DVI News 9 August 2010
09/Aug/2010
Six Louisiana teens, including three brothers, drown in Red River3 August 2010. USA.
Six teens who didn't know how to swim drowned when they toppled into an 18-foot sinkhole in the Red River near Shreveport, La., The Shreveport Times report.
The teens -- ages 13 to 18 -- were from three families.
"They went into the vicinity of an 18-foot sinkhole," said Shreveport Fire Chief Brian Crawford. "And once one started toppling into that sinkhole grabbing ahold of another, trying to save another, eventually seven were pulled into the hole."
A bystander jumped into the water and rescued a 15-year-old, but the other six went under and never resurfaced. The sixth body was recovered nearly three hours later in water that authorities said was 18 to 25 feet deep.
Full article at:
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2010/08/six-teens-drown-in-red-river/1
Call for search for Korea MIAs
4 August 2010.
THE discovery of human remains has spurred calls to resolve the fate of the 44 servicemen listed as missing in action in the Korean War.
On February 10, South Korean military investigators confirmed the discovery of a set of human remains, five buttons from a tunic worn by Australian servicemen, and 23 other artefacts in Hyengsung region northeast of Kapyong, the site of a major engagement involving Australian forces
Veterans Affairs Minister Alan Griffin told The Australian he would support any investigation where there was prima facie evidence of servicemen missing in action.
He said an army investigation unit did visit South Korea to examine the remains and the artefacts and the work was continuing.
Full article at:
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/call-for-search-for-korea-mias/story-fn59niix-1225901330757
Seven Bodies Found in Mass Graves in Northwest Mexico
4 August 2010.
Seven bodies were found in four graves in Mazatlan, a port city in the north western Mexican state of Sinaloa, officials said.
Police received a tip that several bodies had been buried in the community of Las Higueritas, where investigators and forensic specialists are conducting a dig.
Seven bodies buried inside bags were found on Tuesday, officials said, adding that tests would be conducted to determine the sex, age and cause of death.
Full article at: http://www.laht.com/article.asp?CategoryId=14091&ArticleId=361808
Death Toll in Plane Crash Rises to 11
4 August 2010. Russia.
A passenger plane crashed as it attempted to land in heavy fog in an Arctic port early Tuesday, bursting into a ball of fire that killed 11 of the 15 people on board, emergency officials said.
The An-24 twin turboprop operated by the Katekavia airline came down 700 meters short of the runway in Igarka, a town in the Krasnoyarsk region, as it prepared to land at 1:19 a.m. local time, the local branch of the Emergency Situations Ministry said.
The plane, which was arriving from the regional capital, Krasnoyarsk, burst into flames upon impact, killing 10 passengers, including an 11-year-old girl from Igarka, and one crew member, Interfax reported.
Full article at:
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/death-toll-in-plane-crash-rises-to-11/411620.html#no
Explosion rocks petchem plant in south Iran, 5 killed
5 August 2010.
A massive explosion at the Pardis Petrochemical Company plant in the southern port city of Assalouyeh caused a huge fire and killed five workers on Wednesday.
The incident occurred at about 2 p.m. local time.
A ruptured gas pipe is reported to have been the cause of the explosion, sources told the Mehr News Agency.
Welding sparks ignited the leaking gas and caused the explosion.
Full article at: http://www.tehrantimes.com/index_View.asp?code=224258
52 feared killed in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir bus accident
5 August 2010.
At least 52 people were feared killed and 11 others injured when a packed bus fell into the swollen Jhelum river in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir today. Twelve bodies were retrieved and a search was underway for the rest.
Full article at:
http://www.dnaindia.com/world/report_52-feared-killed-in-pakistan-occupied-kashmir-bus-accident_1419285
Recovery & Investigation Teams Search for Missing Americans in Papua New Guinea
5 August 2010. USA.
Two archeological recovery teams and one investigation team from the U.S. Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) departed Hawaii recently for missions in the Independent State of Papua New Guinea.
The more than 35-person joint field activity will be in-country for approximately 45 days to investigate and excavate several aircraft crash sites.
Full article at:
http://www.jpac.pacom.mil/index.php?page=press_center&size=100&ind=0&fldr=PressReleases01&file=PR2010-08-10
Tragedy in Tanzania as eighteen children drown in Lake Victoria
6 August 2010.
37 people were on board a small boat when it sank in lake Victoria on Thursday. Eighteen of them who were were children from Tanzania drowned when their crowded boat capsized in strong winds on Lake Victoria, a regional official said.
Full article at: http://www.newstimeafrica.com/archives/13577
Seven dead as train hits minibus crossing tracks
6 August 2010. Israel.
Seven people from a single family were killed last night when a train collided with a minibus carrying yeshiva students and their families on Route 353 near Kibbutz Gat in the south. A number of others were injured and were taken to Soroka Hospital in Be'er Sheva, Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon and Kaplan Hospital in Rehovot.
A volunteer from the Zaka rescue service told Haaretz that one of the dead was himself a Zaka volunteer, from Jerusalem.
Full article at: http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/seven-dead-as-train-hits-minibus-crossing-tracks-1.306281
DNA results cause further confusion.
7 August 2010. Pakistan.
Results of about half of the DNA samples taken for matching came back on Friday. Instead of providing closure to the grieving families, many of the test results have revealed multiple matches for the samples collected.
All 152 passengers aboard the Airblue flight ED-202 were killed when the plane crashed in Margalla Hills near Islamabad on Wednesday morning last week. Many of the bodies were charred beyond recognition and the authorities asked relatives to provide blood and tissue samples to determine the identities of the remains.
The accuracy of the results, according to Dr Haq, is being marred by the fact that most of the samples have been taken from siblings. “The tests results would be have been more accurate had parents given their DNA samples for the tests,” he said.
Full article at: http://tribune.com.pk/story/36849/dna-test-results-cause-further-confusion/
113 killed in flash floods at Leh
6 August 2010. Pakistan.
One hundred and thirteen people have been killed and over 400 injured in flash floods triggered by sudden overnight heavy rain, officials said on Friday.
The toll is likely to go up as more than 50 people, including many children, are missing.
National Disaster Response Force men were being flown from Chandigarh to assist the Leh administration in rescue operations.
Till late Friday evening 113 bodies had been retrieved from the debris of flattened homes or were found dotted over the hills and inundated roads.
Full article at: http://www.deccanchronicle.com/chennai/113-killed-flash-floods-leh-427
Death Toll In Russian Wildfires Rises To 50
6 August 2010.
Areas in the western part of Moscow are reporting rain after days of unusually hot weather that has helped spread hundreds of wildfires across Russia.
The death toll from wildfires across Russia rose to at least 50 after rescuers pulled a charred body from the ruins of a village and another victim died in hospital from burns.
Full article at:
http://www.rferl.org/content/Death_Toll_In_Russian_Wildfires_Rises_To_50_/2120088.html
14 die, 23 trapped in east China gold mine fire
7 August 2010.
Fourteen miners were confirmed dead, 23 others still trapped underground while 292 made to ground safely following a fire that engulfed a gold mine in east China's Shandong Province Friday, local authorities said Saturday.
Full article at: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2010-08/07/c_13433884.htm
Mangalore Air India Express crash victims' bodies were misidentified
7 August 2010.
The bodies of several of those who died when the Air India Express flight from Dubai crashed at the Mangalore airport on May 22 may have been misidentified by relatives, according to a paper published in the journal Current Science.
The finding by scientists at the Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics in Hyderabad substantiate reports that have appeared in the media about such misidentification.
The air disaster had claimed 158 lives. The remains of 136 persons were handed over after close relatives identified them. But the remaining 22 victims could either not be identified or had rival claimants.
Full article at: http://www.hindu.com/2010/08/07/stories/2010080754791800.htm
Abstract: DNA-based identification of victims of the Mangalore air crash of May 2010
The crash of a passenger aircraft at Mangalore on 22 May 2010 resulted in the loss of 158 lives. The district authorities handed over to claimant relatives, the remains of 136 victims whose identification was based on morphological features of, and/or personal effects on, the victims. The Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics undertook DNA profiling of the 22 remaining victims for comparison with DNA profiles of 32 claimant relatives. This analysis permitted the identification of 10 of the victims, whereas for the other 12 victim remains, it was conclusively shown that they were not the biological relatives of any of the claimants. These data indicate that in this disaster, which would be categorized as a closed system, several of the original identifications of the victims (prior to DNA testing of the remainder) had been erroneous. The policy implications of this exercise are discussed with regard to the formulation of disaster management plans in the country.
Access full paper at: http://www.ias.ac.in/currsci/contents.htm (General articles 341).
Indian Academy of Sciences website: - http://www.ias.ac.in/index.html
Leh floods: 132 dead, 600 missing (Update)
7 August 2010. Pakistan.
Security personnel and rescue teams on Saturday continued searching for missing people in the debris as the death toll in Friday’s flash floods and mud slides in Ladakh’s Leh district reached 132. An estimated 600 people, include 150 Bihari labourers, are missing. Some 60 bodies have been identified.
Full article at:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/Leh-floods-132-dead-600-missing/Article1-583429.aspx
96 die, 2,000 missing in China landslides
8 August 2010.
Massive landslides triggered by rains hit northwest China's Gansu province, killing at least 96 people while 2,000 were missing, authorities said Sunday.
While 96 people were confirmed dead in Zhouqu county in Gannan Tibetan Autonomous prefecture, over 680 people were rescued after the Bailong river overflowed and a large body of water inundated Chengguan township.
Full article at: http://www.beijingnews.net/story/669779
16 killed in east China gold mine fire as rescue wraps up
8 August 2010.
Rescuers lifted the last group of seven miners to the ground Saturday noon at a gold mine in eastern China where an underground blaze initially trapped more than 300.
Sixteen miners had been killed in the accident, officials said.
Most of the casualties were suffocated after inhaling toxic smoke. Some of them died in hospital, said medical workers at the Luoshan gold mine in Zhaoyuan City, Shandong Province
Last year, 2,631 people died in 1,616 coal mine accidents, according to official statistics.
Full article at: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2010-08/07/c_13434226.htm
The shepherd of our unknown dead
8 August 2010. Abu Dhabi.
The last thing Dr Adnan Abbas wants is a morgue full of unclaimed and unidentified bodies.
“I want every dead body buried as soon as possible,” said the forensic pathologist and the head of the death section at Sheikh Khalifa Medical City (SKMC). “My job is to make sure that happens.”
The SKMC morgue is the penultimate resting place for all the dead of Abu Dhabi – both from the island and the areas near the capital.
It can accommodate 75 bodies, and is usually around half full.
“Even if no one shows up to claim an identified body, and even if the body is labelled as an unknown case and we are unable to identify it or inform the family of the death, the right thing to do is to put the body to rest,” he said
Every once in while – maybe twice a month, or less – a body arrives with no identification papers and is labelled as an “unknown case.”
Dr Abbas has created a system to deal with these bodies. Once one is received, his team of forensic pathologists categorises it as a police or non-police case, depending on the cause of death and on whether there are other papers and any contact information.
Now it is rare for bodies to remain for that long. Currently there are no unidentified bodies – the last one was buried three weeks ago.
Full article at:
http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100808/NATIONAL/708079917/1040/BUSINESS
Bodies of 8 foreign medics evacuated to Afghan capital
8 August 2010. Afghanistan.
Bodies of eight foreign aid workers and two of their local colleagues were flown to Kabul on Sunday for forensic identification, officials said.
Police in northern Afghanistan found bullet-riddled bodies of five men, all Americans, and three women, a US, a German and a British on Friday. The victims were killed by Taliban on the border between Nuristan and Badakhshan provinces.
"The bodies of the medical aid team killed in Badakhshan were retrieved and returned to Kabul via helicopter around mid-day today," Caitlin Hayden, a US embassy spokeswoman in Kabul said.
Full article at:
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/338509,medics-evacuated-afghan-capital.html
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