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Showing posts from December, 2021

Death toll in massive Bangladesh ferry fire rises to 40

 DHAKA, Bangladesh -- Bangladeshi authorities buried 23 unclaimed bodies on Saturday after a day-long search failed to recover more victims or survivors of a massive fire on a crowded river ferry that left 40 people dead. Habibur Rahman, a top government official, said he had an incomplete list of 17 missing people who were on board the ferry on Friday when the fire awoke passengers around 3 a.m., forcing many to leap into cold waters and swim ashore. Divers looked for more survivors before suspending their efforts at sunset on Saturday. Rahman said 50 people were being treated in two hospitals, while 19 others have been sent home. Dr. Samanta Lal Sen, chief coordinator of the Sheikh Hasina National Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute in Dhaka, said his hospital was treating 15 people for serious burns. “I would say everyone is critical and no one is out of danger,” he said. Thirty-five injured in another hospital in Barishal were out of danger, said hospital Director Dr. Saiful Isa...

After suicide bombing, Congo officials fear more attacks

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  BENI, Congo -- Authorities in eastern Congo announced an evening curfew and new security checkpoints Sunday, fearing more violence after a suicide bomber killed five people in the first attack of its kind in the region. Beni Mayor Narcisse Muteba, a police colonel, warned hotels, churches and bars in the town of Beni that they needed to add security guards with metal detectors because “terrorists” could strike again. “We are asking people to be vigilant and to avoid public places during this festive period," Muteba told The Associated Press on Sunday. Brig. Gen. Constant Ndima, the military governor of North Kivu province, said there will be a 7 p.m. curfew, as well as more road checkpoints. Officials initially said the death toll was six plus the suicide bomber, but they revised that figure a day later to five victims. Thirteen others remained hospitalized after the blast at the entrance to the Inbox restaurant on Christmas Day. Saturday's bloodshed dramatically deepened fe...