9/11 families appeal court decision

New York (CNN) -- Seventeen family members of people killed in the September 11, 2001, World Trade Center attacks are appealing a court decision that ultimately will decide where unidentified victims' remains will rest.

The appeal comes in a New York court decision of a lawsuit brought after the 9/11 Memorial Museum decided to keep the unidentified remains of ground zero victims underground near the museum. According to the 9/11 Memorial's website, the repository will be located between the footprints of the two towers and will be accessed, operated, and maintained solely by the city's office of the chief medical examiner.

The 9/11 Memorial and Museum received "overwhelming feedback" from families that led to the decision to house the remains in a repository "on the sacred ground of the site," according to the website.

But the plan has sparked opposition, with some families saying in a statement, "The families of those who were killed were neither meaningfully notified nor consulted about this plan, and many have objected to it."

Jim Riches, chairman of the Families and Parents of Firefighters and WTC Victims, told CNN that one of his group's members polled families on a list of about 1,000 e-mail addresses. "Of the 350 families who responded, 95% said they wanted the remains to be above ground like the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier," Riches said, referring to the Washington site dedicated to U.S. service members whose remains were not identified.

Those families filed a petition requesting contact information for the 2,749 family members of 9/11 victims. On October 25, the New York trial court denied the petition on the grounds that releasing that information would violate privacy laws. On Friday, the 17 families filed an appeal in New York County Supreme Court.

The goal of the appeal is to have the city release a list of family members to "(seek) their input regarding the City's current plan to place the unidentified human remains in the Museum." The 17 family members that are appealing believe the state's Freedom of Information Law should allow them access to the list of names.

"The city has already given the names and addresses to the 9/11 Memorial Museum," Riches said. "You can't pick and choose who you give the names to. Let the family members pick where they want the remains to be put. They're not letting us have any say."

Monday 20 August 2012

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/08/19/us/new-york-9-11-families/index.html

continue reading

'300 go missing every month in Haryana'

CHANDIGARH: Data compiled by the State Crime Records Bureau (SCRB) of Haryana has revealed that around 300 persons (men, women and kids together) go missing every month from the state, and most number of cases are reported from the national capital region (NCR). The data also revealed that bodies of around 250 unidentified persons are recovered from across the state every month.

According to SCRB, 60% of missing reports or unidentified people come from NCR areas of Gurgaon, Faridabad, Sonipat, Mewat and Rohtak. SCRB is now setting up a centralized control room with an updated data on missing persons at the police training complex in Madhuban. The centre will be linked to all the police stations across the state to provide information and assistance on missing person. The centre will be operational by September 1.

According to figures released by SCRB, the number of persons missing in the state between 2008 to August 1, 2012 has reached 11,073. While the number of unidentified bodies cremated by police in the same period has touched the figure of 5,040.

SCRB director Layak Ram Dabas admitted that inadequate infrastructure in police stations and police posts across the state was to be blamed for failure in tracking down missing persons. Dabas also claimed that lack of coordination among states too was responsible for increase in unsolved missing persons' cases.

"There had been cases where families fail to inform police when persons whose missing report is filed returned home. Sometimes it turns out to be a case of runaway couples or kidnapping for ransom,'' Dabas said.

About 40% of those who go missing are minors while the number of adult males going missing is also the same. Rest 20% are adult females. About 250 bodies of unidentified persons are found every month and only around 50 such bodies are identified, while the rest are cremated as unidentified.

Monday 20 August 2012

http://m.timesofindia.com/articleshow/15564304.cms

continue reading

Six S. Africa mine victims still unidentified

Six of the 34 people shot dead by South African police in an illegal miners' strike have not yet been identified, four days after the deadliest crackdown since apartheid, the government said Monday.

A ministerial team working in Marikana to help arrange burials and aid the families of victims said that all but six men had been identified from the fatal protest at the Lonmin platinum mine.

Some of the dead are foreigners, most likely migrant workers who came from neighbouring countries in search of work, the government said in a statement.

Authorities were working to issue the documents needed for families to transport the bodies back home, it added.

Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi was at the Phokeng government mortuary helping families identify the bodies, North-West provincial spokesman Lesiba Moses Kgwele said in a statement on Facebook.

"Bereaved families request government to request Lonmin not to put pressure on them to return to work while they are mourning and arranging burials," he said.

Monday 20 August 2012

http://news.yahoo.com/six-africa-mine-victims-still-unidentified-160654398.html

continue reading

15 Killed, 16 Injured In Kazakh Road Accident

fficials say at least 15 people have been killed and 16 others injured in a road accident in northern Kazakhstan.

The Kazakh Emergencies Ministry said a commuter bus collided with a truck and a car late on August 19 near the village of Babatai, in Akmola Province, on the Almaty-Yekaterinburg highway.

The bus, which had 31 passengers, was en route from Astana to Karaganda.

An investigation into the accident has been launched.

Monday 20 August 2012

http://www.rferl.org/content/kazakhstan-road-accident/24682254.html

continue reading

Tiger Disco fire: French, British named as probable victims

PHUKET: Patong Police Superintendent Jirapat Phochanaphan this afternoon confirmed to the Phuket Gazette that police were now investigating at least three more missing persons now suspected of being victims of the Tiger Discotheque fire that killed four people early Friday morning.

“Police are investigating four people named as missing. We will ask for DNA samples to be provided so they can be sent to the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Bangkok for verification,” Col Jirapat told the Gazette.

Of the three “new” missing persons being investigated, he identified one as a Frenchman named “Emmanuel”.

The Frenchman became a suspected victim of the fire after a friend said he recognized a watch still on one of the bodies on Friday.

One of the other new suspected victims is believed to have been British. Police are expected to release the man’s name later today.

Two Thais being investigated as suspected victims were named as Duangporn Butkor, 32, and Nipharat Sutthasorn, 36, from Nong Bua Lumphu, near Udon Thani.

Atthapol Butkor told police that his sister, Ms Duangporn, had been missing since Friday.

She worked for a hotel in Patong and on that night she took hotel guests to Tiger Disco, so he thought she might be one of the victims of the fire, he said.

However, after inspecting the bodies, he could not positively identify his sister’s remains among them.

“She usually wore two rings on the same finger, but after checking the bodies I could see only one ring on the correct finger, so I am not sure,” he said.

Ms Nipharat became a suspected victim after a female friend reported that Nipharat went to Tiger Disco on the night of the fire. She has not been seen since.

Police believe at least one of the victims was female or a transgender person as they found silicone implants under the breasts.

The friend asked to see that body in particular, but found she was unable to make a positive identification.

News of the “new” suspected victims follows a female Thai staffer who worked at Tiger Disco reporting on Friday that she identified a watch and a bracelet found on one of the bodies.

However, she too was unable to make a positive identification.

All four of the bodies found in the aftermath of the fire have now been transferred from Patong Hospital to the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Bangkok, where any tests for identification will take place.

Sunday 19 august 2012

http://www.phuketgazette.net/phuket_news/2012/Tiger-Disco-fire-French-British-named-as-probable-victims-16702.html

continue reading

Typhoon Kai-Tak claims 27 lives as floods hit north Vietnam

At least 27 people have been killed during a typhoon which swept across northern provinces of Vietnam over the weekend, officials have said.

The storm, which made landfall late Friday, brought strong winds and heavy rains that inundated several densely populated communities including part of the capital Hanoi.

Typhoon Kai-Tak made landfall on Friday, bringing intense rain and strong winds.

Nearly 12,000 houses were damaged and 56,800 acres (23,000 hectares) of cropland were flooded, officials said.

Some of those who died were carried away by floodwaters, one died in a flood-triggered landslide.

In the capital, Hanoi, where some 200 large trees were uprooted, one taxi driver was killed when a tree fell on his car.

In Bac Giang province a 46-year-old woman died after a hill near her house collapsed in the middle of the night.

On Sunday, parts of Hanoi remained flooded and residents complained that flash floods still posed a risk despite insistence from the authorities that drainage in the capital had been improved.

The Vietnamese army had prepared 20,000 soldiers, along with helicopters, rescue boats and canoes for rescue operations, but only a small number were actually deployed, reports Agence France Presse news agency.

China's Xinhua news agency said that the typhoon had also left two dead and two others missing as it passed across parts of southern China on Friday, destroying some 4,200 homes in Guangdong province.

Sunday 19 August 2012

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-19312295

continue reading

Eleven killed in Mexico bus accident

DURANGO: Eleven people were killed and 23 others injured Friday when a bus headed to the Pacific resort town of Mazatlan fell into a mountain ravine, local officials said.

The bus "was carrying seniors going from Tlaxcala to Mazatlan, on the Pacific coast, for a Christian convention," said Durango state civil defense official Arturo Galindo.

It plummeted about 165 feet (50 meters) into a ravine in the Sierra Madre. The driver and his assistant died on impact.

The incident occurred less than a month after the deaths of 26 people in another bus accident.

President Felipe Calderon said earlier this week that traffic accidents cause the deaths of some 16,000 people annually, making Mexico's roads the seventh most deadly in the world.

Sunday 19 August 2012

http://www.thenews.com.pk/article-63869-Eleven-killed-in-Mexico-bus-accident

continue reading

Police probe disco fire in Phuket after they failed to identify bodies including a possible Thai ladyboy

POLICE are still searching for clues after a fire in a Thai nightclub killed four people, and have ruled out claims an electrical transformer explosion during a storm was to blame.

Authorities are appealing for hotel owners to report any missing guests as they try to to identify the bodies of the four people who died in the Phuket club, The Daily Mail reports.

The four victims are reportedly a French national, two Japanese men and a Thai 'man or woman'.

Officials cannot confirm identities.

The Thai person's gender is in doubt as they found a silicone breast implant at the club, but the local area is known for having a high population of transsexual 'ladyboys'.

A Patong hospital spokesman said: "We cannot even tell whether the bodies are male or female."

The cause was initially put down to a lightning strike on a nearby electrical generator but Phuket's electricity authority ruled out claims a transformer explosion during a storm was to blame for the Tiger Disco fire tragedy which claimed four lives and left 11 people with serious burn injuries, The Bangkok Post reports.

Phuket police said they were still investigating whether the disco was operating beyond the 2am closing time and if the disco, which is decorated with foam sculptures of tigers and snakes, had breached safety regulations because of modifications.

The investigation comes after an Australian told of seeing "people running on fire" after the blaze broke out.

The fire ripped through the Tiger club, popular with foreign tourists, in Patong - Phuket's west coast tourist hub - after a lightning strike.

"There are four confirmed dead. We believe they are foreign tourists, but it's not yet confirmed,'' Phuket deputy governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada told AFP by telephone.

Darwin man Jaryd Kemp, 26, told the Northern Territory News: "It's been a crazy night like all nights are in Thailand, but things went bad when lightning hit power lines and transformer exploded five metres away from me causing sparks and blue flames shooting off it.

"People on fire running out of the club like you would see in a movie," he said.

"When I heard the reports of only four dead I couldn't believe that.

"I'm safe just exhausted. Patong is my second home to Darwin and had to make sure all my friends were OK."

Four French tourists were among those injured, one - 30-year-old Benjamin Tallanotte - with burns to 40 percent of his body.

The hospital listed the other Frenchmen treated for less serious burns as Nycolas Robyn, 25, Mathieu Lagrange, 40, and Yasmine Khelaef-Humber, 31, along with seven Thais.

Survivor Kanyaporn Kantong, 25, who was one of several victims treated for burns at Patong Hospital, told Phuket Wan Tourism News: ''Someone pushed me out the door. I owe them my life.'

Hundreds of people were in the disco at the time, she said.

''We saw the smoke but I thought it was a disco special effect. Then I looked up at the disco ball and saw the flames.

''We knew then that it was serious. I didn't know which way to go. Luckily, someone pushed me in the right direction.''

It took more than an hour for firemen to get the blaze under control.

"We received more than 20 people who sustained injuries from the Tiger pub fire. Most are suffering from suffocation," a hospital worker told ABC.

"Two are in critical condition from severe burns. One of them is a French man who suffered burns on his torso.

"The four dead bodies were burnt beyond recognition. We cannot identify even their gender."

The fire broke out early today at the late-night Tiger disco in the town of Patong, a magnet for foreign tourists on the southern island , almost two hours after all bars and other venues in Patong are meant to close.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) said it was saddened by the news.

"The Australian embassy in Bangkok and the Australian Honorary Consul in Phuket are urgently liaising with local authorities to determine whether any Australians are affected,'' a DFAT spokesperson said.

"Thai authorities are yet to advise us on the nationalities of those affected."

This morning's blaze ripped through the premises at the back of the Tiger complex, exposing beams along about 30 metres of the structure.

A large crowd of onlookers was held back as ambulances backed down the laneway to pick up the bodies in the club., which is on the corner with Soi Bangla.

The manager of the Tiger Discotheque, Tamrongsak Boonsak, said the fire broke out about 2am.

''People heard two blasts and it was originally thought that it was further down Soi Bangla,'' he said.

''We will do what we can to help those who have been injured and to help the families of those who have died.''

The fire is the worst in a Thailand nightclub since the fire at the Santika in Bangkok on New Year's Eve 2009 killed 62 people.

If anyone is concerned about someone being in the Patong area of Phuket there is a 24 Hour Consular Emergency Centre: Call 1300 555 135 within Australia (local call cost) or +61 2 6261 3305 from outside Australia.

Sunday 19 August 2012

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/world/police-probe-disco-fire-in-phuket-after-they-failed-to-identify-bodies-including-a-possible-thai-ladyboy/story-fnd134gw-1226452477944

continue reading

Sudan plane crash kills all 32 on board

32 people including at least one Sudanese minister were killed when a plane taking them to an Islamic festival crashed in the south of the country.

The plane went down into mountains around Talodi, a town in the border state of South Kordofan, while bringing a government delegation there to celebrate the festival marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the state news agency Suna said. Twenty-six passengers were killed, it added, and the dead included ministers but did not name them.

Abdel Hafiz Abdel Rahim, a civil aviation spokesman, told Reuters 32 people were killed including the crew, but had no details about their identities.

The Arabic satellite channel Al Arabiya said the plane was carrying the guidance and endowments minister, Khalil Abdalla. Al Jazeera reported two ministers had been on board, but did not name them.

Citing Sudanese authorities, Al Jazeera reported that security personnel and a media team were also killed in the crash. It did not say whether the plane involved belonged to the state-owned Sudan Airways or another carrier.

There have been several crashes in recent years involving Sudan Airways, which has been worn down by years of US sanctions and other issues. A cargo plane crashed when it was taking off in the United Arab Emirates in 2009 and another cargo plane crashed shortly after takeoff from Khartoum in 2008.

Oil-producing South Kordofan borders South Sudan, which seceded more than a year ago. The border state has been at the centre of an insurgency since shortly before South Sudan's independence.

Sudan's government accused rebels of killing a state official and seven other people there in July. A spokesman for the main rebel group in the area, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement North, said it had nothing to do with the plane crash on Sunday.

Sunday 19 august 2012

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2012/08/201281975853839515.html

continue reading

12 feared dead after ferry sinks in eastern China

Twelve people are missing and feared to have drowned after a ferry boat sank on a river in eastern China, government officials said on Friday. Nine other people on board the vessel have been rescued and taken to hospital.

The accident happened at around 1:40 a.m. local time on Thursday in the Ma'anshan section of the Yangtze River, the country's longest river, in China's eastern province of Anhui. The boat was carrying 21 people on a trip from Ma'anshan City to Hexian County when the accident happened.

"As of now, nine people have been rescued and search-and-rescue is in progress for twelve people still missing," a spokesperson for the State Administration of Work Safety said. Several of the survivors were taken to the intensive care unit at Ma'anshan People's Hospital, but their conditions were not immediately known.

The boat, which was also carrying five trucks, three cars and two electric bikes, was not overloaded, according to the administration of navigational affairs of the Yangtze River, an agency under the Ministry of Transport.

The ferry station has been cordoned off by the local police to facilitate the rescue effort.

According to the official Sina Weibo account of the city government of Ma'anshan, at least 24 boats have been sent to search for the missing and salvage the sunken boat.

Ferry services from Ma'anshan have been suspended.

"The boat sank some 500 meters from the bank and right in the middle of the river, causing us a lot of trouble with the rescue and salvage," said a firefighter at site.

Authorities said they were investigating the cause of the accident.

Saturday 18 August 2012

http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/727460.shtml

continue reading

One dead, four missing in boat capsize

KOTA TINGGI - An illegal immigrant drowned and another four were missing when their boat capsized after being struck by strong waves off Tanjung Pengelih, near here on Thursday.

One illegal immigrant and the ill-fated boat's tekong were rescued in the incident which occurred at about noon.

The boat had left an undesignated jetty at Kampung Pasir Putih in Pasir Gudang and was believed to be heading towards Pulau Batam, Indonesia.

The tragedy only came to light more than eight hours later when a fisherman rescued the boat's tekong -- Harman Latip, 44, off Tanjung Pengelih. The fisherman alerted the Johor Baru Maritime Rescue Sub-centre at 8.25pm.

Malaysia Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) southern region enforcement chief First Admiral Adon Shalan said the agency and the Marine Operations Force sent out a 30-member search and rescue party to the site of the incident.

"About 9.30pm, we found another victim nearby who was found clinging to a buoy to keep afloat. We rushed him to a marina jetty at Tanjung Pengelih for immediate medical treatment.

"The survivor, Zulkarnain Yusman said he managed to hold on to the buoy when the boat capsized while the rest, including a woman, drifted off into Singapore waters," he said.

The two rescued victims were treated at the Sungai Rengit health clinic before they were sent to the district police station to assist in investigations.

Adon said the Singapore police coast guard found a body in their waters about 2am yesterday. The victim, identified as Shamsuddin, 34, was believed to be one of the boat passengers.

"The search and rescue continues today. We are working closely with Singapore coast guard and the Singapore Maritime Rescue Control Centre."

Adon said the MMEA, in cooperation with the Johor Immigration Department, had been monitoring undesignated jetties in the state to nab illegal foreigners.

He said at least 10 boats had been spotted attempting to smuggle out illegal foreigners from Johor during Ramadan.

"However, most of them had to make a U-turn and hide in forests nearby or abandoned their trips after we spotted them attempting to sneak out of the country."

Saturday 18 August 2012

http://news.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/Malaysia/Story/A1Story20120818-366223.html

continue reading

Tiger Disco Fire: Friend identifies watch, bracelet of missing Thai waitress

PHUKET: A Thai waitress who worked at the Tiger Discotheque may have been identified today after a friend recognized a wristwatch and a bracelet found on one of the four bodies incinerated by the blaze.

Phuket Provincial Police Commander Chonasit Wattanavrangkul today confirmed that several people had come forward to identify at least one of the four victims incinerated in the Tiger Discotheque inferno in Patong early this morning.

“I received reports of one French tourist and one Japanese tourist missing from guesthouses in the Patong area. I have just received another report from Patong Police about one missing Thai staffer who worked at Tiger Discotheque,” he confirmed to the Phuket Gazette.

The news follows several guesthouses today reporting guests who did not return to their hotels last night, Maj Gen Chonasit explained this afternoon.

Earlier today, several people arrived at Patong Police Station to file missing persons reports.

One officer told the Gazette, “One Thai woman who came to the police station said she recognized the wristwatch and bracelet of her friend when she went to see the body at Patong Hospital.

“She said her friend worked as a waitress at Tiger Discotheque. She [the victim] was around 20 years old and originally came from Sukhothai province.”

The officer added that two Frenchmen, both tourists, also arrived at Patong Police Station to report that their friend had been missing since last night.

“They thought their friend might be one of the bodies found at Tiger Discotheque,” he said.

One Japanese tourist also came to the police station to report a friend who had been missing since last night, the officer added.

The officer declined to name Thai staffer, the French tourist or the Japanese tourist reported as missing.

Maj Gen Chonasit said that one of the bodies is believed to have been female or a transgender person, called katoey in Thai.

“I am not sure if it is the body of female or transgender person, but there were silicone implants under the breasts,” he said.

However, he added, “We can’t be 100 per cent sure who the person is until the body is formally identified at the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Bangkok.”

The news follows Royal Thai Police Assistant Commissioner-General Lt Gen Chalermkiat Srivorakan arriving from Bangkok this afternoon to see with his own eyes the devastation the fire had caused.

Lt Gen Chalermkiat confirmed that he had ordered the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Bangkok to take over the daunting task of identifying the four victims trapped in the blaze.

“We have assigned officers from Office of Forensic Science from Bangkok to investigate the cause of the fire. I have also ordered that all four bodies be sent to the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Bangkok for identification.

“No one from the institute in Bangkok has arrived yet. A team from Provincial Police Region 8 came down today to check, but I have yet to receive any report [from them],” he added.

“I will also check for the operating hours of this place, but the most important thing at this stage is to determine the cause of fire and to identify the bodies,” Lt Gen Chalermkiat said.

Saturday 18 August 2012

http://www.phuketnews.asia/2012/08/tiger-disco-fire-friend-identifies-watch-bracelet-of-missing-thai-waitress/

continue reading

Bodies in Phuket blaze to be sent to Bangkok for identification.

Police on Friday called on Phuket hotel and bungalow operators to provide information on any missing guests to help in identifying victims of the discotheque fire in Phuket.

Deutsche Presse-Agentur quoted Phuket police chief Maj Gen Chainasit Wattanawalangkul as saying it was believed three of the dead were foreigners and one was Thai.

However, he was waiting for the autopsy to confirm the identities of the victims, whose bodies were badly burnt. The fire broke out on the second floor of the popular Tiger Discotheque Bar on Patong Beach at 4.40am. It was brought under control by 6 am.

Patong Hospital spokeswoman Donraya Buklarak said it was not possible to identify the dead because the bodies were too badly burned. "We will have to send them to Bangkok for autopsy," she said.

District police Colonel Jiraphat Fuchanaphan said, "We think the fire was caused by an explosion of an electricity transformer near the club." Patong and much of Phuket experienced frequent blackouts Friday morning due to heavy rain, which put a strain on the electricity system.

Eleven people were admitted to the hospital with two listed in a critical condition. These have been identified as French national Benjamin Tallanotte, 30, and a Thai woman.

Nine others, including three French citizens, were allowed to leave hospital after receiving treatment for minor burns. It was unclear why the nightclub was still operating after the legal closing time of 1am.

"We had stopped services at the club, but there were still people there sitting around drinking," Tiger Disco Bar manager ThamrongsakBoonlak said.

He said the club would pay full compensation for all victims of the fire.

The Tiger Disco Bar is one of the biggest nightclubs in Phuket, which is located 700 kilometres south-west of Bangkok. It has a dancefloor on the second floor and several bars on the ground floor.

Saturday 18 August 2012

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Bodies-in-Phuket-blaze-to-be-sent-to-Bangkok-for-i-30188543.html

continue reading

Deaths in bar blaze in Thailand's Phuket

Four people have been killed and more than 20 others injured in a fire at a bar and nightclub frequented by foreign tourists on the southern Thai resort island of Phuket, according to local police.

Those who died in the fire early on Friday morning included two women and one man. Police said the bodies were too badly burnt to identify.

Hospital workers said foreigners were among the casualties in the blaze, including four French nationals who were among the injured.

Police Colonel Jirapat said the fire broke out shortly before 4am local time (21:00 GMT on Thursday) at the Tiger Disco in Phuket's popular Patong beach area.

He said the cause of the blaze was not yet known, but that authorities suspected heavy rains that led to sparks at a nearby electricity transformer may have triggered it.

Possible cause Chamroen Tipayapongtada, Phuket's deputy governor, told AFP news agency: "The fire was caused by lightning which struck a transformer and the fire spread throughout the place."

The Tiger Pub was reported to be close to collapse after the fire. Rescue workers pulled the charred bodies of victims out of the wreckage on Friday.

Hospital workers in Phuket said the injured included both Thais and foreigners.

"We received more than 20 people who sustained injuries from the ... fire. Most are suffering from suffocation," one hospital employee said.

"Two are in critical condition from severe burns. One of them is a French man who suffered burns on his torso," she added.

"The four dead bodies were burnt beyond recognition. We cannot identify even their gender."

A team from the National Police Office was on its way to Phuket to try to identify the victims.

Tarnished reputation Outside the blackened remains of the Tiger Club nightclub, much of which was destroyed by the blaze, police kept back a crowd of onlookers as ambulances arrived to collect the casualties.

The blaze added to recent incidents that have tarnished the reputation of one of the country's premier tourist destinations.

Thailand is one of the world's most popular tourist destinations, attracting 19 million visitors last year to its beaches, temples and racy nightlife in the capital, Bangkok.

But robberies and scams are on the rise in some areas, and an Australian woman died in Phuket in June after being stabbed while trying to fend off a bag-snatcher.

Lax safety standards are a problem. In the worst incident in recent years, 66 people died and more than 200 were injured when a fire broke out in a club in central Bangkok as people were welcoming in the new year in the early hours of January 1, 2009.

Friday 17 August 2012

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia-pacific/2012/08/20128177448750104.html

continue reading

NATO helicopter crash kills 11 in Afghanistan

The NATO-led international military coalition says a helicopter crash in Afghanistan has killed 11 people including seven international service members.

The crash took place in the Shah Wali Kot district of Kandahar province, the Afghan authorities said.

The military alliance says in a statement that at least three of those killed were American troops. The nationalities of the other four coalition service members were not immediately identified.

The statement says four Afghans were also killed — three members of the security forces and one Afghan civilian interpreter.

The coalition says it is investigating the cause of the crash.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for shooting down the helicopter, although the insurgents often exaggerate their victories and are quick to claim responsibility for any incident involving the death of foreign troops.

The area where the helicopter went down is an insurgent hotbed and supply route, lying north of Kandahar city near Zabul and Uruzgan provinces.

The Taliban shot down a CH-47 Chinook transport helicopter in August 2011, killing all 38 people on board, including 25 U.S. special operations soldiers.

Thursday 16 August 2012

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/feedarticle/10394716

continue reading

Landslide Fatalities Are Greater Than Previously Thought

ScienceDaily (Aug. 15, 2012) — Landslides kill ten times more people across the world than was previously thought, according to research by Durham University, UK.

A new database of hazards shows that 32,300 people died in landslides between 2004 and 2010. Previous estimates ranged from 3,000 to 7,000 fatalities.

The database, which provides the first detailed analysis of fatal landslides across the world, maps hotspots including China, Central and South America, and India.

The researchers say that the new database, the Durham Fatal Landslide Database (DFLD), can help policymakers to prioritise areas for action to manage hazards and to lessen the risks to human populations living in hotspot regions.

The findings are published in the journal Geology.

Lead researcher, Professor David Petley, a Geographer at the International Landslide Centre, and Co-Director of The Institute of Hazard, Risk and Resilience, Durham University, said: "The environmental effects of landslides are often devastating for nearby human populations.

"We need to recognise the extent of the problem and take steps to manage what is a major environmental risk to people across the world. Our database will enable us to do this by identifying areas most at risk and could help to save thousands of lives."

The DFLD includes only fatal landslides and is compiled using a number of search tools and analysis of government statistics, aid agency reports, and research papers.

It is still likely that the database underestimates the number of landslides and deaths. The database excludes data from landslides caused by earthquakes due to the high level of uncertainty associated with these events. Following an earthquake, where there is a fatal landslide, the deaths are attributed to the earthquake trigger itself, rather than the landslide.

The researchers say that weather patterns, deforestation, melting permafrost in high mountainous areas, and high and increasing human population densities are important factors in the cause, distribution, number, extent and effects of landslides.

More fatal landslide events are recorded in May to October and the dominant global trigger is rain from the monsoon. Tropical cyclones also generate extreme rainfall events that trigger landslides in Asia, and hurricanes have the same effect on regions in the Caribbean and Central America.

In some areas with a history of fatal landslides, such as Hong Kong, programmes to mitigate the risks of landslides have been successful.

Professor David Petley said: "Areas with a combination of high relief, intense rainfall, and a high population density are most likely to experience high numbers of fatal landslides. Landslides are a global hazard requiring a major change in perception and policy.

"There are things that we can do to manage and mitigate landslide risks such as controlling land use, proactive forest management, and guiding development away from vulnerable areas."

Global landslide hotspots: •Southern edge of the Himalayan Arc •South west coast of India •Sri Lanka •Southern and eastern coasts of China •Central China, notably the mountains around the Sichuan Basin •Western edge of the Philippine Sea plate (Japan, Taiwan and the Philippines) •Central Caribbean islands including Haiti •Indonesia, especially in Java •Along the mountainous chain from Mexico, Central America, to Chile, South America, but especially in Colombia

Thursday 16 august 2012

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120815202224.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily%2Fearth_climate%2Fearthquakes+(ScienceDaily%3A+Earth+%26+Climate+News+--+Earthquakes)

continue reading

Landslides, cloudbursts kill 10 in Uttarakhand

Ten people were killed and 38 others went missing as incessant rain battered north Indian state of Uttarakhand on Saturday triggering landslides, cloudbursts and flash floods which flattened homes and stranded hundreds of people.

The Garhwal region bore the brunt of the natural calamity.

The state government has sounded a high alert and has sought the help of the army.

Nineteen labourers of the state-run UJVN Ltd’s Assi Ganga hydel project went missing following a cloud burst in the upper hills of Uttarkashi district. Similarly, 19 people also went missing from Gangori, Dunda, Uttarkashi town and Barkot areas in the district. Elsewhere in the state, 10 people were killed in different incidents following heavy rains during the past 24 hours, said sources in the Disaster Management and Mitigation Centre.

In the disaster-prone Uttarkashi district, flash floods hit several low-lying areas creating havoc there.

At least three men of the fire brigade department and two others were killed at Gangori area even as Chardham yatra to Gangotri and Yamunotri remained suspended.

In Gangori area of Uttarkashi, Bhagirathi is flowing above the danger level with people being evacuated to safer areas.

Nearly 30 homes were washed away in the floods with the Gangori bridge also collapsing.

Two more people were killed in Dunda area of Uttarkashi district.

While two children were killed in a house collapse at Kararnprayag area of Chamoli district early on Saturday, another child was washed away in flash floods at Pokhri area of the district where landslides continue to block highways leading to Badrinath.

Meanwhile, continuing heavy rains in the mountains of Uttarakhand and Nepal have flooded the major rivers of eastern Uttar Pradesh Ghaghra, Rapti and Saryu, threatening to submerge hundreds of villages.

Thursday 16 August 2012

http://www.omantribune.com/index.php?page=news&id=125124&heading=India

continue reading

60 killed in quarry collapse in Congo

An official in northeast Congo says at least 60 people are dead following a landslide at a gold mine in a remote area.

More than 60 people died this week when a quarry collapsed in an abandoned mine in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Radio Okapi reported late on Wednesday.

The UN-sponsored radio said the accident happened on Monday at Pangoy, 120 kilometres from Manbasa, as illegal miners rushed to be the first in the bottom of the pit. The sides collapsed, burying them all.

Local administrator Faustin Drakana Kananga told The Associated Press on Thursday that it took crews four days to get to the mine following Monday's accident in Pangoyi. The area is controlled by members of a militia and located in a dense jungle.

The local government chief confirmed the number of dead, the radio said. He added that the mine had been abandoned after clashes between the regular army and a militia headed up by Paul Sadala, alias Morgan.

Kananga said the miners were in an area about 100 meters (yards) below the surface at the time of the accident.

Congo, a vast nation in central Africa, is mired in poverty despite enormous mineral riches following decades of dictatorship and war. Many Congolese try to eke out a living through small-scale mining though the practice remains dangerous and unregulated.

Similar accidents are all too common in the east of this enormous nation, which is rich in minerals such as coltan, used in the making of electronic gadgets, and cassiterite, or tin ore.

Thursday 16 August 2012

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10827466

continue reading

PH miner saved 'thanks to animal sacrifice'

A MINER in the Philippines who was trapped underground for a week after several attempts to rescue him failed was finally pulled to safety on Friday, an official said, following a traditional animal sacrifice.

Felipe Pilmaco, a small-scale miner in the mountainous Benguet region, was trapped when the narrow tunnel he excavated collapsed on him, said Supt. Mario Mayam-es, regional police official.

He survived on supplies passed through a metal pipe and communicated using a mobile phone that was sent to him, but when rescuers tried to dig him out more dirt would fall and block the tunnel, said Mayam-es.

Finally, the rescuers performed a ritual sacrifice of a black pig to the local tribal mountain god, 'Kabunian' and were able to save Pilmaco.

Doctors said the miner, who celebrated his 33rd birthday underground on Tuesday, was suffering abrasions and some infections but was otherwise alright.

Gov. Nestor Fongwan of Benguet, who oversaw the rescue efforts, hailed the recovery of Pilmaco but also said he would call an investigation into illegal small-scale mining in the area.

Numerous small-scale miners in the northern Philippines have been digging in search of gold for years, despite the risk of cave-ins and flooding.

Friday 10 August 2012

http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php/news/breaking-news/28699-ph-miner-saved-thanks-to-animal-sacrifice

continue reading

Two dead and others missing after three Ugandan helicopters crash into Kenya's highest mountain in bad weather

Two people have been killed and at least seven others remain missing after three Ugandan helicopter gunships crashed into Kenya's highest mountain in bad weather.

The Russian-built Mi-24 'Hind' helicopters were travelling to Somalia to help fight al-Qaida-linked militants when they crashed on Sunday.

Rescue workers today recovered two dead bodies and continue to search for at least seven soldiers and airmen around the crash sites in the rugged landscape of Mount Kenya.

Simon Gitau, deputy warden of Mt. Kenya National Park, said rescue workers saw two bodies outside of one helicopter that crashed and burned. He said he did not know if other bodies were inside the wreckage.

'We did not search through the wreckage because it was still burning and smoldering,' Gitau said.

Five personnel were rescued from a second crash site discovered on Tuesday, Gitau said.

A third Ugandan military helicopter that crashed was found on Monday and the occupants rescued.

No one was killed in that crash that wrecked the aircraft beyond repair and only one injury was reported.

Search-and-rescue teams reached one of the crash sites Tuesday at around 12,000 feet up Mount Kenya, said Brigadier Francis Ogolla, the commander of Kenya's Laikipia Air Base near Mount Kenya. He told a press conference that the other helicopter was spotted from the air at the edge of a cliff.

Ogolla said the helicopters had taken off in formation from Laikipia Air Base at around 4:50 p.m. on Sunday en route to the northern Kenya town of Garissa, where the helicopters were to refuel before proceeding to Somalia.

One hour later only one helicopter landed in Garissa and the pilot said he had lost communication with the other three, Ogolla said.

Weather around Mount Kenya- Africa's second tallest peak at 5,199 meters (17,057 feet) - can be erratic. Heavy clouds and wind would be common this time of year, with precipitation coming in the form of rain or snow.

The three helicopters that crashed were Mi-24 gunships. The fourth helicopter that landed safely was an Mi-17.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni ordered an investigation to be led by his brother - a retired army general - in a sign of how serious Ugandan authorities are taking the loss of lives.

Neither Kenyan nor Ugandan authorities could yet say why three of four military helicopters making the trip crashed. Ugandan officials said preliminary information indicated that bad weather was responsible.

Mount Kenya - Africa's second-highest peak - has been shrouded in clouds even as rescuers tried to locate the wreckage from Sunday's crashes.

One point to be investigated will be whether the pilots took the wrong flight path. Concerns were raised in Uganda that the well-trained crew flew too close to Mount Kenya. A Ugandan official insisted that there was nothing wrong with the helicopters.

'They were inspected... and found to be airworthy,' Jeje Odongo, Uganda's deputy minister of defense, said of the Russian Mi-24 helicopters.

Odongo said that all the crew had been trained by the U.N. and that 'they all passed the competence tests' before flying out of Uganda.

Odongo said the trip to Somalia had been planned three months in advance and that the aircraft have been used over the years for missions, including the hunt for the notorious rebel leader Joseph Kony, the leader of the Lord's Resistance Army.

The unexplained crashes will set back efforts by a multinational African force to battle Islamist militant group, al-Shabab, which is linked to al-Qaida.

The U.N. Security Council in February approved funds for nine transport helicopters and three attack helicopters to be used by African Union forces in Somalia. The AU troops have been fighting al-Shabab for years without the use of helicopters. The Ugandan military forms the bulk of the African Union forces in Somalia.

Ugandan and Burundian forces pushed al-Shabab out of Mogadishu about a year ago. Helicopters will further aid their counterinsurgency efforts.

Kenya and Burundi have also dispatched to troops to fight al-Shabab, which neighboring countries view as a regional threat.

The Islamist militants are now concentrated in the southern coast town of Kismayo, which is likely to be the next scene of serious fighting.

Somalia has not had a stable government since 1991, when longtime dictator Siad Barre was ousted by warlords who then turned on each other.

Tuesday 14 August 2012

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2188291/Ugandan-helicopter-crash-Two-dead-missing-helicopters-crash-Kenyas-highest-mountain.html#ixzz23bQ9XJ4l

continue reading