GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – The cruise ship Costa Concordia, which crashed into rocks Friday 13 February off the Italian coast, remains the scene of painstaking searches for survivors, with Manrico Gianpetroni, chief purser, brought out alive and suffering from a broken leg, and a Korean couple on their honeymoon brought out dazed. Checks have now made it possible to ascertain that 17 people remain missing, fewer than earlier thought, but at least five people died, with two bodies found Sunday afternoon, and 70 were injured in the accident to the luxury liner that had 4,000 people on board.
Reuters cites Italian police as saying that “the captain of the luxury 114,500-tonne ship, Francesco Schettino, was under arrest and accused of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning ship.”
Links to other sites: BBC, CNN, La Stampa (It), Le Monde (Fr)
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – The town of Joplin, Missouri is struggling with the chaos left by the tornado that killed at least 122 people Monday 23 May, but heaping injury on injury, some people are out to take advantage of the suffering, the state attorney general has warned.
“Attorney General Chris Koster warns that price-gouging often occurs in the wake of such tragedies,” reports Missourinet. “The Attorney General urges anyone who believes a business has taken advantage of tragedy to inflate prices on such needs as food and gas to report it immediately.”
Minnesota Public Radio reports that, according to the National Weather Service, “the tornado was an EF5, the strongest rating assigned to tornadoes, with winds of more than 200 mph. Scientists said it appeared to be a rare ‘multivortex’ tornado, with two or more small and intense centers of rotation orbiting the larger funnel.”
The radio station’s web site is one of several carrying the strange tale of Will Norton, age 19, who has been missing since he apparently flew out of the sun roof of the Hummer he was driving, with his father as a passenger. They were returning home after his high school graduation. The family has set up a Facebook page to help find him, emblematic of the way social networks are being used to search for people missing after the tornado.
Update 2 19:15 Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Eleven people were caught by an avalanche early Saturday afternoon 26 March. Three people have died and one is missing. Five others who were injured were taken to hospitals in Martigny and Sion while one person, critically injured, was flown to the Chuv university hospitals in Lausanne, Valais police told Swiss public radio. One member of the group, who escaped, was able to give the alarm.
The group of French people was ski touring just above the Toules dam near the St Bernard tunnel that links Switzerland and Italy. The avalanche occurred near the Croix de Tsousse summit. The group appears to have been taking a popular high route between Chamonix and Zermatt.
The avalanche was close to the St Bernard tunnel.
Police say anyone who is affected by the accident can contact them at +0041 27 326 56 56.
TSR news video (can be viewed only in Switzerland)
Irina Lucidi Schepp, was interviewed by TSR 9 February outside her home n Saint Sulpice, her first public appearance since the girls went missing
Geneva and Lausanne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The mother of the missing Swiss twins, Alessia and livia, appealed directly to people in Switzerland, France and Italy Wednesday evening 9 February to give police even the smallest scraps of possible information they might have about the two blond six year olds.
Irina Lucidi Schepp appeared first on TSR in Switzerland, live on the evening news, then on a nightly news bulletin in France and a longer programme in Italy.
The family has added the appearances to the Facebook page created to help the search, which is mainly in Italian.
French TV appearance, Irina Lucidi
More money found in Italian mailboxes as searches continue in three countries
Mother appeals on Swiss television to thank the public
Click on images to view larger
Alessia and Livia Schepp, photos taken last summer - the twins turned 6 in October
Lausanne and Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Missing twins Alessia and Livia Schepp were last seen for certain on the ferry that took them to Corsica from Marseille, police in canton Vaud said at an evening press conference Wednesday 9 February.
French police have now confirmed to their Swiss colleagues that several people saw the children in a play area on the boat and the woman in the adjoining cabin heard children crying during the night. A man who saw the father leave the boat with two small girls was able to positively identify the father, but not the children.
Reports that the girls were later sighted in Italy have not been confirmed, however, they insist, referring in particular to the owner of a bar in Italy who has come forward as a witness. Interviews with witnesses are taped and reviewed by police involved in the investigation. The police have received a large number of calls from potential witnesses, they say, all of which are being followed up.
Two more envelopes containing money, mailed by the girls’ father to his wife, have been found in mailboxes near the Cerignola train station, one containing €950 and the other €550.
Alessia and Livia Schepp, missing Swiss twins, in the summer of 2010
Three Italian police officers from a mobile unit in Bari, Italy, visited the Vaud police headquarters in Lausanne Wednesday to exchange information “useful to our investigations” said Jean-Christophe Sauterel, head of Vaud police communications, but they declined to provide further information in order not to prejudice the investigation.
New photos of the girls were also distributed to the media.
Searches, including the use of bloodhounds continues in three countries: Switzerland, Italy and France.
The mother of the girls, Irina Lucidi, has agreed to appear, live, on Swiss public television TSR Wednesday evening at 19:30.
Police at the Vaud head office were surprised to hear she would be appearing live, shortly before the TSR programme, but Sauterel told GenevaLunch that the family is free to talk to media and others: it’s important to remember that this is not a criminal investigation.
The relations between the family and Vaud police are excellent, “and in an extremely difficult context. And in an emotionally charged situation,” says Sauterel. Nothing happens fast enough for them, of course, he points out, and yet they understand, but it means continual highs and lows as information comes in.
“The family has been very lucky to have Irina’s brother, Valerio Lucidi, as a buffer between the immediate family” and the world’s media, who have followed the story closely, he notes. “He’s a doctor and he’s got strong shoulders – they are very lucky to have him there.”
Related stories on GenevaLunch
Livia and Livia Schepp, not identical twins
Lausanne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Police canton Vaud have set up two hotlines for anyone with information that might help them find the missing six-year-old Schepp twins, Alessia and Livia.
Swiss hotline +41 21 644 82 31
Numéro vert in France 08 05 01 07 07.
Chamonix, France (GenevaLunch) - The body has been found of a Swiss climber who has been missing since a massive avalanche caught him and seven others in 2008 on Mont Blanc de Tacul in the French Alps. Four Germans, three Swiss and an Australian were swept away by the avalanche that struck at 03:00 as they were climbing the much-frequented route. Forty-seven climbers in all were heading up Mt Blanc’s north face when a serac gave way and in unusual near silence slid down, causing a slab avalanche. Fifteen of the group were caught by it, including the eight who disappeared.
Two brothers in Newfoundland, Canada, a year apart in age, separated and then adopted when young, have found each other after years of looking. They had been living on the same street for two years. Each began looking for the other for medical history reasons and knew that since they’d been adopted by families in the same part of Canada there was a good chance they would not be too far apart. Ironically, when the adoption agency phoned to give the name and address of the other brother to one of them, he was looking out his window at his brother’s house – but despite their physical proximity, the two had never spoken.
Links to other sites: The Western Star, Canada, The Globe & Mail, Canada
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/biological-brothers-find-each-other-across-the-street-after-30-years/article1522019/
Four Cantons Lake, near Lucerne
Lucerne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – One of two divers who disappeared 28 March has been found, 110 metres below the surface in the Four Cantons Lake. His body could not be recovered immediately, police say, due to stormy weather. Two brothers, ages 22 and 24, went missing after a 40-60 metre dive. A third diver, age 30, became unwell but managed to get to the surface. All three are French.
Links to other sites: 20 Minutes (Fre), Nidwald Police (Ger)
Rescuers are fighting unusually cold waters and rough seas in their search for 46 sailors who are missing after the South Korean patrol ship Cheonan sank Friday at 21:45. Military officials were quoted in Korean media as saying that an explosion of unknown origin made a hole in the bottom of the ship, which was carrying 104 persons, of whom 58 were rescued. The South Korean government has virtually ruled out foul play by North Korea.
Sion, Valais, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The body of a man found in the snow not far from a skilift in Champéry has been identified as that of a 36-year-0ld Frenchman from Dijon. The cause of death is not yet known, but foul play is not suspected, say Valais police. The man’s family had not heard from him since 20 December 2009. He was identified thanks to DNA tests.
Police had distributed photos found on him and asked the public for help in identifying him.
Avalanche rescue operation Sunday, Diemtigtal, canton Bern, Switzerland
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Police in canton Bern say that a fourth person rescued from an avalanche in the Bernese Oberland region has died, and three are now listed as missing. The accident took place Sunday morning 3 January in an area not generally considered to be a high risk zone. A first person went missing when a ski touring group was caught by the avalanche and shortly after rescuers arrived a second avalanche hit the area, burying several others, including one of the Rega helicopter service doctors, who died later in hospital.
TSR reports Monday morning that the three skiers suspected of setting off the 27 December avalanche that rolled over a groomed slope in Anzeres have been arrested. Valais police have not yet made an official announcement.
Background story, Bern avalanche, GenevaLunch
Background story, Anzeres avalanche, GenevaLunch
Myles Robinson and his father Michael
Update 20:58 Wengen, canton Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – British tourist Myles Robinson, age 23, who has been coming to Wengen for 15 years with his family, is still missing: he disappeared and there has been no trace of him since the early hours of Tuesday 22 December despite searches by helicopter, with infrared, with sniffer dogs. His cell phone gave off signals from the area until noon Tuesday. The public in and around Wengen have been appealed to, to be on the lookout for any signs of the young man. His parents and sister Cara, with whom he had arrived Monday 21 December in Switzerland, for a two-week holiday, are working closely with authorities in Wengen to find him.
Description of Myles Robinson’s clothing the night he disappeared
Cara supplied GenevaLunch with this description of what Myles was wearing when he disappeared: “On the night Myles was missing he was wearing light blue denim jeans, a white short sleeve polo shirt with a red Artois Tennis Championship crest on the left breast, a big black coat with grey checks and white Asics trainers.”
He does not speak German (Wengen is German-speaking) or French.
Police are not saying publicly that foul play is suspected, but those who know Myles say that he would not wander off.
GenevaLunch is publishing a series of photos of him to encourage the public to be on the lookout for any signs of Myles.
Background stories, GenevaLunch
Wengen, canton Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - A 23-year-old British man, Myles Robinson, has gone missing in the small resort of Wengen, a town in a region he knows well, having spent vacations in the area for the past 15 years. He was last seen dropping a friend off at her hotel, near the Blue Monkey bar in the town at 02:00 Tuesday 22 December. He was vacationing with his family, who have told UK media that “he’s a normal boy. He would never wander off. We are a really close family.”
The Swiss army have reportedly been called in to help in the search to find him, but locals who saw him at the bar, interviewed by the British media, say they find the disappearance “very strange” and inexplicable.
Links to other sites: BBC, Daily Mail, UK Times, UK, and Myles Robinson’s Facebook page
Eleven people are missing after heavy rain and flooding washed out bridges and roads, and put towns under several feet of water in England and Scotland. The storms were expected but their impact nevertheless caught many areas by surprise. Cumbria in England, on the border with Scotland, was the worst-hit area. Heavy rain and gale-force winds are forecast in the area and for much of the UK in the next few days. Flood alerts are continuing and some rail service is likely to be disrupted.
Twelve people have been confirmed dead following the explosion Monday 17 August of Russia’s largest power plant, Sayano-Shushenskaya in Siberia, but the owner of the plant says the 63 missing people are likely to have drowned. The cause of the explosion is not yet known, but turbines were destroyed and power cut to a large area. Late Tuesday the Natural Resources Ministry said transformer oil had spread 80 kilometres along the Yenisei River. The oil, used for insulating and cooling, was released when a transformer exploded. Financial Times, Novosti
A cargo boat that disappeared in European waters in recent days is causing worry in the maritime industry, with speculation that it might be the first case of piracy in the busy international waters around Europe. The Arctic Sea was last heard from 28 July when it made a routine report to British authorities as it passed through the English Channel. Four days earlier the crew had reported they were attacked off a Swedish island and beaten up by a group of men who said they were Swedish police, and they later reported that the group had left in a speedboat. The cargo ship, which carries a Maltese flag and is registered in Russia, was expected to make port in Algeria 4 August, but never showed up. It is carrying timber worth $2 million, according to Russian reports, but media are speculating that it could also be carrying a secret cargo of drugs, which could perhaps explain its mysterious disappearance. Russia Today, The Globe & Mail/AP,
A 19-year-old British backpacker, Jamie Neale of North London, has been found after 12 days in the Australian Blue Mountains, safe but dehydrated and suffering from exposure. He had gone out for a day trip, leaving behind his passport and cell phone, and when he failed to return a search was undertaken. An Australian official says the youth was “very, very lucky” to survive. BBC, The Age
The Italian government now says that 207 bodies have been found and another 50 people are reported missing, but 1,500 are injured and 17,000 are homeless after the earthquake that hit Aquila in the early hours of Monday. Reuters
