Over 181 people died in Victoria Day disaster of 1881

For the past two weeks we have been looking at the terrible tragedy that occurred on May 24, 1881 in the usually placid waters of the Thames River between downtown London and Springbank Park. It is a difficult tragedy for us to grasp today, in in a time of much safer travel and our benign view of the Thames River as it lazily drifts through Chatham-Kent on its way to Lake St. Clair. How, we wonder, could anything that tragic happen in such a shallow and narrow body of water?

Last week we were there when the over-loaded paddle wheel excursion steamer, the Victoria, tipped over in the Thames and the upper deck crashed onto the lower deck and the boat sank in 17 feet of water within a remarkably short period of time.

Some survivors managed to escape the horror and make it to shore and then returned to the waters to help pull bodies from beneath the wreckage and place them on board another excursion steamer. The Princess Louise had quickly transformed itself from a boat of pleasure to a morgue.

Many of the bodies brought ashore showed signs of the terrible struggles, open wounds that were bleeding profusely. Many of the faces were terribly disfigured, while others in death showed the terror on their faces.

The late afternoon was quickly filled with heroic actions in brave attempts to save others. Stories about the immediate aftermath of the sinking abound and many were saved due to superhuman efforts on the part of fellow passengers and passersby. However, there were other tales to be told as well.

Many of the bodies were not identified properly, causing much grief to people when they were told of the loss of a loved one, only to discover that the rescuers had made an error in identification. And so the stories went on, each as terrifying and bizarre as the next one. Entire families were wiped out and people watched in horror as loved ones died before their eyes.

Between the hours of 8 p.m. and 9 p.m., the Thames gave up one victim almost every minute. In that hour, 59 bodies were retrieved. By 10 p.m., 152 lifeless bodies had been taken from the muddy waters.

As darkness closed in, bonfires were lit to assist rescuers in their gruesome task, and in a mistaken interpretation one European newspaper drew sketches that indicated the bodies taken from the Thames were for some odd health reason being burned on the spot!

Thieves, as in any other time past or present, also worked through the night stealing watches, jewelry or money when the overworked police officers were not looking.

Hearses, carriages for hire and wagons were in short supply, as were the drivers. Many of them charged exorbitant prices and one driver, in a hurry to carry even more corpses, took a body to its home, found no one there and decided to open a window and gently slide the corpse through the window onto the floor. He then quickly returned for another gruesome load. Another driver left a lifeless body sitting up in a chair in the family home with only a brief, hastily-scribbled note.

Funerals went on for a full week and a general pall of gloom hung over the city. In a London South neighbourhood, on one city block, five funerals were held from six homes. In total it is believed that at least 181 people lost their lives that day in the tranquil waters of the Thames.

By Aug. 8 the hulk of the Victoria, which had remained not far from her dock for over two months, was finally dismantled before the winter set in. The machinery and boiler were sold for scrap and no one in London wanted any reminders of a pleasure craft that, on a glorious May morning a short time before, so many had wanted to clamour on-board and celebrate a time that seemed so full of life, promise and joy.

A follow-up story on a much more positive note came to me earlier this year from a reader (Jane Blake) in London. She told me that although her cousin Eloise Lawson perished that day, her grandmother (Sally Walker) survived due to a lie and a secret liaison with her boyfriend.

Sally, who was 15 at the time, was supposed to be on the Victoria that day with her cousin Eloisa, but in secret had made plans to go for a picnic with her boyfriend instead. Eloisa “covered” for her by telling both families that they were going together on the excursion aboard the Victoria.

When Sally returned home to an empty house late that afternoon, hysterical neighbours informed her of the terrible tragedy and that Sally’s family was at the pier trying to identify her body. Quick-thinking Sally rushed down to the area where the drowning victims were being brought ashore. Making sure that her dress, hair and face were wet and muddy she proceeded to find her much relieved parents, who celebrated for years after this their daughter’s “miraculous survival”!

Friday 15 May 2015

http://www.chathamdailynews.ca/2015/05/15/over-181-people-died-in-victoria-day-disaster-of-1881

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How the mountains hid the disaster – reaching the remote communities after the earthquake in Nepal

Kathmandu had already hit the headlines worldwide. ‘Whole streets and squares in the capital of more than one million people were covered in rubble. Stunned residents stared at temples that were once part of their daily lives and now were reduced to nothing,” wrote CNN a day after the 7.8 magnitude earthquake. Locals call it earthquake 72 as this year is 2072 in the Nepalese calendar.

In the early days there were already estimates that the rural areas were badly hit but the mountains hid the worst of the effects.

The road to Chautara in Sindhupalchok winds steeply upwards towards the town which sits 1,600m above sea level. Four days after the quake, the area initially looked relatively untroubled. Some houses had been destroyed but people had already set up tarpaulins and many houses are standing without visible cracks.

But as the road gets narrower and damage is more devastating. The scenery changes from the breathtaking beauty to overwhelming destruction. Village after village completely destroyed.

The town of Sangachok is one of them and the smell of death is inescapable. The whole village gathered to watch a Chinese search and rescue team dig through the ruins of a house. Two victims were somewhere under the rubble – an adult and a baby, both dead, the villagers say.

According to the locals there were 2,100 houses in the area before the earthquake. Just over 200 are left. More than a hundred people have been killed and drinking water was running out.

“Thank you for coming here and taking all this information. But please go to the remote villages. It is much worse there,” urged a teenage boy who showed a notebook where the villagers have gathered information about people who were lost and found.

The journey continues through other destroyed villages and after a while the road slopes down to Chautara – a town that was expected to have withstood a quake.

But the streets were choked with rubble. In the bazaar, rescuers were digging furiously as word spread that someone was alive under the debris.

The district hospital nearby is still standing but too dangerous to use. The patients had been moved to a few tents on the football field close by. The sight was surreal.

A young boy asked for a tarpaulin – he is spending his nights without shelter, as do most people in town, even now. There was no electricity and the petrol had run out. People had given up hoping helicopters would come to their rescue. The situation is bleak.

A week later, I returned to Chautara and it is slowly waking up. Some stores are open and streets have been cleared slightly but there is still rubble everywhere. People have started building shelters from whatever they can find.

Khriss, 12, likes Real Madrid and wants to be a football player. At the moment he sleeps in a tent on a football field. He doesn’t talk about it but you can tell that he may no longer have a home. The days are as difficult as the nights for Khriss – there is nothing to do and nowhere to go. He spends his time practising his English with international aid workers.

The Red Cross has built a field hospital next to Khriss’s tent. It is fully equipped with an x-ray machine, wards, operating theatre and a free pharmacy. Many people still have untreated fractures from the earthquake; mostly pelvis, legs, hands, says the nurse operating the x-ray machine.

The village of Pipaldanda is not far away from Chautara and the road is good enough for at least motorcycles and jeeps. But the whole village is demolished. There are no search and rescue teams here, but bodies are still found as people go through the ruins. An old man has just buried his wife. He also lost his home and fears that the aid won’t reach him because he is illiterate.

There has been some food distribution and you can see some tarps, but it’s evident that a lot of help is still needed.

In Kubende, another village close to Chautara, people are gathered in front of the local school. A Japanese organisation has just distributed food to the village. But there is also another reason people are spending time there. A local man tells that the school yard is now home to 50 people. They have no shelter, electricity or even a torch. “All we have is the sun and the moon,” he says.

It’s now just over two weeks since Earthquake 72. The Red Cross alone has distributed over 30,000 tarps or tents and 100,000 more are expected to arrive soon. Red Cross health facilities have treated thousands of people and its specialist sanitation teams are providing access to safe drinking water. Families, neighbours and strangers are helping each other. Numerous local students and other people are volunteering.

Still, it is estimated that 500,000 homes are destroyed or damaged. The quake has pulled not only Sindhupalchowk but many parts of Nepal back at least a generation. It is clear that the local authorities and the international community have a lot more work to do. Monsoon season is just weeks away which threatens to bring a fresh wave of misery to millions.

Friday 15 May 2015

http://www.ifrc.org/en/news-and-media/news-stories/asia-pacific/nepal/how-the-mountains-hid-the-disaster--reaching-the-remote-communities-after-the-earthquake-in-nepal-68649/#sthash.pqghVf2t.dpuf

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A painful wait to bury Kosovo's war victims

For 16 years in one small village in Kosovo's central region, the relatives of missing war victims visited empty graves. Some had photographs, some did not.

But it was at least a place where they could bring flowers, talk to the picture, and mourn the loss of a loved one whose body had not been found. "We waited for a long time - 16 years," said 62-year-old Habib Morina.

Morina's brother, uncle, and cousins were killed in the early hours of April 17, 1999, in the village of Cikatova e Vjeter, allegedly by Serbian security forces, during the 1998-1999 war in Kosovo.

"We knew they were dead. But we wanted to know where the bodies were," Morina said from a tent in the capital Pristina.

Ethnic-Serb President Slobodan Milosevic's forces cracked down on separatist ethnic-Albanian rebels and their civilian supporters in the late 1990s. The conflict in Kosovo killed about 13,000 people, most of them ethnic Albanians.

By the time the war came to an end after 78 days of NATO air strikes, which drove out Milosevic's military, police and paramilitary forces, an estimated 4,500 people were missing.

Another relative, 48-year-old Zylfije Morina, also lost her husband when he was killed in the same village. His body disappeared as well. "It was very hard. It was even harder when we used to visit their empty graves," she said.

The Morina family has waited since that fateful day to receive news that the remains of missing relatives had been found and a DNA or blood sample match had been made.

Last fall, they finally received the news and began making preparations for a proper reburial.

They chose April 17, 2015, the 16th anniversary of the massacre in Cikatova e Vjeter, as the day for the ceremony.

Habib Morina and his 29-year-old son, Behar, travelled to Kosovo from the US state of California, where they have lived as refugees since June 1999. They had come to join other relatives to finally bury the remains of 19 war victims from the Morina family who were found in a mass grave in Serbia last year.

Prenkë Gjetaj, head of the Kosovo government's commission on missing persons, said to date 900 bodies had been found in mass graves in Serbia and transported to Kosovo. His office is responsible for coordinating with local and international partners on the process for finding missing war victims.

Gjetaj said last year the remains of 54 war victims, including those from the Morina family, were found in one mass grave in Rudnica, Serbia. "Everything was done in order to hide the truth, the tracks of the crime," Gjetaj said, describing how the army moved bodies of war victims from Kosovo to unidentified locations in Serbia, where many still lay hidden.

According to the commission, there are 1,650 people still missing from the war period.

More than 10,000 people had been killed and Gjetaj admitted the process of finding the missing is long and difficult, but, he said, "we must do it".

With the help of the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) - created in 1996 to help resolve the fate of those missing from the conflicts in the former Republic of Yugoslavia - blood samples from Kosovo's war victims were analysed.

In an effort to show the country the missing war victims are not forgotten, this year, the government launched the country's first "Missing Persons Week", scheduled to coincide with the commemoration of the April 27, 1999 massacre in Meja, considered to be the worst massacre of the conflict.

A monument dedicated to the 1,650 still missing was unveiled recently in the garden of Kosovo's parliament.

"To mark this date, we had activities for a week, by visiting family members, the places where the crimes took place, memorials, as a sign of honour, as a sign to show the people that we are still committed and working on shedding light on the fate of their most loved ones," said Gjetaj.

Driton Morina, 34, remembers the sweater his father wore before he was killed. The sweater, along with other tattered clothing found with his father's remains, was stiff from the dirt and dried mud.

Morina refused to bury the clothes with his father's remains because he wanted to keep them as evidence for future generations that the crime happened. He said he hopes that one day they will be shown in a museum in Kosovo.

"The strange thing is that this happened in Europe, this happened in the Balkans, and the strange thing is that the new government in the country that committed these crimes is not apologising, is not saying even sorry for the crimes that they have done," Morina said.

The day before the reburial, close relatives of the Morina family came to Pristina's main hospital to sign the paperwork that they've officially collected the remains, which were laid out in coffins and draped with the Albanian flag.

Some family members insisted on seeing the bones and clothing found in the grave.

"Usually ... we prefer for families not to open [the caskets], and to remember them as they were," said Arsim Gerxaliu, head of the Department of Forensic Medicine under the Ministry of Justice.

"But some families insist on seeing the remains - the bones - and we cannot stop them because they have a right to check the bones," Gerxaliu explained.

Forty-seven members of Gerxaliu's family were killed in the war, and he said it is his responsibility to bring the remains of other war victims back to their families.

He said he had travelled to Serbia 97 times since 1999 to search for and exhume mass graves and is planning another trip this month. "This number, 1,650, is still a problem until we find all of them, this problem will continue to exist," said Kushtrim Gata, from the missing persons commission.

For Shqipron Morina, who was five years old when his father was killed in the Cikatova e Vjeter massacre, and for his family, the return of the remains from the mass grave brought relief.

"Now we have the real place, we have the bodies in the grave," he said after burying his father.

Thursday 14 May 2015

https://en-maktoob.news.yahoo.com/painful-wait-bury-kosovos-war-victims-074220123.html

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Nepal’s latest earthquake: Death toll crosses 100, search continues for missing US Army helicopter

The death toll from Tuesday’s earthquake in Nepal has crossed 100 with more than 2,500 people injured, authorities said Thursday. The 7.3-magnitude quake hit the region less than three weeks after a powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake killed over 8,000 people.

Rescue operations continued Thursday even as bodies buried under rubble were being recovered with the use of heavy machinery. Tuesday's earthquake also claimed the lives of at least 17 people in neighboring India and one person in China. On Thursday, Prime Minister Sushil Koirala visited Charikot, one of the hardest-hit villages by the latest earthquake and subsequent aftershocks.

"After the first quake, we were not prepared for a second one so big," Koirala said, according to the Associated Press (AP), adding that the upcoming monsoon season poses a challenge to the impoverished Himalayan country where hundreds of thousands of people have been left homeless. Nepal's army and police force, along with rescue teams from different countries, have been deployed in the country to carry out rescue and relief operations since the April 25 earthquake, which was the worst one to hit the country in 80 years.

Meanwhile, a major search operation for a U.S. Marine Corps helicopter entered a third day with U.S. and Nepalese military helicopters and hundreds of ground troops scouring eastern Nepal. A team also reportedly sent out a drone on Thursday to look for the missing aircraft, which was conducting relief work in Charikot, about 81 miles from the capital Kathmandu. An aerial search for the aircraft on Wednesday had found "nothing of note," Col. Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman, said, according to AP.

“We are still trying to locate it. There is no evidence to prove that it has crashed,” Marines spokeswoman Capt. Cassandra Gesecki said, according to the Irish Times.

Thursday 13 May 2015

http://www.ibtimes.com/nepals-latest-earthquake-death-toll-crosses-100-search-continues-missing-us-army-1921864

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More bodies found in Philippines slipper factory fire

Officials said the death toll in a rubber slipper factory fire in a suburb of the Philippines’ capital had climbed to at least 72 on Thursday as police continued to retrieve charred bodies from the gutted building. Dozens more remained missing and feared dead.

A fierce blaze quickly took hold of the Kentex Manufacturing Corp factory in Valenzuela city north of Manila on Wednesday. On Thursday Eduardo Nazar, village council chief of Ugong where the factory is located, said: “The [police forensic officers] will do all they can to identify the victims because they are totally burned.”

The flames were so intense that even jewellery the victims wore that might have helped with their identification had melted in the heat or fallen off, Nazar said.

The local mayor, Rex Gatchalian, said retrieval of the remains resumed on Thursday after it was suspended late on Wednesday because of the heat and worries about the instability of the two-storey building.

He said relatives of the missing were asked to provide lists of clothing items, body features, dental records and other items to help identify the victims.



Dionesio Candido, whose daughter, granddaughter, sister-in-law and niece were among the missing, said iron grilles reinforced with fencing wire covered windows on the second floor that “could prevent even cats from escaping”.

He said he was allowed by authorities to enter the gutted building where he saw charred remains “piled on top of each other” but could not say how many.

District fire marshal Wilberto Rico Neil Kwan Tiu said he was among the first to reach the second floor of the gutted building after the fire and saw “numerous bodies” but could not immediately say how many.

The owner of the factory, which is operated by Kentex Manufacturing and produces rubber flip flops and sandals, said about 200 to 300 people were inside the building at the time of the fire.

The mayor of the Valenzuela district, Rexlon Gatchalian, told the AFP news agency he did not expect the death toll to rise much further, as the number of bodies retrieved matched the number of people missing.

Local media reports quoted relatives as saying their kin sent text messages saying they were on the second floor but contact was lost shortly after.

Gatchalian said the fire was apparently ignited by sparks from welding work being done at the factory’s main entrance door, triggering an explosion of the chemicals used to make the slippers.

Workers fled to the second floor where they were trapped, he said. He was unsure if there were any fire escapes there.

Tiu, the fire marshal, said the building had other exits but apparently the workers were overwhelmed by the thick black smoke from the burning rubber and chemicals, which are highly flammable and caused the blaze to spread quickly.

Survivors and relatives of the victims told the news agency that factory employees worked for below minimum wage, surrounded by chemicals, and unaware of fire safety standards.

Thursday 14 May 2015

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/14/more-bodies-found-in-philippines-slipper-factory-fire

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10 killed after mosque collapses in Kenya

At least 10 people have died after the partial collapse of a mosque in Nairobi due to heavy rainfall.

Emergency services were continuing rescue operations in Mukuru, a slum of Nairobi, and have not ruled out the possibility of more bodies being found under the rubble.

Nairobi police chief said early investigations suggested that the wall surrounding the mosque was weakened after being soaked by rain.

In the slums, buildings are made with very poor materials, like clay, making them vulnerable to the elements.

Several parts of Kenya have been hit by flooding after abnormally high rainfall.

In north-eastern Kenya, heavy rains have forced hundreds of families to leave their homes different villages across the region.

In the worst-hit town of Jarajira in north-eastern Garissa county, about 1,000 families had left for higher ground, one local official told the BBC's Bashkas Jugsodhaay in Garissa.

The rains have also affected nomadic communities in the region, with many of them losing their livestock, he says.

Wednesday 13 May 2015

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2015/05/12/10-killed-after-mosque-collapses-kenya

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-32707150

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Flight MH370: what will happen if the plane is found?

With poor weather conditions hampering the search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, speculation has turned to what might happen if the plane is ever discovered. More than 75 per cent of the original search zone in the southern Indian Ocean has been explored with no sign of the aircraft or any of the 239 people believed to have perished on board. Investigators will double the search area if the plane is not found, but they have had to suspend the use of their autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV) for the winter months. This week, the Australian government announced that it had set aside an additional A$50m (£25m) to help cover the costs of the ongoing search for the missing plane. "The cost of this measure will be offset by financial contributions to the search from other countries," said the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, which is coordinating the search. "The actual cost will depend on a number of factors, including the length of the search."
One aviation expert has warned that the plane might have to be left on the ocean floor if it is found. Neil Hansford, who has more than 30 years of experience in the airline industry, told the Daily Express that the plane could be inaccessible if it is found in a deep abyss.

Last month, senior ministers from Malaysia, Australia and China met to discuss the next steps in the search and to agree the recovery arrangements if it is found.

Ministers said it was "critical" to have arrangements in place to enable a timely and effective response and said that they remained "committed to bring closure and some peace to the families and loved ones of those on board".

In the event that the aircraft is "found and accessible", evidence would be secured for investigation in accordance with Annex 13 to the Chicago Convention, they said.

This document provides the international requirements for aircraft accident investigations, they include studying the flight recorders and carrying out autopsies with the objective of preventing other disasters in the future.

Aviation law experts have said that Malaysia would likely retain authority of the investigation as it is the "State of Registry" of the aircraft, although the Malaysian government could delegate the inquiry to Australia, as it has done with the search.

"States whose citizens have suffered fatalities in an accident are also entitled to appoint an expert to participate in the investigation," according to the document.

The bulk of Air France flight 447, which crashed in stormy weather en route to Paris from Brazil in 2009, was not found until two years later. While parts of the wreckage and two bodies were found within days, the flight recorders did not turn up until 2011 and the search eventually ended with 74 bodies still missing.

The extensive search of the Atlantic was jointly financed by Air France and Airbus. After four unsuccessful search missions, the wreckage was eventually found just 6.5 nautical miles from the aeroplane's last known location. Deep sea divers only retrieved parts of the aircraft that "were useful to the investigation," leaving the rest of the wreckage on the seabed, according to the final report. The data and cockpit recorders were also recovered, providing crucial evidence about the aircraft's final moments, though some aviation experts still dispute what happened to the plane.

Wednesday 13 May 2015

http://www.theweek.co.uk/57641/flight-mh370-what-might-happen-if-the-plane-is-found

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Nepal earthquake: Dozens die in new tremor near Everest

A major earthquake has struck eastern Nepal, near Mount Everest, two weeks after more than 8,000 people died in a devastating quake. At least 48 people have been killed and more than 1,000 injured, officials say. At least 17 have also died in India.

The latest earthquake hit near the town of Namche Bazaar and sent thousands of panicked residents on to the streets of Nepal's capital, Kathmandu.

It had a magnitude of 7.3, compared with the 7.8 of the 25 April quake.

The latest quake struck at 12:35 Nepali time (06:50 GMT) and was centred about 76km (47 miles) east of Kathmandu, in a rural area close to the Chinese border.

The quake was felt in northern India, Tibet and Bangladesh. India's home ministry said 16 people had been killed in the state of Bihar, and one more in Uttar Pradesh. Officials in China said one person was confirmed dead in Tibet.

Rescue helicopters have been sent to districts east of Kathmandu that are believed to be worst hit. Police in Charikot, 80km north-east of the capital, said 20 people had died there.

Later on Tuesday, the US military said a Marine Corps helicopter involved in disaster relief efforts had gone missing while working in the vicinity of Charikot. Eight people were on board.

A spokesman for Nepal's government told the BBC that 31 of the country's 75 districts had been affected by the latest quake. Prime Minister Sushil Koirala called for "courage and patience" and urged all those who had assisted Nepal since the 25 April quake "to once again extend your helping hand".

The BBC's Yogita Limaye, who was in Nepal's mountains when the latest earthquake struck, said: "The earth shook and it shook for a pretty long time.

"I can completely understand the sense of panic. We have been seeing tremors - it's been two-and-a-half weeks since the first quake. But this one really felt like it went on for a really long time. People have been terrified."

At least four people were killed in the town of Chautara, east of Kathmandu, where a number of buildings are reported to have collapsed. The International Organisation for Migration said bodies were being pulled from rubble there.

Krishna Gyawali, the chief district officer for Chautara, said there had been a number of landslides.

Landslides were also reported by Save the Children in Sindhupalchok and Dolakha. A spokeswoman told the BBC its staff had been "dodging huge rocks rolling off the hillside".

Home Minister Bam Dev Gautam said: "Many houses have collapsed in Dolakha... there is a chance that the number of dead from the district will go up."

The BBC's Navin Singh Khadka says the new earthquake has brought down more houses and lodges in the Everest region but that local officials report very few tourists are still in the area following the 25 April quake.

A nurse in Namche Bazaar, Rhita Doma Sherpa, told Reuters: "The school building is cracked and bits of it, I can see, they have collapsed. It was lunchtime. All the kids were outside."

The latest quake struck at a depth of 15km (9.3 miles), according to the US Geological Survey - the same depth as the April quake. Shallow tremors are more likely to cause greater damage at the surface.

Tuesday's earthquake is likely to be one of the largest to hit Nepal, which has suffered hundreds of aftershocks since 25 April.

The 7.3 quake was followed by six aftershocks of magnitude 5.0 or higher.

One tremor that hit 30 minutes later, centred on the district of Ramechhap, east of Kathmandu, had a magnitude of 6.3.

Scientists are already producing some preliminary analyses of Tuesday's quake.

The epicentre this time is about 80km (50 miles) east-north-east of Kathmandu, halfway to Everest. On 25 April, the big quake began 80km to the north-west of the capital.

In April, we saw the fault boundary rupture eastwards for 150km (93 miles). And the immediate assessment suggests Tuesday's tremor has occurred right at the eastern edge of this failure.

In that context, this second earthquake was almost certainly triggered by the stress changes caused by the first one. Indeed, the US Geological Survey had a forecast for an aftershock in this general area.

Its modelling suggested there was 1-in-200 chance of a M7-7.8 event occurring this week. So, not highly probable, but certainly possible.

Quake experts often talk about "seismic gaps", which refer to segments of faults that are, to some extent, overdue a quake. Tuesday's big tremor may well have filled a hole between what we saw on 25 April and some historic events - such as those in 1934, that occurred further still to the east.

Wednesday 13 May 2015

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-32701385

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Whereabouts of 91 missing people during quake still unknown

The whereabouts of 91 missing persons in Constituency no 3 in Sindhupalchowk district since the April 15 quake is still unknown while the bodies of many deceased ones are still left to be retrieved from the rubble, the local police have said.

Of total 24 VDCs in the district, Duwachaur has the highest death toll, standing at 154 while thousands have sustained injuries and some are still missing , shared Central Investigation Bureau DSP Bhim Dahal,who is currently deployed in this quake-hit district.

The Police so far have identified the dead bodies of 1,409 people in the constituency number 3 of the district while many missing persons are assumed to be dead and their bodies were yet to be dug out of debris, DSP Dahal added.

Some four people in Melamchi have gone missing following the 7.6-magnitude quake. The missing persons, who hail from Terai region, are assumed to have been buried under the rubble of their houses, the police said.

Similarly, police have not been successful to pull out the bodies as many people are believed to have been killed during the quake in Ichowk VDC-8 in Nuwakot.

The number of the deceased in the Constituency No 3 of Sindhupalchok district stands at 1,500. Police have been carrying out search-and-rescue operations in collaboration with the Nepal Army and local authorities.

Tuesday 12 May 2015

http://www.ekantipur.com/2015/05/11/top-story/whereabouts-of-91-missing-people-during-quake-still-unknown/405100.html

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Fresh avalanches in Nepal force workers to call of search for bodies in buried village

Fresh avalanches forced rescuers in a village buried by a landslide in northern Nepal to stop searching for bodies in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake, officials said Sunday.

The avalanches on Friday and Saturday made the work dangerous for police and army rescuers, and they moved to higher and safer ground, said government administrator Gautam Rimal.

Weather conditions also deteriorated with continuing rainfall and fog, he said.

The April 25 earthquake killed more than 8,000 people and injured more than 16,000 others, as it flattened mountain villages and destroyed buildings and archaeological sites in the Himalayan region.

So far, 120 bodies have been recovered from Langtang Valley, a scenic village on a popular trekking route located about 60 kilometres (35 miles) north of Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu.

Among the bodies were those of nine foreigners, and it was still not clear how many people were buried in the village that was covered by a mudslide set loose by the magnitude-7.8 quake.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been left homeless and are still living in tent camps scattered across central and northern Nepal.

Sunday 10 May 2015

http://www.570news.com/2015/05/10/fresh-avalanches-in-nepal-force-workers-to-call-of-search-for-bodies-in-buried-village/

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May 11, 1985: Triumph turns to tragedy as football fans perish in Bradford City stadium fire

The worst-ever British football stadium fire happened on this day in 1985 at Valley Parade, home of Bradford City, claiming the lives of 56 fans and injuring at least 265 others.

Hundreds more were taken into hospital suffering from burns and smoke inhalation after flames engulfed the stadium’s main stand, a mainly wooden structure that had not been altered since its creation in 1911.

Over 11,000 supporters were in the ground – nearly double the season’s average crowd – to see Bradford lift the Third Division trophy, and the mood among them was one of celebration before their final game of the season against Lincoln City.

But at 3.40pm flames were spotted at the back of the main stand. The cause of the fire has never been definitively proved, but it is generally accepted that a supporter stubbed out a cigarette in a polystyrene cup, which smouldered then ignited an accumulation of rubbish underneath the stand.

Strong winds circulating around the ground fanned the flames, spreading them with terrifying speed; within four minutes, the whole stand was ablaze. Its wooden roof also caught fire, sending burning timber and molten asphalt and bitumen down onto spectators.

Fans flee the fire in the stand at Valley Parade.

Those near the front of the stand jumped onto the pitch to avoid the flames, but many others tried to escape through exits at its rear – only to find them shut, and in some cases locked. 27 of those who died were found by exit K and turnstiles six to nine at the rear centre of the stand.

An inquiry into the disaster chaired by Sir Oliver Popplewell introduced new legislation to govern safety at sports stadia in the UK, including the banning of any new wooden stands, the banning of smoking in existing stands, and a requirement for stewards to undergo safety training.

Monday 11 May 2015

https://home.bt.com/news/world-news/may-11-1985-triumph-turns-to-tragedy-as-football-fans-perish-in-bradford-city-stadium-fire-11363980334912

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300 of an estimated 25,000 illegal migrants die in Bay of Bengal in 2015, says UN agency

UN refuge agency on Friday said more than 25,000 people from Bangladesh and Myanmar lured by traffickers set sail illegally for overseas jobs through the Bay of Bengal in the first three months of the year.

Of these illegal travelers an estimated 300 people were killed during the risky voyages through the rough sea, it said.

United Nations High Commission for Refugee came up with the statement on the heels of discovery of at least 30 graves of migrant workers at abandoned concentration camps run by the traffickers in remote jungle of Thailand.

The bodies of the migrant workers, who were subjected to persecution for ransom, are suspected to be of Bangladeshi nationals and stateless Rohingya from Myanmar. They were died of illness or abuse, said the agency.

Thai police have launched an investigation into the reported trafficking in human and the government closed duty of more than 50 policemen for their inaction over the incidents of brutality in the camps. Four local government officials were also arrested.

“But we also appalled by these deaths. Smugglings networks by sea from the Bay of Bengal area to Thailand and onwards to Malaysia have become increasingly lucrative for smugglers, and increasingly dangerous for their human cargoes,” the agency said in a statement posted on its website.

A UNHCR periodic report estimates that some 25,000 Rohingya and Bangladeshis boarded smuggler’s boats between January and March this year- almost double the number over the same period in 2014.

The agency called for urgent actions from the governments of the countries concerned. It added that the UNHCR members spoke to several hundred survivors of such journeys during the reporting period.

Their accounts signal a shift in how smugglers recruit passengers for the boats. Initial boarding fees are often low and in some cases people are given free-passage on condition that they repay the debt with future earnings in Malaysia, it added.

“We heard of children being abducted off the streets or while fishing, and forced onto boats. People are unaware that money will be extorted from them later in the journey and what started with being smuggled soon turns into trafficking in persons,” it said.

One survivor who spent 62 days in such conditions compared it to a graveyard and said he lost hope of reaching shore alive.

Friday 8 May 2015

http://newsnextbd.com/300-of-an-estimated-25000-illegal-migrants-die-in-bay-of-bengal-in-2015-says-un-agency/

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Death toll climbs to 7,903 in Nepal quake

The death toll in the devastating earthquake of April 25 has reached 7,903, according to the latest update made available by the Nepal Police on Friday.

The police said the bodies of 7,779 people have already been handed over to their family members and 6,086 people are receiving treatment in various hospitals across the country.

A total of 17,803 people were injured in the quake.

Citing the latest data, police said that 6,69,775 people have been displaced in the country.

Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Bhaktapur, Sindhupalchok, Dhading, Rasuwa and Nuwakot were the worst hit districts in the quake besides Gorkha district, which was the epicentre of the quake.

Of the over 5,22,820 people displaced in the mid-region, 66,780 have been displaced in Kathmandu alone.

Police said that 2,90,756 houses have been fully damaged and 10,801 government buildings have collapsed in the quake.

At least 264 Nepali nationals and 111 foreigners have been missing after the disaster.

Friday 8 May 2015

http://www.newkerala.com/news/2015/fullnews-55403.html

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Italy says may have found ship that carried 900 drowned migrants

Italy's navy said on Thursday it believed it had found the wreck of a boat that sank last month killing up to 900 migrants off the coast of Libya, the Mediterranean's most deadly migrant tragedy in living memory.

Only 24 bodies have been recovered since the April 18 disaster and the discovery of the wreck 375 metres (1,235 feet) underwater some 135 km (85 miles) north of Libya would notably increase the chances of finding more remains.

Search teams based on two minesweepers and a smaller navy vessel used sonar instruments and a submersible to locate the hulk of a 25-metre blue boat which fitted the description of the one that sank, the navy said in a statement.

Asked if Italian authorities believed the migrant boat had now been found, a navy spokesman said, "Yes ... The location and length are correct, but we cannot be certain."

Lawlessness in Libya, where two rival governments are vying for control, has given almost free rein to traffickers. Two survivors of the disaster were arrested on the island of Sicily last month on suspicion of trafficking people on the ship.

After interviewing survivors, prosecutors concluded that more than 750 people were likely to have been aboard, many locked in the hold. Other reports suggested the death toll could be up to 900. Twenty-eight people were saved.

The scale of the disaster shocked the European Union into tripling funding for its sea patrol mission Triton, which replaced Italy's now-defunct, broader "Mare Nostrum" mission.

Some 51,000 migrants have reached Europe by sea this year, 30,500 of them via Italy, according to the U.N. refugee agency, and calmer seas in the run-up to summer have encouraged thousands to take the risk in recent weeks.

About 1,800 people are thought to have drowned in the Mediterranean so far in 2015. In the latest known tragedy, members of a group of roughly 240 migrants who arrived in Sicily on Tuesday said they had been travelling with about 40 others who had drowned.

Thursday 7 May 2015

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/reuters/article-3072313/Italy-says-ship-carried-900-drowned-migrants.html

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South Korea, US experts excavate for Korean War remains

South Korea and the United States have begun exhuming the remains of soldiers killed during the 1950-53 Korean War. The project is not the first of its kind – since 2000 the South Korean military has conducted excavations of war remains, Yonhap reported.

To date, most of the 9,500 bodies recovered have been identified as South Korean soldiers.

The U.S. Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, or DPAA, sent a team to jointly excavate the remains on Wednesday in the South Korean region of Masan in the southeast, reported South Korean newspaper Donga Ilbo.

In August 1950, the area was the scene of brutal fighting between North Korean forces and the Allied Command, which consisted mostly of South Korean and U.S. soldiers. Due to the high number of casualties, soldiers called the area "Death Valley."

The three-day excavation began on Wednesday and will involve 15 South Korean experts and eight U.S. analysts from the DPAA.

According to the U.S. team chief, the bodies of 8,000 dead U.S. soldiers remain unaccounted for. In Masan, the U.S. 25th Infantry Division under the command of Maj. Gen. William Keen repelled North Korean incursions toward the port city of Busan. In the course of bloody battles, however, many lives were lost.

South Korea's defense ministry decided to launch an investigation in Masan after ministry staff member Hwang U-ung said he heard stories about the area from his mother and suggested an investigation.

According to Hwang, locals said U.S. soldiers were buried in a nearby mountain, and superstition suggested digging in the area would bring bad luck.

The Korean War began in June 1950, when North Korean forces invaded Seoul, and continued for three years until a truce was signed in 1953.

Friday 8 May 2015

http://www.military.com/daily-news/2015/05/07/south-korea-us-experts-excavate-for-korean-war-remains.html

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12 killed in illegal cracker factory explosion in Midnapore

Twelve persons were charred to death and four others injured in an explosion at an illegal firecracker factory at Pingla in West Midnapore district of West Bengal. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee ordering a CID investigation into the incident. “Twelve charred bodies have been recovered from the blast spot, while four injured have been admitted to hospital,” IGP (Western Range) S N Gupta told PTI.

The house owner Ranjan Maiti has been arrested, he added. Police said the factory was illegal and the blast took place shortly before 10 PM last night and the raging fire has been put out. All the victims were employees of the factory who were brought from Murshidabad district, police said. The bodies were charred beyond recognition and it is difficult to even identify their gender. The bodies were sent to Midnapore Medical College and Hospital for post-mortem.

To a question if the incident was like the Burdwan blast that took place in October last year and claimed the lives of two suspected Jamaat-ul Maujahideen Bangladesh terrorists, Gupta replied in the negative. “It is (Pingla blast) an accident in a cracker factory.” Asked if any central probe team, specially the NIA, had visited the spot or contacted him, Gupta said, “The question does not arise since it is a case of accident in a cracker factory.”

On the reason behind the blast, West Midnapore superintendent of Police B Ghosh said, “We are looking into it. Probably something went wrong during the manufacturing of crackers.” The Chief minister, who ordered a CID probe into the explosion, wondered, “How could so many firecrackers be prepared at one place and how so many explosive substances were accumulated in one place ?” “I ask all Green police (civic police) personnel in all villages to keep a watch on such activities and to inform the local police station if they find explosive substances being accumulated at any place,” she said at a programme at Namkhana in South 24 Paraganas district. Police said that it is on the look out for another person in connection with the explosion.

Neighbouring areas like Sabang and Baliachak, besides Pingla were being scanned for other such firecracker units, it added. CID sources in Kolkata said a CID team would visit Pingla and a central forensic team has already reached there. Meanwhile, Congress and BJP have demanded a probe by NIA into the incident. Congress leader Manas Bhunia, an MLA from neighbouring Sabang, visited the spot and demanded NIA probe. Bhunia, who earlier met governor K N Tripathi on the issue, said it was unlikely that police did not know about the existence of the illegal cracker unit.

Thursday 7 May 2015

http://www.india.com/news/india/12-killed-in-illegal-cracker-factory-explosion-in-midnapore-one-arrested-375646/

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Panna bus accident bodies to be kept in Bhopal hospitals

District administration in Panna decided on Wednesday not to bury 21 bodies of victims of bus accident in Panna that took place on Monday. Now, bodies will be kept in three hospitals of Bhopal till DNA reports are received.

Bodies were brought to state capital on Wednesday.

As all dead were charred beyond recognition, relatives were not able to identify their kith and kin. Samples of dead as well as those of relatives for DNA were taken and report is awaited.

District collector SN Chouhan said that instead of burying them till DNA report is received, we decided to keep them in mortuaries of three hospitals in Bhopal.

They are Hamidia hospital, People's Hospital and JK hospital. He said DNA report is expected in a month, he said.

On Monday, a bus carrying passengers from Chhatarpur to Rewa rammed a culvert and plunged 15 feet down into a dry nullah 13 kms away from Panna on NH-75. Bus caught fire leaving 21 dead and 14 injured.

Meanwhile, in the neighbouring Chhatarpur, district administration has learnt that a large number of buses plying from district head quarter to New Delhi carrying a large number of people who migrate to the national capital in search of job, did not have permits.

Chhatarpur bus owners association Abid Siddique raised this issue in a meeting with the district administration. He said these buses were issued permit for carrying wedding parties during wedding season but they are making illegal trips to New Delhi.

Thursday 7 May 2015

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhopal/Panna-accident-bodies-to-be-kept-in-Bhopal-hospitals/articleshow/47185565.cms

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Nepal remembers quake victims on conclusion of religious mourning period

Families and relatives of thousands of Nepal's earthquake victims prayed and conducted Hindu after-death rituals on Thursday marking the end of the 13-day mourning period.

Nearly 80% of Nepal's population are Hindus and most the over 7,600 dead belonged to that faith. Families can resume their routine lives once the mourning period is over.

"Family members of those who passed away on the day of the quake on April 25 conducted 'kriya-karma' (religious rites) to mark the end of the mourning period," said Govinda Tandon, member secretary of Pashupati Area Development Trust (PADT).

In Kathmandu, many victims were cremated at the cremation ground of Pashupati Temple located on banks of the holy Bagmati. Last rites of over 660 bodies were performed at the temple's 'arya-ghat'.

Family members of the deceased stay in small dwellings near the cremation ground and conduct religious rituals till the mourning period is over.

"On the 13th day they pray for the freedom and peace to the departed's soul, offer donations to priests and share meals with family members and relatives," he said.

Hundreds gathered at Kathmandu's Basantapur Darbar Square, where many world heritage structures were destroyed by the quake, to offer condolences and prayers to those dead. Candlelight prayers were also held in the evening at other places.

Obituaries with photos of the victims placed by friends, families, colleagues, classmates to mark the 'punya-tithi' (auspicious day) covered several pages of Nepal's prominent vernacular dailies.

Besides those dead, over 16,000 sustained injuries in the quake. Among the 410 missing till date, 106 are foreigners. Most dead bodies have been handed over to relatives. But 31 of them including 4 foreigners still lie unclaimed at Kathmandu's Teaching Hospital.

In another development, the Indian embassy in Kathmandu issued a release terming as baseless news reports about Indian Air Force aircrafts carrying relief material without coordinating with Nepali authorities.

Thursday 7 May 2015

http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/nepal-remembers-quake-victims-on-conclusion-of-religious-mourning-period/article1-1344886.aspx

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Indonesian doctors to help identify quake victims in Nepal

Indonesian doctors will help identify victims of the large-scale earthquake that hit Nepal recently, according to the director of the Indonesian Citizen Protection division of the Foreign Ministry, Muhammad Iqbal.

Iqbal said in Jakarta on Wednesday that at least 13 doctors were expected to help identify up to 120 bodies evacuated from the avalanche in Langtang, Nepal.

The doctors visited Tribuvan Teaching University hospital in Kathmandu on Tuesday, Iqbal said as reported by kompas.com. The bodies to be identified, however, had not reached the hospital in Kathmandu as of Tuesday, so the identification process would start Wednesday.

The doctors are part of the Indonesian evacuation team, which consists of members of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), the Air Force's special force Paskhas and volunteers.

Iqbal said that the team would remain in Kathmandu for a while to help the humanitarian aid operations.

The team, he went on, would help the search and rescue activities carried out by the Nepalese Military Forces following the powerful earthquake, which devastated parts of Nepal.

Wednesday 6 May 2015

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/05/06/indonesian-doctors-help-identify-quake-victims-nepal.html

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In Nepal, Rabbi’s search continues

The Nepal-based rabbi who has been a driving force in search and rescue is making daily visits to rows of bodies in a village near Kathmandu, expecting to discover more Jewish dead.

When the body of Or Asraf, the only Israeli fatality in the quake, was finally retrieved on Sunday, it was widely believed that all Jews missing in the quake have been accounted for. But Rabbi Chezky Lifshitz, director of Nepal Chabad, has serious doubts.

“We have already found some bodies with Jewish names in Langtang,” he reported. “We don’t know if they are Jewish, but we’re checking.”

He visits the rows of bodies that are outdoors in the notoriously tragic Langtang village because he thinks there is a high chance that families of missing Jews from Europe or America may not have contacted him or another Jewish organization.

He also thinks that information does not always flow correctly, even if details of religious persuasion have been reported by families to national authorities. He said that on Tuesday, he informed the German embassy of three Germans whom he had identified in his searching — and found that they were not actually considered missing.

Lifshitz examines the bodies of foreigners, which are usually separated out from Nepalese, and looks for names on documentation in wallets. Looking at facial features has become less relevant as time goes by. “It’s difficult after five or six days to see something like this [facial features],” he said.

As Lifshitz searched for more Jewish dead this week, Israeli backpackers were trying to absorb the news that Asraf has been confirmed dead. “It could have been me,” said Iyyar Schwartz, a 25-year-old who is finishing an eight-month stint travelling. “I also did that trek, and I know the area where he was.” She said that alongside the sense of tragedy, there is a feeling of thankfulness that the body was retrieved. “On the one hand it feels awful, but on the other hand we feel relieved that there’s a body to bury,” she said.

Israelis like Schwartz are grappling with what has happened around them. “People basically want to get out now and don’t know what to feel,” she said, as she departed Kathmandu, cutting her time in Nepal short and heading to Thailand. “I can’t believe that the village I stayed in doesn’t exist anymore and the people I met are probably not alive.”

Signs of the earthquake are visible everywhere in Kathmandu, with piles of rubble and collapsed buildings, and some of them are particularly haunting. At one building, rooms and even furniture are visible from the front, as part of the building collapsed while another part was left intact. Locals can be seen sorting through the rubble there for their family’s belongings. They say that some 27 people died there.

Ashraf’s body was found on a ridge following a complicated search operation by the Israelife Joint Disaster Response Team, which consists of volunteers from ZAKA, United Hatzolah and F.I.R.S.T. The team searched by foot through difficult terrain, in danger of mudslides, avalanches and rock falls.

Eli Beer, founder of the Israelife Foundation and president of United Hatzolah, said: “We are very sad that our mission has ended in this way. Throughout all the days of the search, we remained hopeful that we would find Or alive and bring him home to his family. Unfortunately, despite our efforts, we found Or when he was no longer alive. We find some comfort in the fact that, as a result of the efforts of our volunteers, Or will be brought to burial in Israel.”

Wednesday 6 May 2015

http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/international/nepal-rabbis-sad-search-continues

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Four dead, nine missing following Indonesian landslide

Four people were killed and nine others remain missing after a landslide buried homes on Indonesia's main island of Java, an official said Wednesday.

A landslide triggered by a pipeline explosion on Tuesday engulfed eight homes and trapped villagers in a West Java village.

The pipeline, belonging to a geothermal project in the area, had been damaged in a previous landslide caused by days of torrential rain.

"The search for victims of the landslide continues," said Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman for the National Disaster Management Agency.

More than 100 residents, fearing further landslides, had taken refuge in a village hall, he added.

Landslides are common in Indonesia, one of the world's most natural-disaster prone nations.

The national disaster agency estimates around half the country's 250 million population live in areas prone to landslides.

Wednesday 6 May 2015

http://www.rappler.com/world/regions/asia-pacific/indonesia/92319-four-dead-nine-missing-following-indonesian-landslide

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After a disaster: Ensuring families can honour the dead

As part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement's assistance to communities affected by the Nepal Earthquake, the ICRC sent forensic expert Shuala Drawdy to help with our response.

Shuala talks about the role that she and her other colleagues are playing in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake, which has left thousands dead and countless more injured and homeless.

The ICRC is supporting the Nepal Red Cross Society in their response to the escalating needs of families and affected communities. This includes restoring contact between family members separated by the earthquake, and providing critical first aid materials and support. Thanks to the availability of emergency kits, NRCS volunteers were among the first who arrived to treat the wounded and to rescue those still trapped.

The ICRC is also promoting proper and dignified management of dead bodies avoiding that unidentified bodies are cremated or hastily buried. To this end, we have provided 400 dead body bags to the Department of Forensics Medicine. In addition, 7 sets of dressing modules have been provided to the hospitals to treat quake injured people.

What assistance can an ICRC forensic expert provide?

Forensic experts from the ICRC can give advice and support to authorities and local experts on how forensic science can help address humanitarian challenges, such as how to deal with dead bodies.

After a disaster, the ICRC can offer guidance on gathering information about those who have died, and provide technical advice to ensure local systems can identify and properly manage dead bodies, with dignity while maintaining respect for cultural practices.

We also provide training to emergency responders in the recovery and transport of dead bodies, and to people who have the role of identifying the dead – so that their families can be located and bodies can be returned.

What is the current situation in Nepal and what assistance is being provided by the ICRC's Forensic Services?

The situation is quite challenging. The focus has been on searching for the wounded and on rescuing those trapped under rubble.

There are thousands of unrecovered bodies in the communities that were affected by the earthquake. The extent of the aftermath is not fully known, but in the areas the ICRC has had access to we have already begun to distribute body bags and assist these communities with how they can manage their dead.

The ICRC is also working directly with local authorities, providing advice and support as needed. It is essential that unidentified bodies are not cremated, so their families can have the opportunity to carry out their own funerary rites once identification has taken place.

Who deals with dead bodies after a disaster – the ICRC or the authorities?

The responsibility of managing dead bodies lies always the authorities—they have jurisdiction and this should be respected. However, the ICRC can provide assistance to local authorities if requested and required, and has the expertise to work with and provide support to families who are seeking missing relatives.

Are there any myths or perceptions about dead bodies that you would like to dispel?

The biggest myth is that dead bodies cause epidemics. This is not true. The bodies of people who have died in a disaster do not cause epidemics, because they have normally died as a result of traumatic injury, drowning or fire.

Wednesday 6 May 2015

https://www.icrc.org/en/document/after-disaster-ensuring-families-can-bury-their-loved-ones

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Madhya Pradesh bus accident: DNA tests ordered

The remains of the people killed in a bus accident in Madhya Pradesh's Panna district will be sent for DNA test, police said on Tuesday.

The relatives would get compensation only after their DNA matches with those of the deceased.

The incident occurred on Monday after a bus fell into a ditch and caught fire. Twenty one people were charred to death.

"Since we were able to find only the skeletons because of the major fire, the identification of bodies could be done only through DNA test", district Assistant Superintendent of Police R.D Prajapati told IANS on Tuesday.

Prajapati said the samples of the bodies were being taken and they would later be matched with samples taken from their relatives.

The driver of the bus survived the accident but suffered serious head injuries.

He said the steering wheel of the bus jammed leading to the accident.

Tuesday 5 May 2015

http://www.daijiworld.com/news/news_disp.asp?n_id=316901

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Nepal: Retrieving the remains of Jewish victims for burial

With the body of 22-year-old hiker Or Asraf in the airport en route to Israel, Rabbi Chezky Lifshitz, co-director of Chabad of Nepal, says the grisly work of searching for Jewish remains continues in the wake of the April 25 earthquake that crippled the South Asian nation. “Jewish families whose loved ones are missing have turned to us for help locating the bodies of their children, sisters, brothers,” explains Lifshitz, “and we are doing all we can to locate those bodies as soon as possible and get them to a Jewish burial. We call it chesed shel emet, the true altruistic kindness, because the recipients can never repay us for it.” Jewish law places a premium on bodies being buried as soon as possible after the moment of passing. In Nepal, there is an added urgency, as Hindus routinely cremate their dead, which is forbidden by halachah (Jewish law). In these chaotic times, there is a real chance of local officials simply burning remains before anyone can stop them. RELATED Related News Stories For Israeli Soldiers and Rescue Teams in Nepal, a Semblance of Home Comforting the Friends and Family of Deceased Israeli Hiker Chabad Centers Chabad House of Kathmandu Knowledge Base Kathmandu, Nepal(15) More from Chabad.org Hope in Katmandu Israeli President Rivlin Hosting Lifshitz Kids from Nepal
The work is further complicated because most countries do not have data on the religious affiliation of their citizens—let alone tourists—so Jews in need of burial are hard to locate among thousands of unidentified remains are scattered throughout the country.

Lifshitz has been flying via helicopter all over the country in search of both the living, who may still be stranded in far-flung places, and the dead, so their remains will be handled properly.

So far, he and his fellow rescuer, British-born Yehuda Rose, have brought hundreds of survivors back to safety at the Chabad House in Kathmandu, including a Nepali man who lost his entire family and all his possessions in the quake.

British-born Yehuda Rose, left, flew to Nepal after the earthquake and has worked with Rabbi Lifshitz to bring hundreds of survivors back to safety at the Chabad House in Kathmandu, including this Nepali man, who lost his entire family and all his possessions in the quake.

The rabbi sadly has some experience in locating and transporting tourists who have lost their lives in the often treacherous mountain treks. Notably, in the fall of 2013, he brought the body of Marina Muchnik—whose bus had plunged into a ravine—back to her family in Melbourne, Australia.

Earlier that same summer, George Abboudi, a 22-year-old Jewish man from Leeds, England, went missing. The Lifshitzes led a massive search effort only to discover that he had fallen into a river and died, and had been cremated by local villagers.

While the rabbi spends his days and nights choppering around the country, his wife, Chani, and a staff of volunteers continue to run extensive relief efforts, bringing meals to a refugee camp of some 3,000 Nepalis on a daily basis. Simultaneously, they serve as a home base for the Israeli rescue and medical teams that have come to the aid of the beleaguered nation.

Said the rabbi: “I wish what we offer could heal the wounded and the suffering … if not their bodies, then at least their souls.”

Tuesday 5 May 2015

http://www.chabad.org/news/article_cdo/aid/2938299/jewish/Next-Task-in-Nepal-Retrieving-the-Remains-of-Jews-for-Burial.htm

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Britain’s worst rail disaster: Soldiers on way to Gallipoli were caught up in rail crash inferno

Britain’s worst rail disaster - Quintinshill near Gretna - is to be remembered at a centenary parade and commemoration service on Thursday, May 21.

The collision resulted in the death of two Bo’ness servicemen and seriously injured another as they headed south to meet up with a boat heading for Gallipoli.

The majority of those killed were soldiers travelling on a Larbert to Liverpool service, drawn largely from the 1/7th (Leith) Battalion, the Royal Scots.

The regiment had been camped at the Tryst, Stenhousemuir, for several weeks and was travelling to Liverpool docks en route to the front at Gallipoli in Turkey.

The disaster occurred at 6.50am on May 22, 1915, when the troop train travelling from Larbert collided with a local passenger service that had been shunted on to the main line.

An express train, travelling at speed to Glasgow crashed into the wreckage a minute later with horrifying and devastating results. The gas lights fitted in the train carriages, which themselves were wooden built, created an inferno.

The accident was later found to have been caused by poor working practices on the part of two signalmen, George Meakin and James Tinsley, who were subsequently jailed for culpable homicide.

The former worked night shift at a nearby signal box and was supposed to be relieved by the latter at 6am. However, the two men had an informal arrangement allowing Tinsley to arrive later, coming by train, rather than walking the 1.5 miles from Gretna.

In order to hide their malpractice they ignored the correct procedures on recording train movements leading to the disaster.

Of the two Bo’ness deaths recorded, the first was that of Thomas Barnett, a private in the Royal Scots 7th Battalion.

He was the son of George Barnett, a boot repairer, of South Street, Bo’ness.

Having been discharged from the Royal Field Artillery due to an injury, he re-presented himself for active service at Blackness Castle during a recruiting campaign for the 7th Royal Scots.

It was reported in the Linlithgowshire Gazette at the time that Thomas had married shortly before he met his death on May 22, 1915, and that his wife continued to live at Corbiehall after his untimely death.

The second death was of Andrew Williamson, also a private in the 7th Royal Scots.

He lived with his widowed mother at Cowdenhill, Grangepans, and was the youngest sone of the late George Williamson.

Andrew had previously been employed as a miner before enlisting. His age at the time of his death was given as being 19 years old.

The one local survivor was Albert Munro of 14 Mayfield Terrace, Grangepans. The Linlithgowshire Gazette reported that Albert’s survival was solely down to the fact that he was travelling in a carriage located halfway down the train and had managed to jump from a window just before the collision occurred.

Further research seems to suggest that Albert survived the war as no record can be found on either the Bo’ness War Memorial or the list of soldiers who perished during the Great war of 1914-1919.

The commemoration will take place at Larbert Church at 7pm. A parade will leave Larbert Station at 6.40pm.

After the terrible tragedy came the grim funerals...

A number of bodies were never recovered, having been completely consumed by the fire, and when the bodies of the men of the Royal Scots were returned to Leith on May 24, they were buried together in a mass grave in Edinburgh’s Rosebank Cemetery.

The bodies were escorted by the 15th and 16th Battalions Royal Scots,and the Edinburgh Pals battalions recently assembled and still undergoing training. The cortege took four hours to complete its sad task.

The coffins were laid three deep with each on the top row covered in the Union flag with the deceased being afforded a burial with full military honours.

The public was excluded although 50 wounded servicemen who were convalescing at a nearby military hospital were allowed to attend.

The ceremony lasted three hours at the end of which a volley of three shots was fired and the Last Post played.

A memorial was erected in Rosebank Cemetery in 1916.

Of the troops, 83 bodies were identified. Eighty-two were recovered but unrecognisable and 50 were missing altogether giving a total of 215 but which was later revised by the army to 214.

Among the coffins were four bodies which were unidentified. One coffin was simply labelled as ‘little girl, unrecognisable,’ and another as ‘three trunks, probably children’.

As no children were reported missing the railway company moved the bodies to Glasgow for possible identification but no one came forward to claim the bodies. The four were buried in Glasgow’s Western Necropolis on May 26 in what was reported as a ‘‘very touching service’’.

The engine crew of the troop train were both from Carlisle and they were also buried on May 26 at the local Stanwix Cemetery.

The final legal inquiry into the disaster was held on November 4, 1915, in Dumfries and was an inquiry under the Fatal Accidents Inquiry (Scotland) Act.

Tuesday 5 May 2015

http://www.linlithgowgazette.co.uk/news/local-news/soldiers-on-way-to-gallipoli-were-caught-up-in-rail-crash-inferno-1-3760555

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Dozens of migrants feared drowned in Mediterranean

At least 46 migrants are feared to have drowned in the Mediterranean after falling out of a rubber boat as a rescue ship approached, survivors have said.

The accident is the first major Mediterranean disaster since the drowning of about 800 migrants in mid-April. It occurred despite Italian-led rescue operations that saved up to 7,000 others over the weekend, and brings the 2015 death toll to more than 1,700 – about 17 times higher than the number of people who had died by the end of April 2014.

Dozens of would-be migrants are reported to have drowned between Libya and Sicily, the latest tragedy in the Mediterranean this spring. The increasing numbers making the perilous journey on overloaded boats has brought the issue of migration into Europe to a head. But what can be done about it?

The migrants died as they waited to be saved from their stricken vessel in the early hours of Monday morning. Standing on the edge of a packed inflatable dinghy, dozens overbalanced and fell into the sea, according to testimonies gathered by the International Organisation for Migration.

Video obtained from a crew member of the cargo ship Zeran showed migrants jumping off their deflating dinghy to catch lifebuoys tossed into the water. Other migrants use empty jerry cans as floats.

At least 91 people survived, mainly economic migrants from Gambia, Senegal, and Nigeria. They were rescued by a commercial ship, the Zeran, and on Tuesday they reached Sicily, where they told support staff of their ordeal.

Flavio Di Giacomo, an IOM spokesman, told the Guardian: “They left Libya, but they don’t know where from, on Saturday night at midnight, and the shipwreck occurred one day later at about 1am on Monday. They had problems inside the dinghy and when they saw the commercial ship they tried to move.”

In the scrum, 46 migrants toppled into the sea and drowned. Five bodies have been retrieved.

The biggest Mediterranean disasters usually involve wooden or steel trawlers. But this week’s stricken boat is almost certain to have been a large inflatable dinghy, known as a Zodiac, which is designed to carry up to 24 passengers.

Libyan smugglers interviewed by the Guardian admitted they drastically overloaded these smaller boats in an attempt to make a bigger profit, and fitted them with wooden planks to make them more buoyant. Some smugglers acknowledged the vessels should not be used to cross the Mediterranean.

One Tripoli-based smuggler said last month: “It’s impossible that they reach their destination like that. But there are people who do it. They’re cheap and people know it has a slim chance.”

Another smuggler, based in the western town of Zuwara, claimed it was safe to pack a Zodiac with up to 50 passengers, but any more was irresponsible. The smuggler said: “It all depends on the build. The smaller they are, if they’re Bangladeshis for example, the more you put on. [Smugglers] who don’t have ethics put more than 50 onboard.”

Survivors of another Zodiac boat, which was carrying more than 100 migrants, said their vessel was so overloaded that passengers had little room to move. Those at the edge frequently fell into the water, and those in the middle could only relieve themselves by urinating on their fellow passengers, they said. “They pissed on all our clothes,” said Fatima Bahgar, a 20-year-old Malian student who survived a Zodiac trip last month. “I was sick of the scent.”

The IOM said the volume of boats being rescued close to the Libyan shore this week showed it was vital that the EU’s revamped rescue operations patrolled the southern waters of the Mediterranean as a matter of course. Italian naval ships did so until October, but stopped because of a lack of EU support.

The EU’s replacement mission – Operation Triton – usually operates much closer to the European maritime border. Amid public outcry at recent deaths, the EU has pledged to expand Triton’s activity, but by what amount is not yet known.

Di Giacomo said: “What is clear is that we don’t know how the new Triton operation will work and if it will patrol the area far from the Italian coast. This weekend is proof that migrants need to be rescued very close to the Libyan coast.”

The IOM spokesman also highlighted how commercial ships were being forced to carry out a disproportionate amount of rescue operations. “It’s thanks to the commercial ships that a lot of the migrants are being rescued. They’re called by the Italian coastguards, they’re in contact with the Italian coastguard – but nevertheless they’re rescuing a lot of people,” he said.

Turkey’s coastguard has rescued 636 people trying to cross the Aegean sea over the last five days, a provincial governor’s office said on Tuesday. More than 400 of the rescued migrants were from Syria, while others were from Iraq, Afghanistan, Burma and some African countries, according to the governor of the coastal Izmir province.

Tuesday 5 May 2015

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/05/dozens-of-migrants-feared-drowned-in-mediterranean

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Trekkers' bodies yet to be identified in Nepal

The bodies of 100 trekkers and villagers have been found where an avalanche hit outside Nepal's capital, triggered by last month's earthquake.

Police and local volunteers recovered the bodies over the weekend at the Langtang village, 60 kilometres north of Kathmandu, on a popular trekking route.

The entire village, including 55 guesthouses for trekkers, was wiped out by the avalanche.

Authorities say at least seven foreigners are included amongst the dead, but only two have been identified.

In Australia, the wait to hear the names of the dead is excruciating.

Adelaide man Brett White says it's believed his brother Tyronne reached the Langtang region while trekking the country to explore its beauty.

A Facebook message was Tyronne's last contact with home.

He hasn't been heard from since.

"I've called companies over there, like the trekking association. I've called the Australian embassy over in Nepal. I've tried to call... even there was one other random guy that said he was going to try and get a helicopter to go up there. And I've contacted him, if he went up there, to try and actually look for my brother. Things like that. I've just tried to call anyone and everyone."

Meanwhile medical aid agency Doctors Without Borders is in Nepal, setting up medical clinics and tent hospitals in Kathmandu, and helicopter flights into remote areas.

The organisation's emergency coordinator in Nepal, Anne Taylor, says adding to the tragedy is the quake's impact on remote regions, where access is difficult.

"The problem is that the only access really is by foot, and there's a lot of slips. Well there's been some slips since that have killed people even. We're using helicopters to get teams in, but again even with a helicopter we can't land. So it's this ongoing problem that won't go away, really."

More than 7,000 people have been killed in the disaster, but Nepalese Prime Minister Sushil Koirala expects the death toll could reach 10,000.

MSF's Anne Taylor says the reality is they still cannot put together a complete picture of the damage.

"I think it's going to be extremely ambitious to be able to get to all the villages that have been, you know, have really been damaged very very severely. So it's going to be very difficult to have it quantified very very specifically."

Aid workers are struggling to help those survivors in out of reach places.

Some haven't eaten since the earthquake struck on April the 25th.

But the United Nations World Food Programme Executive Director Ertharin Cousin says they will reach every person in need.

"We've prepared for this disaster, so we are ahead of the game of providing the support that is necessary. What we need is to continue to ensure that we receive the resources that are required, so that no person goes hungry and no person goes without the assistance that they need."

Meanwhile the Nepalese government has begun asking foreign teams to wrap up search and rescue operations, stating hope of finding people alive in the rubble has diminished.

And the families of the missing people remain uncertain of what news each day will bring.

Brett White considers going to Nepal to find his brother, but he doesn't know if it will make a difference.

"I, yeah, I'm considering it. But still, there's so many things happening over there, I'm not sure if I would actually help or not."

Tuesday 5 May 2015

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2015/05/05/trekkers-bodies-yet-be-identified-nepal

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18 dead in Afghanistan bus crash

At least 18 people were killed and three injured on Sunday when a minivan overturned in western Afghanistan, provincial officials said.

The accident in the Bala Murghab district of Badghis province was due to the driver’s “recklessness,” said provincial governor’s spokesman Mirwais Mirzakwal, who gave the casualty figure.

Sharafudeen Majeedi, chief of staff in the governor’s office, confirmed the death toll.

The injured were taken to hospital by local people while police and a rescue team retrieved the bodies.

Afghanistan has some of the world’s most dangerous roads and deadly accidents are common.

In April 2013 a bus hit a wrecked fuel tanker in the southern province of Kandahar, killing 45 people.

He says the accident happened early Sunday in Bala Murghab district. Badghis is one of Afghanistan’s poorest and least developed regions.

Poorly-maintained roads and reckless driving are major issues in Afghanistan. Road fatalities top 6,000 annually, according to the World Health Organization.

Monday 4 May 2015

http://www.arabnews.com/world/news/741556

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Italy says 10 migrants die, 5,800 rescued in ongoing mission

Nearly 5,800 migrants were plucked from boats off the coast of Libya and 10 bodies were recovered in less than 48 hours, Italy's coast guard said, in one of the biggest rescue operations this year.

Two weeks after nearly 900 boat people drowned in the worst Mediterranean shipwreck in living memory, the flow of people desperate to reach a better life in Europe has accelerated as people smugglers take advantage of calmer seas.

Seven bodies were found on two large rubber boats packed with migrants and rescuers plucked from the sea the corpses of three others who had jumped into the water when they saw a merchant ship approaching, the coast guard said.

Separately, authorities in Egypt said that three people died when a migrant boat attempting to reach Greece sank off its coast. Thirty-one people were rescued.

Italy's coast guard has coordinated the rescues by its own navy and coast guard, a French ship acting on behalf of the European border control agency, merchant ships, and one vessel run by the privately funded Migrant Offshore Aid Station.

Growing lawlessness and anarchy in Libya - the last point on one of the main transit routes to Europe - is giving free hand to people smugglers who make an average of 80,000 euros ($90,000) from each boatload, according to an ongoing investigation by an Italian court.

Libyan state news agency Lana said on Sunday authorities there detained 500 migrants in five boats off Tripoli and a further 480 migrants - from Sudan, Somalia, Eritrea and Ethiopia - were caught in a farm near the central town of Jufra, and another 170 were detained nearby.

Those rescued in the Italian operation were being brought to Italian shores, some already arriving at Lampedusa, Italy's southernmost island, and others at Trapani, Sicily. More were to be brought ashore overnight and on Monday.

Shocked by last month's record disaster, European Union leaders agreed to triple funding for the EU sea patrol mission Triton, but there is still disagreement on what to do with the people fleeing conflict and poverty in various parts of Africa and the Middle East.

Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann said in a newspaper interview on Sunday that the EU should set up a quota system whereby member countries agree to take in more refugees in order to relieve some of the pressure on Italy, Greece and Malta.

But Austria's proposal is likely to face tough opposition from some members states, including Britain and Hungary.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday that EU states should be allowed to set their own rules on migrants, and that Hungary did not want any of them.

Mild spring weather and calm summer seas are expected to push total arrivals in Italy for 2015 to 200,000, an increase of 30,000 on last year, according to an Interior Ministry projection.

About 1,800 are estimated to have perished during the crossing already this year, the UN refugee agency said, while some 51,000 have entered Europe by sea, with 30,500 coming via Italy.

Monday 4 May 2015

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/05/03/europe-migrants-italy-idUKL5N0XU06G20150503

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Nepal earthquake rescue teams search for missing trekkers in Himalayas

Police, soldiers and volunteers have launched a major search operation in the remote Langtang region of the Nepalese Himalayas to look for up to 600 trekkers and support staff who have been missing since an 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit the south Asian country nine days ago.

The death toll in the disaster has reached 7,365, with 14,355 injured. The bodies of about 100 trekkers and villagers were recovered at the biggest village in Langtang, which lies 60km (40 miles) north of Kathmandu and is on a trekking route popular with westerners.

The entire village, which includes 55 guesthouses used by trekkers, was wiped out by the avalanche, officials said. “Volunteers and police personnel are digging through six-foot snow with shovels looking for more bodies,” Gautam Rimal, assistant chief district officer, said.

Uddab Bhattarai, the most senior administrator in the area, said more than 400 people had been killed in Langtang, with at least 250 missing. “We have been doing search and rescue massively but haven’t been able to figure out the exact number of missing,” he said.

The president of Trekking Agencies’ Association of Nepal, Ramesh Dhamala, said the number of people missing could at least twice as high. “According to the records, 1,350 Nepalese and foreign trekkers entered Langtang, but once the earthquake struck we were unable to find out how many were still there,” he said. “We assume at least 600 foreigners and Nepalese might be missing in the area.”

Langtang, a region of steep gorges and high mountains on the border with Tibet, was hit by massive landslides after the quake. “It seems that entire hillsides sheared away. There were huge avalanches too, a mix of snow and mud,” said a Kathmandu-based trekking operator with long experience of the region.

Tulsi Prasad Gautam, head of the tourism department in Nepal, described the Langtang valley as “completely wiped away”.

In other parts of the Himalayan country, three people were pulled alive from the rubble of their home on Sunday, eight days after the earthquake, while local media reported that a 101-year-old man was found alive on Saturday.

There was continuing confusion over the climbing season on Everest, the world’s highest peak, with conflicting announcements by government officials. Whatever the eventual administrative decision it appears the spring season, which is the most popular with mountaineers, is unlikely to see any attempts on the 29,000ft mountain.

The route that is laid anew each year through the icefall, one of the most dangerous passages though low down the peak, has been largely destroyed and local Sherpa guides who specialise in preparing a path through the jumble of ice blocks and crevasses are reported to have refused to repair it.

The relief operation has been troubled by bureaucratic bottlenecks, logistic difficulties and rough terrain. Aftershocks are also continuing, though bad weather that had grounded helicopters has cleared.

Nine days after the earthquake, Sushil Koirala, the prime minister of Nepal, has made his first visit outside the capital. The 75-year-old politician travelled to Chautara in Sindhupalchowk district, where at least 3,000 people were killed. “We are doing our best in whatever resources we have,” he said, adding that his home had been damaged.

Western aid officials have expressed frustration at infighting within the Nepalese government, which they say is hampering the relief operation.

The chief district officer of Gorkha, Uddhav Timilsina, said 20,000 tarpaulins had been distributed, though more than twice as many were needed. “Landslides in some places have affected our relief distribution and we haven’t been able to reach some of the affected area because of the road conditions,” he said. “We do have scarcity of food.”

A police spokesman, Kamal Singh Bam, said a shortage of tarpaulins was a serious problem.

US military aircraft and personnel arrived in Nepal on Sunday and were due to begin helping ferry relief supplies to stricken areas outside the capital. The US contingent comprised eight aircraft, including one Huey and two C-130s, and 100-120 personnel, spokeswoman Capt Cassandra Gesecki said.

On Sunday, the government restricted the landing of large cargo aircraft at the congested airport to limit damage to the stressed runway. The UN has said 8 million of Nepal’s 28 million people had been affected by the quake, with at least 2 million needing tents, water, food and medicines over the next three months. A survey found that three-quarters of the buildings in Kathmandu had been destroyed or were unsafe.

Thousands of people remain camped out in the city and its surroundings. Many more remote villages are still to be reached, and aid officials fear further fatalities from infected wounds sustained in the quake and among vulnerable sections of the population such as the elderly and the very young.

Monday 4 May 2015

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/04/nepal-earthquake-rescue-teams-search-missing-trekkers-himalayas

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Pakistan police: Bus crash death toll climbs to 13

A Pakistani police officer says the death toll from an accident in the southern Sindh province in which a minibus struck a power line and burst into flames has climbed to 13 after five people died at hospitals overnight.

The minibus was carrying a wedding party and had metal dowry furniture strapped to the roof. When the furniture snagged the power line the bus burst into flames and crashed into a tree.

Six women, a man and a child were electrocuted to death.

Police officer Altaf Chandio said another two women and three men died at different hospitals as a result of severe burns.

Chandio says 15 people are still being treated for burns and other injuries at hospitals.

Such incidents are not uncommon in Pakistan, where drivers routinely ignore traffic laws.

Monday 4 May 2015

http://www.arabnews.com/world/news/741936

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At least 21 killed in bus accident in Panna, Madhya Pradesh

At least twenty-one passengers were charred to death and 13 others were injured, one of them critical, when a bus on way to Satna fell off a bridge and caught fire near Pandav Falls, about 10 kms from Panna town on Monday afternoon.

IG (Chhatarpur) Pankaj Shrivastava told The Indian Express that 21 completely charred bodies had been recovered from the private bus that had a capacity to carry 35 passengers. IG Shrivastava said that bursting of the diesel tank was probably the cause of fire.

The bus operated by Anup Travels from Chhatarpur to Satna via Pannaa started at around 12.40 and the mishap occurred about an hour later.

While the condition of 12 survivors was reported to be safe at a government hospital in Panna a 42-year-old passenger had sustained serious burns and was referred to another hospital.

One of the survivors told the district authorities that the bus was being driven at a very high speed when the mishap occurred. Local people however, claimed that the number of passengers was much more than the official figures.

While ordering a magisterial inquiry, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has announced compensation of Rs 2 lakh for the dead.

Prajapati said the bus' fuel tank might have exploded after it fell down nearly 16 feet from the bridge, causing the fire. The death toll could rise as the rescue operation was still underway, he said.

Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident. Chouhan also announced financial help of Rs 2 lakh each to the kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 and Rs 25,000 to the seriously injured and the injured victims, respectively.

Monday 4 May 2015

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-at-least-50-killed-in-bus-accident-in-panna-madhya-pradesh-2083145

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