Survivors

Oklahoma tornado victims astounded at how they survived

Moore: Tornado survivors thanked God, sturdy closets and luck in explaining how they lived through the colossal twister that devastated an Oklahoma town and killed 24 people, an astonishingly low toll given the extent of destruction.

At least one family took refuge in a bathtub and some people shut themselves in underground shelters built into their houses when the powerful storm tore through the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore on Monday.

While rescue workers and body-sniffing dogs sifted through the ruins on Wednesday, those who escaped told their stories of survival while trying to salvage what was left of their belongings.

"Yesterday I was numb. Today I cried a lot. Now I'm on the victory side of it," said Beth Vrooman, who hid in a shelter in her garage in Moore during the storm....more    

Thane building collapse case: Two get bail

Thane: The local court on Saturday granted bail to two persons in the Mumbra building crash case. Judge KR Warrier granted bail to Ramdas Burud, a driver to one of the accused officials of Thane Municipal Commissioner, and Afroz Ansari, who had supplied materials for the ill-fated building, against personal bonds of Rs 15,000. Burud is accused of being a conduit between officials and the builder for bribes. The court,...  

Longest held Cleveland captive now out of hospital

Cleveland: Michelle Knight, freed earlier this week as the longest held of four captives in a dungeon-like Cleveland house, was discharged from the hospital on Friday and went into seclusion. Two other women held with Knight - Amanda Berry, 27, and Gina DeJesus, 23, along with a 6-year-old girl - left the hospital earlier this week and have been reunited with their families. Knight, 32, who is estranged from some...  

US: Abduction victims will need therapy, survivors say

The three young women imprisoned for around a decade in a white two-story house in Ohio are going to need support and, most of all, privacy as they re-integrate into society, survivors of other long-term kidnapping ordeals said on Tuesday. Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight, who went missing in separate incidents about a decade ago, were found alive on Monday in a home in the same blue-collar Cleveland...  

Building collapse: Pressure on retailers to fix factories

Dhaka: In the aftermath of a building collapse that killed more than 500 people, Bangladesh's garment manufacturers may face a choice of reform or perish. Home to five factories that supplied clothing to retailers in Europe and the United States, the shoddily constructed building's collapse has put a focus on the high human price paid when Bangladeshi government ineptitude, Western consumer apathy and global retailing's drive for the lowest cost...  

Bangladesh building collapse: 397 dead, owner arrested

Savar: The death toll in the worst building collapse in the history of Bangladesh on Saturday rose to nearly 400, even as the fugitive owner of the 8-storey structure was arrested dramatically while attempting to flee to India. Sohel Rana was arrested by the country's elite anti-crime Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) from Benapole, one of the 14 land ports with India, just as he was about to cross into West...  

Bangladesh: Fire breaks out in collapsed building where 377 died

Dhaka: Fire broke out on Sunday in a garment factory that collapsed in the Bangladeshi capital, complicating attempts to find any survivors of a disaster that has killed 377 people. Fire service officials said the blaze had been started by sparks from cutting equipment used by rescuers. Police said the owner of the factory, Mohammed Sohel Rana, was arrested on Sunday trying to flee to India, as hopes of finding...  

Thane: Anger simmers in victims' families against illegal buildings

Mumbai: Anger is simmering against the real estate mafia that has let illegal constructions, like the collapsed Thane building, to flourish in the city. Relatives of the victims were inconsolable, and claimed that they weren't even informed that the building was illegal. Mujhaheed lived in the doomed Thane building and was at work when the building collapsed, killing 72 people. He said he rushed back as soon as he heard...  

Tibet: No survivor yet found after landslide

Chinese authorities on Saturday said no signs of life have been detected nearly 30 hours after a massive landslide buried 83 mine workers in Tibet despite a major search and rescue operation. "Rescuers have not yet found survivors or bodies... The miners' survival chances were slim due to the scale of the landslide," officials of the regional government were quoted by as saying the state-run Xinhua news agency. ...  

Two days on, Hyderabad blasts haunt victims

The twin blasts in Hyderabad on Thursday evening have taken 16 lives and changed many others. Mahesh, who was in Dilsukh Nagar when the bombs exploded, was injured and is now recovering at a hospital. But what he may never recover from, is the deaths of two of his childhood friends, who had gone shopping with him at the market. ...  

TN: Doomsday fears linger among 2004 tsunami survivors

Eight years after tsunami struck the Tamil Nadu coast killing thousands, fear of the unknown continues to raise its head if and when there is news of a possible disaster. ...  

Chennai: Cancer survivors' date with Rose Day

Chennai: Not many people will receive a call from a former president of the country. But patients and staff at the Paterson Cancer Centre were on cloud nine when they received a call from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, who spoke to them, congratulating the team and blessing the patients. The call came on the occasion of Rose Day, celebrated at the Centre here on Saturday, organised by the Cancer Alleviation...  

Assam bloodshed survivors too scared to go home

Bilasipara: There was little time to do anything but grab her two young boys and run as fast as she could when the gunmen came into the northeast village in the dead of night and began firing. Along with scores of other villagers, nine-months pregnant Rohima Begum hid with her family waist-deep in the rice fields as the gunshots rang out amid the screams of those left behind. Eighteen days...  

Are Railways becoming death traps?

32 passengers were killed after a coach of the Delhi-Chennai Tamil Nadu Express caught fire at Nellore in Andhra Pradesh. On Face the Nation, CNN-IBN Deputy Editor Sagarika Ghose asks a panel of experts - Are Railways becoming death traps? Here is the full transcript of the show: Sagarika Ghose: Hi there, yes there's been yet another tragic rail accident. 32 passengers were killed when a coach of the Delhi-Chennai...  

TN Exp fire: Survivors recall the horrific incident

Nellore: Thirty two passengers were killed after a coach of the Delhi-Chennai Tamil Nadu Express caught fire at around 4 am on Monday at Nellore in Andhra Pradesh. The cause of the fire in S-11 coach is not known yet, but Railway Minister Mukul Roy has hinted at sabotage. As many as 25 people have been injured in the fire with 12 of them sustaining burn injuries. A one-month-old baby...  

Jalandhar: Miracle survivor found after 3 days

Jalandhar: It has been 72 hours since the factory building collapse in Jalandhar. Ten people have died, 61 people have been rescued and over 90 people are still believed to be trapped inside. While hopes of finding survivors are now dimming, one man was pulled out of the rubble alive on Wednesday. Pachho Devi, whose 17-year-old son died pinned under a heavy beam at the collapsed factory, has little tears...  

Joyful return for nine shipwreck survivors

Hyderabad: A jubilant first batch of survivors from the Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia, which hit a rock and sank off the Tuscan coast in Italy, reached back to the city Thursday night around 9.30 pm. The survivors Jonathan Paturi, Ramesh Kumar, Srikanth Yadav, Srinivas Reddy, Ravikumar Dharnes, Suresh Chari and Shashidharan returned along with the first batch of 72 Indians five days after the mishap took place near Giglio...  

Rebirth for us: TN ship tragedy survivors

Chennai: "It is a rebirth! Only god saved us", were the comments that gushed out of survivors of the ill-fated Italian oceanliner Costa Concordia on reaching here on Thursday. Nine survivors hailing from Tamil Nadu reached Chennai airport on Thursday night. "Only god saved us," shouted Vaithiyanathan Arjunan into TV channels' mikes. He is one of the survivors who was airlifted by the external affairs ministry. Union Minister of State...  

Woman with Italian ship captain defends his effort

Rome: A young Moldovan woman, who says she was called to the bridge of the stricken Costa Concordia to help evacuate Russian passengers, defended the embattled captain on Thursday, saying he worked tirelessly and "saved over 3,000 lives." Domnica Cemortan, who says she was translating Capt Francesco Schettino's orders during the frenzied evacuation, has emerged as a potential new witness in the investigation into the officer's actions the night the...  

3 yrs on, 26/11 survivors still deal with losses

Mumbai: Survivors who lost their near and dear ones in the 2008 Mumbai attacks have been dealing with their terrible loss in different ways. While some have been moving to Mumbai to stay close to the memory of their lost ones, others have been planning to leave the country to move forward. "My husband and daughter died here, and that's what's keeping me back in Mumbai," said Kia Scherr, a...