survivors - The African Mirror

Jun

2023

Greece boat disaster: 12 Pakistanis among survivors

TWELVE Pakistanis were among survivors from a boat packed with migrants that capsized off the coast of Greece this week, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Ministry spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said the government was unable so far to verify the number of Pakistanis who died, or their identities. People seeking missing relatives were urged to share with the ministry identity documents and DNA reports from authenticated laboratories, she said. The death toll in Wednesday's disaster could run to many hundreds as witness accounts suggested that between 400 and 750 people had packed the fishing boat that sank about 50 miles (80…

Jun

2023

By LEFTERIS PAPADIMAS and KAROLINA TAGARIS

Greece boat disaster: Emotional reunion for brothers as hopes of finding more survivors fade

WORLD

A Syrian teenager who survived a shipwreck that killed at least 78 people off Greece was emotionally reunited with his elder brother but there was no news for other relatives searching for loved ones. Witness accounts suggested between 400 and 750 people had packed the 20- to 30 metre-long (65- to 100-foot) fishing boat that capsized and sank early on Wednesday morning about 50 miles (80 km) from the southern coastal town of Pylos. In the immediate aftermath of the disaster, 104 survivors and 78 people who drowned were brought to shore by Greek authorities, but nothing has been found…

Mar

2023

By The African Mirror

Fire on Philippine ferry kills 29, including children; 225 rescued

WORLD

NEIL JEROME MORALES PHILIPPINE rescuers searched the smouldering ruins of a burnt-out ferry for any survivors or more victims of a fire that swept through the inter-island vessel killing 29 people, including a 6-month-old baby, authorities said. Investigators have yet to identify the cause of the fire that started at about 11 p.m. (1500 GMT) on Wednesday off the southern island of Basilan when many passengers were asleep in air-conditioned cabins on the ferry's lower deck. "I thought I was dreaming but when I opened my eyes it was dark and we were surrounded by smoke," Mina Nani, 46, a…

Mar

2023

By The African Mirror

Zimbabwe tobacco farmer offers lifeline to survivors of gender violence

NEWS

NYASHA CHINGONO AS the sweltering morning sun beat down on them, about half a dozen young Zimbabwean women stacked green tobacco leaves into sheaves while another group, some with babies on their backs, loaded the harvested crop onto a tractor. In a largely male-dominated sector, Michelle Gwatimba, 36, who runs this small farm 200 km (124 miles) north of Zimbabwe's capital Harare, is not only blazing a trail for women but also provides a livelihood for those who survived violence. "We realized in the settlements around the farm, where we get most of our staff, there was a lot of…

Feb

2023

By The African Mirror

Rescuers toil on in rubble of Turkey and Syria, survivors ever harder to find

WORLD

MAYA GEBEILY, ALI KUCUKGOCMEN and KHALIL ASHAWI RESCUERS pulled some survivors from the rubble, five days after Turkey's most devastating earthquake since 1939 that also killed thousands of people in Syria, but hopes were fading for many more to be found. In Kahramanmaras, close to the epicentre in south Turkey, there were fewer visible rescue operations amid the smashed concrete mounds of fallen houses and apartment blocks where trucks rumbled through streets shipping out debris. The death toll kept growing - exceeding 25,300 across southern Turkey and northwest Syria. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, facing questions over earthquake planning and response…

Feb

2023

By UMIT BEKTAS, MEHMET CALISKAN and KHALIL ASHAWI

Hope for more survivors fades as Turkey-Syria earthquake toll passes 20,000

WORLD

COLD, hunger and despair gripped hundreds of thousands of people left homeless after the earthquakes that struck Turkey and Syria three days ago as the death toll passed 20,000. The rescue of a 2-year-old boy after 79 hours trapped in the rubble of a collapsed building in Hatay, Turkey, and several other people raised spirits among weary search crews. But hopes were fading that many more would be found alive in the ruins of towns and cities. The death toll across both countries has now surpassed the more than 17,000 killed in 1999 when a similarly powerful quake hit northwest…

Nov

2022

By The African Mirror

For survivors of Ethiopia’s Tigray war, truce brings cautious hope

NEWS

A ceasefire deal in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region has raised cautious hope among millions of people impacted by the bloody two-year conflict that their anguish could be coming to an end. Many civilians are also reflecting on the terrible losses they suffered, and look to promised aid to rebuild their lives after a war that has killed thousands, displaced millions and left hundreds of thousands facing famine. "I'm very happy - because this will put a hold on the suffering," said a Tigrayan man in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa who declined to be named out of fear of repercussions at his place…

Nov

2022

By The African Mirror

Guinea stadium massacre: Survivors recount horrors as trial unfolds

NEWS

SOULEYMANE CAMARA SURVIVORS who were beaten and raped during a massacre in a stadium in Guinea in 2009 are hoping to finally see justice and let the world know the pain they have been carrying as the trial of 11 suspects unfolds in the West African nation. More than 150 people were trampled, clubbed or shot dead on September 28, 2009, when a demonstration against Guinea's then-military ruler Moussa Dadis Camara was brutally repressed. Hundreds survived with injuries and trauma. The long-awaited trial opened on the massacre's 13th anniversary. Among the accused is Camara. He is yet to plead but had previously denied responsibility.…

Apr

2022

By The African Mirror

SA releases emergency funds for floods relief

NEWS

ROGAN WARD SOUTH AFRICANS were searching for survivors of floods that killed almost 400 people, according to the latest tally, washing away homes and roads and leaving thousands without shelter, water and power. The floods in Kwazulu-Natal province have knocked out power lines, shut down water services and disrupted operations at one of Africa's busiest ports. The death toll rose to 395 on Friday from an earlier estimate of 341. Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana told TV station Newsroom Afrika that an initial 1 billion rand ($68.3 million) for emergency relief was available for immediate use after the province was declared…

Apr

2022

By The African Mirror

Philippines rescuers race to find survivors after storm wreaks havoc

WORLD

RESCUE teams in the Philippines faced a race against time in the search for 28 people missing and feared dead, after tropical storm Megi unleashed heavy rains and deadly landslides in southern and eastern areas of the country. National and local disaster agencies reported five more deaths in central and southern Philippines on Tuesday, taking the toll to 30 since the storm struck at the weekend. Megi, the first storm to hit the typhoon-prone archipelago this year, made landfall on Sunday with sustained winds of up to 65 kilometres (40 miles) per hour and gusts of up to 80 kph…