.

“The death certificates will then be issued and handed to families of the victims,” he added.

A number of the crash victims from Surabaya have been identified, including Grayson Herbert Linaksita, 11, Hendra Gunawan Syawal, 23, The Meiji Thejakusuma, 44, Jie Stevie Gunawan, 10, and Juanita Limantara, 30.

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has expressed concern over the slow pace of compensation payments to next of kin of passengers on board AirAsia flight QZ8501, urging that insurance payments be made. Transportation Ministry Regulation No. 77/2011 stipulates that the amount is Rp 1.25 billion (US$98,386) per passenger.

According to the central government, AirAsia must pay the victims’ next of kin regardless of the legal status of the flight. AirAsia Indonesia president director Sunu Widyatmoko has said the airline has ensured each victim would receive Rp 1.25 billion in compensation, which would be disbursed when the recovery and identification process had been completed.

Surabaya Mayor Tri Rismaharini has said her administration was ready to file a lawsuit against AirAsia if it failed to adequately compensate families of passengers on flight QZ8501, following the suspension of the airline’s flight permit from the East Java city to Singapore.

Also on Friday, East Java Police chief Insp. Gen. Anas Yusuf said police would oversee the insurance claim disbursement process for victims’ families.

“We will oversee the process so the funds are immediately channeled to the right people,” said Anas at the East Java Police headquarters in Surabaya on Friday.

He added that police intended to query the management of AirAsia regarding insurance payouts for victims’ families.

“This is in line with the request from the central government to immediately compensate victims’ families, or at the latest seven days after the bodies have been identified,” said Anas.

Asked about the identification process at the Disaster Victims Identification (DVI) post at the East Java Police headquarters, Anas said he would try to speed up the process, but asked for more time from the affected families in view of the poor condition of the bodies.

“It’s quite challenging because we need two weeks for DNA identification, but we will try to accelerate the process because we have received assistance from other countries,” he said.

East Java Police DVI team leader Sr. Comr. Budiyono concurred, explaining that body-identification was no walk in the park.

“The poor and decomposing condition of the bodies has hampered the identification process and the DVI team mustn’t make any hasty decisions,” Budiyono pointed out.

Tail lifted from seabed

The Indonesian navy has retrieved from the seabed the tail of the AirAsia plane that crashed two weeks ago.

Divers used an inflatable device to pull the tail to the sea's surface.

They are also searching for the plane's "black box" flight recorders, which officials believe have been separated from the tail section.

Saturday 10 January 2015

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/01/10/surabaya-issues-death-certificates-crash-victims.html

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Lagos church collapse: 11 victims still to be identified

The process of identifying 11 South Africans killed in a church building collapse in Nigeria has commenced, the South African government said on Friday.

"Government is committed to repatriate the remains of the 11 bodies. The work of the verification has commenced following the festive break," spokesperson Phumla Williams said.

"We will communicate with the families as soon as the Nigerian laboratory has finalised the process."

A guesthouse belonging to the Christian Synagogue, Church of All Nations collapsed in Lagos on Sept. 12 last year, killing 116 people including 85 South Africans.

Eighty-five South Africans died and 26 were injured. Seventy-four bodies have already been repatriated.

"Eleven bodies remain unaccounted for due to the inability to match the DNA samples," Williams said.

She said social workers and the South African forensic unit had visited the families of the 11 people.

"Fresh samples were collected from the family representatives. These samples have been submitted to the laboratory for processing."

Williams said government was continuing to collaborate with the Nigerian authorities to identify the bodies.

"Government acknowledges that families of the victims need closure to begin the healing process. This can only happen once their loved ones are brought back home for proper burial," she said.

She appealed to religious communities to continue praying for the affected families.

Friday 9 January 2015

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Nigeria-collapse-11-SA-victims-to-be-identified-20150109

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AirAsia flight QZ8501: 'pings' of black boxes detected, more bodies recovered

A joint search and rescue (SAR) team recovered on Friday five more bodies of victims of an AirAsia flight that crashed two weeks ago, bringing the number of bodies recovered to 48 on the 13th day of the SAR operation.

Three bodies were found in the morning by Japanese vessels Onami and Takanami, while two further bodies were found by Indonesian naval vessel KN Pacitan and Malaysian vessel KD Kasturi.

The latter bodies were found in the Karimata Strait of the Java Sea, within one mile of the location where the tail of Airbus A320-200 plane has been spotted.

The two bodies were still strapped into their seats when they were found, kompas.com reported.

The bodies have been flown to Surabaya, East Java, for identification by the National Police’s Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) team.

Of the 48 bodies recovered, 25 have been identified and handed over to their families.

Black boxes

A director from the Indonesian search-and rescue agency said readings detected on Friday suggest the black box may be outside the tail section of the plane.

It comes as footage has emerged showing Indonesian military divers investigating the submerged tail of doomed AirAsia flight 8501, as search and rescue teams are hopeful that the black box from the plane's wreckage has been located.

Having located the tail of the plane on Thursday, search teams began pressing ahead with their efforts to find the black box and retrieve bodies from the wreckage, and on Friday afternoon reported detecting 'pings' from the flight data recorder.

But Suyadi Bambang Supriyadi, director of operations of Indonesia's search-and-rescue agency, said pings detected about 1km southwest of the wreckage suggest the black box may be located elsewhere.

The underwater searches ended before dusk on Friday, after divers were unable to find the black box.

Indonesian authorities have warned that the black box, which is located in the tail in the Airbus A320-200, may have become separated during the crash.

Footage released by Indonesian authorities shows divers surrounding the submerged wreck, shining torches into the badly damaged hull, 30 metres under the surface of the Java Sea.

The flight data recorder, or black box, which is located in the back end of the plane, could prove crucial to determining the cause of the December 28 crash that killed all 168 people on board.



Lifting balloons were loaded onto helicopters in preparation of recovery efforts to lift the tail out of the Java Sea, despite worries that the black box may have been separated from the tail during the crash.

The footage was captured by the divers despite poor weather and murky water which has been hampering recovery efforts.

The footage shows elite divers holding a box to the exterior of the tail, which still has the identifying markers 'PK' plane on its side. An Indonesian Armed Forces Commander confirmed that a recovery of the tail is in progress, after signals from the black box, which only has 30 days of battery life, were detected yesterday.

Navy ships USS Sampson and USS Fort Worth have deployed helicopters and sonar devices into the Java Sea to aid the recovery operation off the coast of the Indonesian island of Borneo.

Only 43 bodies have been retrieved so far, as monsoon rains and winds have caused choppy sea conditions and blinding silt from river run-off, reducing visibility underwater and preventing the removal of large pieces of the wreckage.

Many of the other passengers are believed to be inside the wreckage of the plane's main cabin, which has not been located, due to strong currents moving debris around.

At two weeks, most corpses will sink, said Anton Castilani, head of Indonesia's disaster identification victim unit, and there are already signs of serious decomposition.

'Divers have reached the tail part but ... the visibility was below one metre so they only managed to retrieve various debris,' said Bambang Soelistyo, chief of Indonesia's search and rescue agency.

'Now we are waiting for the speed of the current to ease. If it gets calmer later, they will go back to do another dive to determine whether the black boxes remained in the tail or were detached,' Mr Soelistyo said on Thursday.

Divers travelled by rubber boat from the KRI Banda Aceh warship that was being stationed close to the site of tail wreckage, which Mr Soelistyo said would be lifted off the seabed by retrieval experts on Friday if weather permitted.

Lieutenant. Edy Tirtayasa, commander of Indonesia's navy rescue team, told Channel News Asia they planned to send two contingents to the plane. 'We are going to send down one observation team to take photos. Then two teams will do the recovery process -- to recover bodies if there are any,' he said.

'If not, they will recover the black box for investigation and then other debris from the aircraft, he said.

He said the airline's priority still is to recover all the bodies 'to ease the pain of our families'.

Families of the victims whose bodies have been recovered held funeral ceremonies on Thursday to lay their loved ones to rest.

Family members and friends buried their bodies and lay flowers over the graves, bringing photos of the victims to lay at memorial sites.

Friday 9 January 2015

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2902844/Inside-twisted-fuselage-AirAsia-flight-QZ8501-Eerie-video-shows-divers-searching-wreckage-doomed-jet.html

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/01/09/five-more-bodies-recovered-sar-team.html

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Sunken Cemfjord may be left as 'sea grave'

Strong currents and dangerous seas mean that it might be too dangerous to recover cement-carrier Cemfjord and the bodies of eight seafarers believed to be trapped inside.

The Cyprus-registered vessel turned over in bad weather in the Pentland Firth, off the north coast of Scotland, at the weekend.

On Monday, the Northern Lighthouse Board (NLB) sent its multifunction tender, Pharos, to locate Cemfjord, which was found "in an inverted condition" in 70m of water. It is close to where it was first spotted on Saturday, 10nm east of the Pentland Skerries, by NorthLink ferry, Hrossey.

The vessel is resting upside down on the seabed to the east of Orkney after sinking at the weekend. The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) is investigating the tragedy, which is thought to have claimed the lives of the eight crew – including seven Polish men and one Filipino.

A Northlink ferry, Hrossey, found the Cemfjord’s upturned hull in the Pentland Firth on Saturday, prompting a major land, air and sea search for survivors.

A liferaft from the boat was found in the Pentland Firth on Monday but there were no signs of life on board.

The vessel was last recorded between Orkney and Stroma on Friday afternoon and had not issued a distress signal. One of the lines of investigation is expected to examine why the emergency position indicating radio beacon was not activated when the boat capsized.

NLB told IHS Maritime that the ship would remain on location to assist accident investigators and the Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) as required.

Tony Redding, spokesman for Cemfjord's Hamburg-based manager, Brise Bereederung, told IHS Maritime, "The company feels that it would be morally wrong to ask people to put their lives at risk to recover bodies. So the wreck may be left as a seamen's grave." However a decision has yet to be made.

Brise, the flag state (Cyprus) and the UK's Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) have launched investigations into the accident. A MAIB spokesman told IHS Maritime that a remotely operated vehicle will probably be sent down to examine the hull once weather conditions improve. Gusts of 60 to 70kt are forecast over the weekend.

Investigators will try to establish why the ship's emergency position-indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) failed to activate. EPIRBs have been known to malfunction, but in Cemfjord's case the device may have become trapped, Redding suggested. There was no indication of anything wrong when the ship made a routine call to Brise's office at about 13.15 on Friday. "It seems that she was overwhelmed very suddenly," he added.

Since 2006, cargo ships of 3,000gt and above have been required to carry a simplified voyage data recorder (S-VDR), but Cemfjord, at 1,850gt, was under this limit.

At the time of the accident, Cemfjord was sailing with a temporary replacement rescue boat. Redding said that a new boat had been ordered but would not be available until late January. New davits were installed, but the slings were too short for the replacement craft. However, this only affected the rescue boat's retrieval, not its launch. An additional liferaft was carried as a condition of being allowed to sail. "Cemfjord was in a fully seaworthy condition," Redding commented.

Friday 9 January 2015

http://www.ihsmaritime360.com/article/16089/sunken-cemfjord-may-be-left-as-sea-grave

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Bodies of 13 RI workers killed in Bering Sea arrive in Jakarta

The bodies of 13 Indonesian workers employed on the South Korean fishing ship Oryong 501, which sank in the Bering Sea last month, were received by Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi in Jakarta on Friday.

The bodies were flown from South Korea aboard Korean Air cargo plane, which landed at the Soekarno-Hatta airport in Tangerang, Banten, at 2:50 a.m. Friday.

All of the deceased were identified.

The foreign minister led a ceremony in which the bodies of the victims were given to their respective families. The event was attended by the head of the Agency for the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers (BNP2TKI), Nusron Wahid, and the South Korean Ambassador to Indonesia, Cho Tae-Young.

Minister Retno conveyed her appreciation for the cooperation between Indonesia, South Korea and Russia, which had been continuous since the first day of the disaster, Dec. 1, 2014.

"We (the foreign ministry) directly asked Sajo Industries, as the owner of the ship, to meet all the rights of the ship’s crew," Retno said as quoted by Antara news agency. "We don't want the rights of Indonesian workers to be neglected," she said.

Three other bodies from the same accident were scheduled to arrived in Jakarta on Friday evening. Two of them were from West Java and one was from Central Java.

Seven people survived the sinking of the Oryong 501. The remains of 27 people had been recovered, while at least another 26 remained unaccounted for as of the middle of last month.

Friday 9 January 2015

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/01/09/bodies-13-ri-workers-killed-bering-sea-arrive-jakarta.html

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AirAsia flight QZ8501: 24 victims identified

Coroners with the National Police’s victim-identification unit have identified 24 out of the 40 bodies recovered from the wreckage of Indonesia AirAsia flight QZ 8501, police said on Thursday.

The 24 identified bodies, 11 women and 13 men, have been returned to their families, National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Ronny F. Sompie said.

Ronny said police hoped to make positive identifications of 15 more victims on Thursday, which would bring the total to 39.

It was unclear on Thursday afternoon when the most recently recovered victim would be identified. Another body, the 40th to be recovered from the wreck of the crashed plane, was brought to the Surabaya hospital on Thursday afternoon.

Multinational DVI team

As more bodies are recovered from the AirAsia plane crash, experts from various countries are working together in Surabaya to help identify them before returning the bodies to their respective families.

The 28-member multinational Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) team comprises experts from Australia, the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea. Between them is a wide range of forensic expertise in DNA tracing, dental identification and pathology.

The members not only observe and take part in the identification of bodies but also attend the reconciliation meeting where the inspection of bodies is verified with dental records, fingerprints, family DNA and physical features.

But as bodies in sea water decompose faster, fingerprints and physical features become even more degraded for identification. Anton Castilani, executive director of Indonesia National Police's DVI Unit, said: "We are trying to get DNA samples of the closest next-of-kin in order to help in the identification and verification process."

The multinational team are no stranger to one another. Frank Rayner, Australian Federal Police liaison officer, said: "AFP (Australian Federal Police) has got a long relationship with their colleagues in the IP (Identity Preservation) and DVI (Disaster Victim Identification) area. The DVI members will be able to not only participate in the procedure but also observe the techniques of the IP, and also our colleagues from Singapore."

Most of them took part in the annual International Disaster Victim Identification workshop, which focuses on international cooperation in response to natural and man-made disasters, particularly in the ASEAN region.

Anton Castilani said: "We came from the same training centre. This was in Indonesia at the Jakarta Center for Law Enforcement Cooperation where we used to run our DVI programmes, especially for international programmes. This event is more like a sharing of knowledge here."

The team is usually deployed for two to three weeks on assignment.

There are still at least 15 bodies placed in cold storage that need to be identified but authorities say verifying bodies needs time and accuracy is of utmost importance. There are hopes that the multinational team's participation can help speed up the identification of bodies before they are returned to their families.

Friday 9 January 2015

http://thejakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/police-coroners-aim-identify-15-airasia-crash-victims-today/

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/multinational-dvi-team-at/1577510.html

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Bodies of Air Algeria crash victims to be repatriated Jan. 13

Bodies of the 28 victims of the Air Algeria crash in July in Mali will be repatriated on Jan. 13 and not Wednesday as initially planned, according to a statement issued by the Burkina Faso Ministry of Security.

It said that the arrival of the bodies in Ouagadougou is due on Jan. 13.

The Air Algeria AH 5017 flight, hired by the Spanish airline, Swift Air, which left on July, 24, 2014, from the Ouagadougou international airport, went missing less than one hour after takeoff, shortly after changing its course because of a storm.

The wreckage of the airplane was spotted inside Malian territory by the Burkina Faso army.

Among the 116 passengers who died in the crash were 28 Burkinabes and 54 Frenchmen.

The former Burkina regime had announced the setting up of a monument in memory of the dead at the City AN II (centre-town), near the airport.

The former regime also planned to hold a commemorative ceremony in the northern city of Dori in late November in memory of the victims.

The departure of former President Blaise Compaoré, after the people’s uprising in late October, stalled the ceremony.

Thursday 8 January 2015

http://leadership.ng/news/400248/bodies-air-algeria-crash-victims-repatriated-jan-13

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QZ8501: Eight more bodies identified

Eight more bodies have been identified by the Disaster Victims Identification (DVI) team today, bringing the total number of identified victims from the ill-fated AirAsia flight QZ8501 to 24 people.

DVI Head of Police East Java, General Commissioner Budiyono confirmed that the 24 bodies have been identified and brought to Bhayangkara Hospital, here today.

The identification process of the victims was based on the post-mortem data (as primary data) and ante-mortem (secondary data).

Budiyono said, 242 DVI experts from Malaysia, Singapore, Saudi Arabia and South Korea were tasked to identify the victims.

The eight remains have been handed to their respective families for the funeral.

AirAsia plane tail found

Divers and an unmanned underwater vehicle spotted the tail of the missing AirAsia plane in the Java Sea on Wednesday, the first confirmed sighting of any major wreckage 11 days after Flight 8501 disappeared with 162 people on board, an official said.

After days of strong currents and murky water that hindered the operation, searchers managed to get a photograph of the debris, National Search and Rescue chief Henry Bambang Soelistyo told reporters.

The find is particularly important because the all-important cockpit voice and flight data recorders, or black boxes, are located in the aircraft's tail. Small pieces of the plane, such as seats, have previously been spotted.

Soelistyo said the top priority remains recovering more bodies along with the black boxes. So far, 40 corpses have been found, including an additional one announced Wednesday, but time is running out.

Wednesday 7 January 2015

http://english.astroawani.com/news/show/qz8501-eight-more-bodies-identified-police-commissioner-budiyono-51721

http://www.stripes.com/news/pacific/searchers-find-tail-of-downed-airasia-plane-40-bodies-recovered-1.322642

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Two dead, 30 missing after rockslide at Myanmar jade mine

At least two people were killed and around 30 were missing on Wednesday after a mountain of rubble collapsed at a jade mine in northern Myanmar, a parliamentarian from the area said. A worker from a mining company, speaking on condition of anonymity due the sensitivity of the issue, said the death toll could reach 50 once all bodies have been retrieved from the remains of a massive pile of rock dumped by mining companies.

The local lawmaker, Kyaw Soe Lay, said rescue workers were clearing piles of rubble in the open pit mine in Hpakant, a town in Kachin state about 110 km (68 miles) from the regional capital Myitkyina.

“The mine dump measuring about 700 feet (213 metres) in height and about 1,500 feet in length collapsed today burying eleven shops,” said the mining company worker.

Accidents are frequent in Hpakant and victims are often “handpickers” — independent miners who find jade fragments by combing through unstable mountains of rubble. Hpakant is the largest source of Myanmar jade, which netted $3.4 billion in sales at the annual gems emporium, according to The Irrawaddy, a Myanmar-focused website and magazine which cited an official from the Mines Ministry.

Estimated revenues from the illegal trade dwarf that figure.

The Harvard Ash Center published a report in July 2013 that put unofficial sales at about $8 billion in 2011 with almost all of that jade smuggled over the border into China through territory controlled by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), an ethnic insurgent group. The KIA ceded control of Hpakant to the government in 1994 when it signed a ceasefire agreement. But the ceasefire fell apart in 2011 and the government halted official mining for security reasons.

The Mines Ministry said last July it would allow companies to resume operations.

Wednesday 7 January 2015

http://www.euronews.com/newswires/2871366-two-dead-30-missing-after-rockslide-at-myanmar-jade-mine/

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8 missing after ship capsizes in NE China

Eight people are missing after a sand dredger crashed into a fishing boat and caused it to capsize in northeast China's Bohai Sea on Monday, local authorities said.

Nine crew members on board the fishing boat fell into the water after the collision happened at 5 a.m. near Suizhong County, and only one has been rescued, according to the government of Huludao City, which administers Suizhong.

The sand dredger that caused the collision later fled the scene.

The government said 14 boats and one helicopter have joined the search for the missing.

Tuesday 6 January 2015

http://www.ecns.cn/2015/01-06/149447.shtml

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QZ8501: Three more bodies identified as search enters Day 10

As search operations for the ill-fated AirAsia QZ8501 enters its tenth day, personnel from the Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) have identified three more bodies after endless hours of scouring the Java Sea in search of victims from the Dec 28 crash.

Of the 37 bodies sent to the Bhayangkara Hospital in Surabaya, 16 bodies have been successfully identified to date, said East Java Chief Police Commissioner Budiyono.

The victims are Indra Yulianto, 51, Hindarto Halim, 61 and Jou Brian Youvito, 19.

Several means of identification methods were used by the DVI squad. Yulianto and Hindarto were identified through the post-mortem and antemortem data retrieved from the CCTV at the Juanda International Airport in Singapore on Dec 28.

Meanwhile, Jou Brian Youvito’s remain was identified from a dental checkup card, university ID tag and ATM cards found in his pants.

All three victims were handed over to their respective families for funerals.

Of the 162 passengers and crew on board, 155 were Indonesian, with three South Koreans, one Singaporean, one Malaysian, one Briton and a Frenchman.

East Java Police’s Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) team working on the bodies of the victims from AirAsia Indonesia flight QZ8501 said that they had found no trace of burns on the bodies.

National Police’s DVI executive director Sr. Comr. Anton Castelani said that the bodies were in a relatively clean condition, suggesting that the plane did not catch fire or explode before impacting the water and killing 162 people on Dec. 28, 2014.

“No burns were found on the victims. Regarding the report on [how the plane crashed], the KNKT [National Transportation Safety Commission] will publish it,” Anton said on Tuesday.

He added that the bodies found have experienced advanced signs of decomposition, making it more difficult for the DVI team to identify the bodies.

“In such a case, we will use other identification methods, such as the teeth and their DNA. There are not many worries regarding the decomposition process, they can still be identified,” Anton added.

The process involves comparing the postmortem data of the victims with the antemortem data obtained from the victims’ families.

Meanwhile, National Police chief Gen. Sutarman said that all bodies found would be and could be identified, submitting to the reality that the bodies found later will take more time to identify.

Tuesday 6 January 2015

http://english.astroawani.com/news/show/qz8501-three-more-bodies-identified-search-enters-day-10-51643

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/01/06/no-burns-found-victims-bodies-dvi-team.html

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Forensic experts from Australia, Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia and UAE help identify AirAsia QZ8501 crash victims

The Australian Federal Police has sent five forensic experts to Indonesia in an effort to help identify the bodies of passengers on AirAsia flight QZ8501, authorities said on Tuesday.

Three Australian disaster victim identification officers and two Australian civilian forensic experts arrived in Surabaya, Indonesia's second largest city, Tuesday.

Together, they will join forces with 260 national and international experts in matching remains with fingerprints, dental records and bone DNA to help identify the victims.

The Australian federal government also revealed that it is prepared to provide more specialist officers when and if they are required.

"Australian agencies remain in ongoing direct contact with their Indonesian counterparts to offer support for the Indonesian response to the loss of flight QZ8501," an Australian federal government spokesperson said Tuesday.

"The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has agreed to an Indonesian request to provide a flight recorder specialist when needed." The plane plunged into the Java Sea en route to Singapore on Dec 28, killing all 162 passengers and crew members on board.

A total of 37 bodies have so far been located and are currently in the process of being identified, while the search for the remaining victims, in addition to parts of the aircraft, is ongoing.

Forensic odontology experts join Indonesian DVI team

The University of Gadjah Mada (UGM) has said it will send two forensic odontology experts to help identify the bodies of AirAsia flight QZ8501 victims that are already badly decomposed.

The two experts, Professor Sudibyo and Ahmad Syaify, were scheduled to depart for Surabaya on Tuesday. They will help the Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) team to identify the bodies of AirAsia victims that can no longer be physically identified using methods such as facial recognition and fingerprints, by examining the victims’ dental impressions.

UGM rector Dwikorita Karnawati said that since the beginning of the recovery effort, Prof. Sudibyo had been involved in identifying the AirAsia victims based on his own initiative and financial resources.

“One of the victims Prof. Sudibyo managed to identify was Hayati Lutfiah Hamid,” Dwikorita said on Monday afternoon.

Hayati was the first AirAsia victim successfully identified by the DVI team, last week.

Dwikorita said identifying human remains via dental examinations was crucial, adding that the bodies of the AirAsia victims had begun to decompose, impeding identification via other means.

“The forensic odontology method will hopefully be helpful in ensuring that all bodies can be immediately identified and returned to their families,” she said.

Prof. Sudibyo said that overall, the AirAsia victims’ bodies had been affected after being submerged in water for days and being damaged by ocean scavengers.

“To identify the bodies, the DVI team had to jump directly to the postmortem identification stage because [the victims’] faces were already damaged,” he said.

The expert said forensic odontology was the proper method to identify damaged human remains because dental components would remain relatively complete regardless of the condition of bodies.

Forensic odontology was a method applied to identify victims of a Garuda Indonesia airplane crash in Yogyakarta in 2007. Most of the bodies were difficult to identify due to burns. Sudibyo was then head of the forensic odontology team dispatched by Sardjito Hospital, Yogyakarta, to identify the victims.

Korea, UAE help identify bodies of AirAsia victims

Forensic experts from South Korea and the United Arab Emirates have joined other international experts, including from Australia and Singapore, in helping to identify victims of AirAsia flight QZ8501, which crashed into Karimata Strait waters while en route from Surabaya to Singapore on Dec.28.

“Five forensic and identification experts from the UAE and a DNA expert from South Korea have been working with 229 other experts to identify the victims’ bodies since 9 a.m. today,” the National Police’s Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) director Sr.Comr.Anton Casilani told journalists at the DVI post at the East Java Police headquarters in Surabaya, Tuesday.

He said an identification team from Malaysia was also expected to arrive in Surabaya on Wednesday.

Ten Singaporean experts and 14 Australian experts have also been dispatched to assist in the identification process.

“The joint identification team comprising experts from several countries will be divided into two groups. The first group consists of experts responsible for postmortem identification tasks. The second group comprises experts assigned to reconcile or integrate antemortem and postmortem data. Several DNA experts are also part of the second group,” said Anton.

He further explained that to date, the DVI team had collected DNA samples of 162 passengers and crew members on board the flight, 36 of which still needed to be reviewed further. To that end, the team was collecting DNA samples from the families of the victims.

“Up till now, the DVI team has recovered the bodies of 37 AirAsia victims, of which 13 have been identified and handed over to their families,” said Anton.

Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Indroyono Soesilo said Indonesia had mobilized its sophisticated technologies, including a remote operated vehicle (ROV), to search for the crucial black box flight recorders from the missing aircraft.

“The ROV will carry out a search operation that will reach the bottom of the sea because it would be difficult for divers to carry out underwater search operations on account of the mud at the bottom of the [Karimata Strait] waters,” he said in Surabaya on Monday.

Indroyono said the underwater search operation would be assisted by a pinger locater on research vessel KR Baruna Jaya I belonging to the Assessment and Application of Technology Agency BPPT), which has been working with the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) over the last several days.

“Baruna Jaya I is equipped with technologically advanced equipment, such as a pinger locator and magnetometer to detect signals transmitted from the black box,” said Indroyono.

Tuesday 6 January 2015

http://www.firstpost.com/world/australian-forensic-experts-help-identify-airasia-qz8501-crash-victims-2032001.html

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/01/06/korea-uae-help-identify-bodies-airasia-victims.html

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/01/06/ugm-sends-forensic-odontology-experts-help-identify-airasia-victims.html

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Wreck of Cemfjord cargo ship found

The wreck of the cargo ship Cemfjord, which sank in the Pentland Firth with eight men on board, has been located on the seabed.

It was found in the eastern approaches to the Firth by the lighthouse tender, Pharos, using sonar equipment.

The upturned hull of the Cemfjord - which was carrying cement - was spotted by a passing ferry on Saturday and sank the following day.

No trace was found of its crew despite a huge search operation.

The seven Polish nationals and one Filipino who were on board did not have time to send out a distress signal.

A liferaft from the cargo ship has also been discovered drifting in the Pentland Firth, but coastguards said there were no signs of life on board and that the liferaft had not been used.

The Shetland coastguard helicopter was sent to investigate at 14:00 on Monday after a passing vessel reported seeing the liferaft.

A winchman was lowered on board but found no signs that anyone had used it.

The ship was carrying 2,000 tonnes of cement and had been sailing from Aalborg in Denmark to Runcorn in Cheshire when it sank. It had been due to arrive on Monday.

Operators Brise of Hamburg expressed "great sadness" that the extensive air and sea search had found no trace of the missing crew.

The last confirmed sighting of the ship was at about 13:00 on Friday.

It is understood the alarm was raised by the crew of the ferry Hrossey at 14:30 on Saturday.

The Hrossey, which was sailing to Aberdeen, spent time in the area looking for survivors.

An investigation into the circumstances of the accident is ongoing.

Tuesday 6 January 2015

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-30689218

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Weather hampers search for ship survivors off Vietnam

Bad weather hampered a search on Monday for 16 Philippine seamen missing since their cargo ship sank off Vietnam, a Vietnamese rescue official said.

The Bulk Jupiter, owned by Bermuda-based Gearbulk Holdings, was carrying 46,400 metric tons of bauxite bulk from Malaysia to China, the company said.

It sent out a distress signal early on Friday. One crew member, the ship's chef, has been rescued and two bodies, including that of the captain, have been recovered.

"The weather is very bad with high waves and strong winds," said Pham Hien, vice president of the Vung Tau Maritime Rescue Coordination Center, which is leading the search.

"We are all hoping but until now, no further survivor has been found," he told Reuters by telephone.

Vietnam has asked Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and China to help in the search and authorities are working with the sole survivor to try to determine why the ship capsized and sank.

Gearbulk Holdings said relatives of the crew had been notified.

"Our focus is now on the search and rescue operation and to look after the families affected,"

Tuesday 6 January 2015

http://www.thanhniennews.com/society/hopes-fade-for-ship-survivors-off-vietnam-as-weather-hampers-search-37197.html

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Fierce heat on charred Greek ferry slows search for bodies

Italian firefighters and forensic experts searching for bodies inside a fire-charred ferry braved fierce heat and thick, black smoke Monday for the third straight day but still did not reach the crucial site where the blaze broke out, authorities said.

The experts have been trying to get into the Norman Atlantic ferry's car deck, where a pre-dawn blaze began Dec. 28 while the ship sailed from Greece to Italy, Brindisi Coast Guard Capt. Mario Valente said. High temperatures generated by a slow-burning fire, however, have kept them away.

With strong winds blowing Monday, workers attached cables to make the ferry's mooring at the dock more secure.

The ferry fire has claimed at least 11 lives. Greece says as many as 19 people might be still unaccounted for; Italy says that figure could be higher. There are fears that some drivers were sleeping in their trucks when the blaze began or that illegal migrants might have stowed away inside vehicles.

Italy says 477 people on the ferry were rescued. Nine bodies were recovered; two bodies were spotted in rough waters in the Mediterranean Sea but weren't able to be recovered.

Some relatives, including those of a missing Italian trucker, waited anxiously for news from a coroner's office in Brindisi. But the autopsies, which they hope might help identify loved ones among the bodies, have been delayed until Jan. 12 for technical reasons.

Monday 5 January 2015

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2015/01/05/5426399/fierce-heat-on-charred-greek-ferry.html#.VKrVceOsURo

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AirAsia: More bodies and plane parts found on 8th day of search

As the search for AirAsia Flight QZ8501 stretched into its eighth day, the Java Sea continued to slowly give up the remains of the 162 victims aboard the ill-fated flight, as well as wreckage of the aircraft.

At least four more bodies were recovered on Sunday, bringing the count to 34. The remains were transferred by helicopter to the processing center in Pangkalan Bun, Indonesia, to the north of the search area.

The developments came as Indonesian officials announced that they had identified three more bodies -- two female passengers and a male flight attendant.

Additional wreckage was spotted overnight, measuring almost 10 meters (33 feet) by 1 meter.

Sunday's progress was not as great as searchers had hoped. It was forecast to be the best day weather-wise for the search, but choppy seas once again hindered the operation.

Initial compensation offered

As many endured the agonizing wait for news of their loved ones, CNN obtained details of initial compensation packages from AirAsia to the families of the victims.

Several family members told CNN on Sunday that families of those on board the plane were presented with a draft letter from AirAsia outlining details of preliminary compensation.

The letter states that families are entitled to about $24,000 for each family member who was on the plane.

While some families signed the letter, others requested revisions to the wording.

This compensation money is for any "financial hardships" during this period of the search, and in the letters AirAsia stressed that it was not a confirmation that their family members were deceased.

Search continues

Taking advantage of better weather, the surface search area has been extended to the east, Marsdya Bambang Sulistyo, head of the Indonesian Search and Rescue agency, told reporters Sunday.

Although there has been an improvement in conditions, they remain difficult, with heavy rain and high waves continuing to hamper recovery efforts.

The surface search's extension was based on predictions that the remains of the victims, along with wreckage from the aircraft, have drifted with the current.

The priority surface and underwater search areas remained the same, he added.

Twenty aircraft and 27 ships were involved in Sunday's search. Divers are on standby but the underwater search was halted due to poor visibility and strong currents.

Three more bodies -- still wearing seat belts -- were spotted on Friday, an Indonesian marine corps major, Professor De Greatsman, said.

Search teams have found several large pieces of debris believed to be parts of the aircraft. Sulistyo said the latest objects -- including one that is 18 meters long -- were located by sonar in the priority search area.

Searchers came upon the metal parts after spotting an oil slick late Friday.

Divers searching in the depths of the Java Sea for wreckage from AirAsia Flight QZ8501 say big waves on the surface aren't the only difficulty they're facing. They also can't see in front of them down on the sea floor.

The diving teams who made their way to the bottom of the sea Sunday encountered muddy waters with zero visibility, according to officials.

The Indonesian Navy has sent special equipment to try to tackle the muddy conditions, Indonesian military chief Gen. Moeldoko said Monday.

U.S. Navy divers assisting in the search have already been using side-scan sonar gear, which is designed to map the sea floor and capture accurate images for analysis.

When they find submerged wreckage, divers could also face challenges like "jagged edges, torn fuselage, things hanging all over the place," said Geno Gargiulo, an experienced commercial diver in the United States.

"It's going to be dark inside -- a lot of things for a diver to get snagged on, for its umbilical to get caught up on, to get disoriented," said Gargiulo, who says he's helped in the aftermath of recent catastrophes, including the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

Highlighting the complexity of the challenge, Moeldoko said Monday that one large piece of wreckage initially believed to be part of the aircraft turned out to actually be from a ship.

Objects obscured by waves

The ships and aircraft looking for remains from Flight QZ8501 have so far recovered 37 bodies and detected several large pieces of wreckage believed to be from the commercial jet, according to Indonesian officials.

But they still haven't located the main body of the plane and the all-important flight recorders.

Some of the bodies found over the weekend were still wearing seat-belts, search officials said.

The bad weather conditions brought about by Indonesia's monsoon -- including strong winds, thick clouds, heavy rain and big waves -- have hindered the teams' efforts during nine days of searching.

"As soon as you see something in the distance, it disappears behind a wave -- and then it's very difficult to try and spot it again," said CNN's Paula Hancocks, who spent 15 hours out on a search vessel Sunday.

Sinking bodies

Anton Castilani, head of the Disaster Victims Identification unit, is eager to get the rest of the victims out of the water before they sink to the bottom of the sea. He is in charge of identifying them and said that gases in the bodies that keep them afloat disperse after a few days in the water.

He urged families to be patient with his team as they identify loved ones. He wants to do his work right. "We have to make sure that we have to return that right body to the right family," he said.

Decomposition also slows his work down. "The later the dead bodies come to you, the harder you work," he said. His team uses fingerprints and dental records as well as DNA to find out who they have recovered.

Recoveries, identifications

On Friday, the USS Sampson, which the U.S. Navy has deployed to help, recovered some bodies.

A limited number of them will be autopsied to determine the cause of death to aid the investigation, an Indonesian official said Saturday. But many families don't want autopsies done.

"For the sake of the investigation, we agree, and it is accepted by Interpol, to perform autopsies on the pilot, co-pilot and some randomly selected passengers," said East Java Police Chief Anas Yusuf.

Nine of the plane's victims have been identified with the addition of the three victims' names on Sunday.

Search priorities

Finding the fuselage and flight data recorders of the Airbus A320-200 has priority for the 59 diving teams searching underneath the waves. Russia has joined the effort with 22 underwater teams along with a search plane and a cargo jet.

The searchers are concentrating on a 1,575-square-nautical-mile zone that officials believe is the most probable area to find the remains of the aircraft.

Monday 5 January 2015

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/01/04/world/asia/airasia-disaster/

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/01/05/world/asia/airasia-disaster/

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AirAsia flight QZ8501: 3 more passengers' bodies identified

The East Java Police's Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) team has released the names of three passengers aboard AirAsia QZ8501 whose bodies have been identified.

"In identifying the victims, the DVI team analyzed primary and secondary data," the team said as quoted by kompas.com in a press conference at Bhayangkara Police Hospital in Surabaya on Sunday.

The primary data used to identify the victims included such personal markers as fingerprints while the secondary data included identification of sexual organs and accessories they wore, the team said.

Following requests from the families of those on ill-fated AirAsia flight QZ8501, police will not allow media to cover the transfer of bodies identified by its Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) team.

East Java Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Awi Setiyono announced on Saturday that the press would no longer be permitted to cover such transfers, as happened with the first four bodies.

“We plead with our journalist friends: There’s no need for the transfer to be covered. The families have objected. This is a private matter, let’s respect this,” Awi told reporters on Saturday.

The spokesman said the objections were mainly aimed at live television coverage.

On Saturday in Surabaya, the bodies of two more victims were returned to families without a ceremony.

“In both cases, we have a match between ante mortem and post mortem data,” Awi said.

Six bodies have been returned to families as of Saturday, seven days after contact with the plane, which was en route from Surabaya to Singapore, was lost.

Separately, 12 more bodies arrived at Bhayangkara Hospital for identification on Saturday, flown in from Pangkalan Bun, Central Kalimantan, where bodies and debris found at the crash site in the Karimata Strait have been taken.

A total of 30 bodies have been flown to the hospital, including the six returned to families. Awi said two more bodies would soon be returned to families, with two others at the final stage of identification. The rest were still undergoing identification.

Awi said the police were collecting DNA data from victims’ families.

East Java forensic team member Sr. Comr. Hery Wijayatmoko said the team was relying on DNA data. “After being in the water for [seven days, it’s difficult to obtain fingerprints],” Hery said.

He said that the bodies were first labeled and separated based on gender and nationality.

The latter stages involved examining the bodies for post mortem data, including dental documentation, property found on the bodies, as well as fingerprints and DNA data.

“It’s not easy, but we have many experts on the team to help speed up the process,” he said.

A number of forensic experts have joined the team, including those from Brawijaya University in Malang, East Java; Gajah Mada Univeristy in Yogyakarta and the University of Indonesia (UI) in Jakarta.

UI forensic expert Budi Sampurna said that police would autopsy the bodies of the pilot, co-pilot and some of the passengers for their investigation.

“Not all the passengers’ bodies will be subject to autopsy. We’re taking only a sample, because not all the families approve [of this method],” Budi said.

Singapore deploys DVI team A Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) team comprising six officers from the Singapore Police Force (SPF) and two forensic experts from the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) departed earlier today for Surabaya to assist Indonesia in identifying victims of the recent AirAsia QZ8501 tragedy.

Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs and Foreign Affairs Mr Masagos Zulkifli joined family members to send off the DVI team at Changi Airport.

Superintendent (Supt) Sng May Yen, who was also part of the DVI team deployed to Phuket during the aftermath of the 2004 Asian tsunami, said that the team will "do our best and try to help as many families as possible."

He said on Facebook: "We will do all we can to support our Indonesian friends in these difficult times. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and loved ones of the victims."

Sunday 4 January 2014

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/01/04/families-tell-cops-return-bodies-without-media-coverage.html

http://www.straitstimes.com/news/asia/south-east-asia/story/airasia-flight-qz8501-3-more-passengers-bodies-identified-20150104

http://www.straitstimes.com/news/asia/south-east-asia/story/singapore-sends-team-help-identify-bodies-those-board-airasia-flight

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Explosives trigger mine collapse in Mohmand; 10 dead

At least 10 people were killed on Saturday when a marble mine collapsed in the Safi tehsil of Mohmand Agency. Officials expect the death toll could rise.

Local miner Mir Wais Khan said the incident took place at Jalat Haji marble mine at Khanqah Ziarat mountain in Safi at 3pm. “Around 15 people – 11 miners, two truckers and their two helpers – were at the site when the mine caved in,” he told The Express Tribune by phone.

After the incident, other miners rushed to the site, called heavy machinery from other mines and started a rescue operation. “Four bodies, including that of a trucker, have been pulled out from underneath the huge boulders,” he said, adding that a seriously injured miner was also recovered and shifted to hospital where he is said to be in a critical condition. “There are slim chances of finding more survivors,” he added.

A political administration official, Miraj Khan, confirmed 10 fatalities. “Troops from the Khasadar force and Frontier Corps are also helping with the rescue operation which is ongoing,” he added.

Senator Hilal Rehman claimed that the mine collapsed as the miners used explosives to excavate marble from the mine. “The government should provide the mines with heavy machinery and build a social security hospital at the site as the Fata secretariat and political administration receive billions of rupees annually in taxes from these mines,” he said.

Mine management in Pakistan lacks preventive and protective measures, as a result the number of fatal accidents is high.

Workers endure harsh conditions in makeshift mud shacks or in villages devoid of basic facilities.

Accidents are not recorded in the registry as required by law, and often go unchecked. Mine workers in Pakistan get a pittance for work considered one of the highest-risk activities in the world in terms of safety and health.

Sunday 4 January 2014

http://tribune.com.pk/story/816892/disaster-in-mohmand-explosives-trigger-mine-collapse-10-dead/

http://www.dawn.com/news/1154860

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Many bodies of AirAsia passengers won’t be autopsied

Investigators won’t conduct autopsies on most of the bodies recovered from the AirAsia airliner that crashed into the Java Sea, paying mind to cultural sensibilities regarding respect for the dead in this largely conservative, Muslim nation.

Doctors will conduct autopsies on the plane’s crew to detect any possible presence of toxic agents, banned drugs or alcohol. The bodies of foreign nationals will also undergo autopsy in line with international rules.

Officials in Surabaya said Saturday that a “sampling” of passengers on the flight would also undergo autopsies but declined to comment further on how many and which passengers they would be.

For Indonesians on Flight 8501, an autopsy can be conducted only if written consent is obtained from relatives or if police open a criminal investigation in which the autopsy is needed as part of evidence, Dr. Anton Castilani, the director of Indonesia’s Disaster Victims Identification unit, said Saturday.

One autopsy had been completed as of Saturday, according to DVI officials, who declined to comment on the cause of death.

Many Indonesians are reluctant to grant permission for an autopsy, even if it could provide insight into a relative’s final moments. Muslims, in particular, prefer that the deceased are buried as soon as possible after recovery.

Indonesia normally doesn’t conduct autopsies on victims of air or ferry disasters, Dr. Castilani told The Wall Street Journal in an interview.

“There are cultural issues,” Dr. Castilani said. “People refuse to allow autopsies.”

Jonathan Galaviz, partner at Global Market Advisors and an aviation expert, said that autopsies on passengers aren’t mandatory in the U.S. and Europe and wouldn’t be standard procedures in many jurisdictions.

While autopsies may indicate whether a passenger was likely killed on impact or drowned, the more relevant data points on how the plane went down will come from the analysis of the black boxes.

“For most of the passengers, the cause of death is the crash and the data from the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder will most certainly reveal the cause of the crash,” Mr. Galaviz said.

In the U.S., autopsy isn't mandatory for the crew, Mr. Galaviz said. Instead, blood samples need to be taken from their bodies to rule out drugs and alcohol.

“An autopsy would be a very normal thing as part of a suspicious or unexpected death like this” though religious considerations can be taken into account, said Graham Braithwaite, professor of safety and accident investigation at Cranfield University in the U.K. The pathological assessments can also become important during later litigation in determining payouts, he said.

Indonesian police haven’t classified the probe into the crash as a criminal investigation, said Dr. Castilani, who is both a senior police superintendent and a medical doctor. He is leading the effort to identify victims after their bodies are recovered at sea and carried out similar work in the 2002 Bali terror bombings.

For Dr. Castilani, physical examination of the bodies can yield clues and help analyze what happened.

“As the police doctor, you should have your own mind if you find something suspicious,” Dr. Castilani said.

By Saturday, 30 bodies had been recovered, the majority of them “mostly intact,” Dr. Castilani said. He was unwilling to speculate on what conclusions can be drawn from examinations so far.

The identification process is under way in Surabaya, the city on eastern Java island where the flight to Singapore originated. By Saturday afternoon, six bodies sent to the forensics teams had been identified.

Budi Sampurna, forensics professor at the University of Indonesia, who is assisting with the identification, said autopsies may be difficult to conduct “because the bodies are in water for too long, and signs would have been gone.”

Mr. Sampurna said that identification is the priority for the forensics teams.

Sunday 4 January 2014

http://www.wsj.com/articles/many-bodies-of-airasia-passengers-wont-be-autopsied-officials-say-1420307128

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Mt Erebus disaster – template for all subsequent air disaster recoveries

This week the Indonesian Navy has been trying to recover some of the 162 bodies from the Air Asia flight which crashed into the Java Sea. A grim and dangerous way to end a year in which 1,320 people have perished in air crashes. The long-term global trend may be for crashes to become increasingly rare, but 2014 was the worst year for fatalities in nearly a decade.

And recovering the bodies from these disasters is one of the more unpleasant, and sometimes perilous, jobs around.

One man knows all about this. Bob Mitchell, now 73, was in charge of attempting to recover the bodies of 257 who died when they crashed into the side of Mount Erebus, in Antarctica, 35 years ago.

It was a sightseeing flight that went terribly wrong and which still attracts conspiracy theories to this day.

But the search and recovery of the bodies became the template for all subsequent air disaster recoveries, from last year’s shocking shooting down of a Malaysian Airlines plane over Ukraine to the Lockerbie disaster of 1988.

Mitchell was immediately aware of the significance of the Erebus crash. On November 28, 1979 he was an inspector in the New Zealand police force and specialist in search and rescue. He had, by chance, spent the day teaching a course in victim identification, before heading off to an early Christmas party.

“I had just got home and was sitting down to dinner when the phone went. It was my boss who told me I had better come in. “At the time it was the fourth largest air disaster in history and I knew straightaway this was going to be a biggie.”

Bob Mitchell says: "The 257 bodies didn’t bother me a great deal because it goes with the territory."

In New Zealand, search, rescue and recovery of bodies is a police job. The fact that the plane had crashed 2,500 miles away in one of the most inhospitable areas on the planet was not relevant. The plane was an Air New Zealand DC10 and the great majority of the passengers were Kiwis.

Mitchell had just a few hours to gather a small team of policeman together, collect some cold weather kit from a Polar expedition base, and fly to Antarctica on a Hercules.

While Mitchell comes across as very level headed, many of the team were overwhelmed by the scene of death and destruction they encountered, in particular, Stuart Leighton, who was just 22 at the time.

“We had no idea what Antarctica would throw at us. We just knew it would be dangerous.”

Even for the experienced policemen, the scale and the freezing temperatures were something they had never encountered.

Leighton recalls: “There was a lot of mutilation with a lot of the bodies. It was grotesque. It was overwhelming. I personally felt a little bit out of my depth.

“I had the thought, 'I don’t belong here. This is for the big boys’.”

Mitchell admits now that Leighton was probably too young to have been part of the mission.

The team leader’s main concern was not the sight of corpses scattered across the glacier -- “The 257 bodies didn’t bother me a great deal because it goes with the territory” -- but the safety of his team.

How they would cope with the sudden winds that would suddenly pick up bits metallic debris turning them into missiles that flew across the site, how they would avoid falling into the numerous fissures in the ice, how they would be able to recover 257 individual corpses, bag them up and return them to the New Zealand mortuary to be identified before the ice runway at the McMurdo station melted?

Mitchell instituted an efficient system, dividing the crash site into a grid. Each corpse, or part of a body, was numbered according to who found the victim and where they were found. “I am a chess player. So, I used the international correspondence chess method of numbering the grid of the crash site.”

He remains a very serious international chess player to this day. And it is a method still used in disaster sites. It helped the team back in New Zealand to match dental records and fingerprints with the passenger list.

After setting up the operation, he spent most of the fortnight at the McMurdo base camp – 70 miles from Mr Erebus. Meanwhile his team slept in tents at the crash site itself. Every day they would laboriously pick through the wreckage, along with the help of a team of mountaineers and photographers.

Viewers of the documentary are left in little doubt it was a gruesome job. Mitchell says: “If anything the film understates it. There is no easy way to deal with a body. You have to pick it up, put a label on it, and you have to handle it. You can’t airbrush it. And some of those bodies were very difficult to get to.”

Some had fallen down a ravine, caused by the burning engine melting the glacier. Many were difficult to put into a standard body bag. Leighton recalls: “These bodies were frozen solid. Whatever grotesque shape they landed in, that’s what they froze into.”

All of the team remember the stench of the disaster.

Mitchell says: “The smell of kerosene, jet fuel, takes me straight back to Erebus. It’s not that I get flashbacks, but I immediately remember.” There were other challenging aspects of the mission, not least the endless presence of loud and aggressive skua gulls, carrion-eating birds of the Antarctica, who kept on pecking at the corpses. The team resorted to burying the bodies again under the snow, once they had been bagged up, to stop the birds getting to them.

They were there for just 14 days but they never stopped working. The perpetual daylight of the South Pole meant that they worked around the clock, 12 hours on, 12 hours off, but never properly resting nor escaping the tragedy, even when having a meal.

Leighton says: “We had one set of gloves while we were there. They were baked with the fatty human remains, the soot, the whatever, and you ended up having to use the same set of gloves to put food in your mouth.”

It is perhaps unsurprising that the experience has severely affected the policeman, who then was just a young man.

“I remember thinking, 'Oh my God, I hope this is not going to traumatise me, I hope this isn’t going to completely screw me when I get back.’ Because I knew it had the potential to do so. And unfortunately it did.”

At the time there was very no proper counselling for the team when they returned. He has spent most of the rest of his life trying to come to terms with that fortnight.

Mitchell, for his part, says though he does not like to dwell on the past, “but there needs to be an opportunity for people to unwind. Stu Leighton’s life has been stuffed up by the fact he did not get the full opportunity to let people know.”

For all the scars some of the team were left with, it was a successful mission. Of the 257 victims, 213 were successfully identified. The Royal Commission into the causes of the crash ruled it was not pilot error but rather errors by Air New Zealand in allowing sightseeing flights to go too low and for changing the course of the flight, without telling the crew. It proved a controversial conclusion and was challenged. The police, however, were universally praised for their recovery mission.

And Mitchell is clear that air crashes, and body recovery, will remain part and parcel of modern life, despite improvements in aviation design. “The airliners are getting bigger and they still crash.”

Sunday 4 January 2014

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/aviation/11322102/Mt-Erebus-disaster-where-air-crash-recovery-learnt-its-grisly-trade.html

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