The remains of mother and son to arrive at TUDM around 2.30pm this afternoon

The remains of mother and son to arrive at TUDM around 2.30pm this afternoon
Japan landslide toll feared to more than double
MH17: Philippine embassy flies flag at half-mast tomorrow
20 hearses driven past Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Abdul Halim
Coffins bearing MH17 victims taken out from special plane

Posted: 21 Aug 2014 09:45 PM PDT

LIVE UPDATES FROM TUDM

1:47pm: There will be two vehicles bearing the remains of Ariza Ghazalee and Muhammad Afif to Masjid Jamek in Petra Jaya for prayers before going to the funeral service at Semariang Muslim Cemetery.

The Borneo Post SEEDS reporter Patricia Hului is currently at the Royal Malaysian Air Force (TUDM) base here.

KUCHING: The bodies of victims Ariza Ghazalee, 46, and son Muhammad Afif, 19, are expected to arrive at the Royal Malaysian Air Force (TUDM) base here from Kuala Lumpur at around 2.30pm today.

The remains of Ariza's husband Tambi Jee, 49, and their three other children Mohd Afzal, 19, Marsha Azmeena, 15 and Mohd Afruz, 13 as well as another Sarawakian Meling Mula from Sg Plan, Bintulu, are still being verified.

The Yang Di-Pertua Negeri Tun Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud and Chief Minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar Adenan Satem will be among the state dignitaries waiting for the arrival of the two bodies at the TUDM base.

They will proceed to Masjid Jamek in Petra Jaya for prayers before going to the funeral service at Semariang Muslim cemetery around 3.30pm.

The cortege will travel from TUDM base to the cemetery through Kuching Sentral U-Turn, Japan Lapangan Terbang, Jalan Tun Jugah, Jalan Tun Razak, Jalan Merican Salleh, Jalan Tun Salahuddin and the toll bridge, Datuk Patinggi Abang Abdillah roundabout(near old DUN complex), the roundabout near Sesco building, Jalan Stadium, Jalan Pustaka, Jalan Masjid Jamek before stopping at Masjid Jamek at Petra Jaya.

A moment of silence was held earlier today at designated places all around the country between 10.30am and 11.30am.

Japan landslide toll feared to more than double

Posted: 21 Aug 2014 09:02 PM PDT

The death toll from catastrophic landslides in western Japan could more than double, police said Friday, as the number of missing people rose to 52 in addition to the 39 confirmed dead.

Dozens of homes were destroyed when mountainsides collapsed on the outskirts of Hiroshima on Wednesday, sending tonnes of mud, rocks and debris crashing into suburban communities.

More than 4,000 people have now been ordered to evacuate their homes after forecasters warned more rain was on the way to already soaked hillsides, heaping misery on an area that has seen record downpours.

Firefighters, police and soldiers had to abandon search efforts overnight because of the risk of further landfalls, wary of the death of a colleague killed in a secondary mudslide on Wednesday along with a small boy he was trying to carry to safety.

The confirmed death toll remained unchanged Friday at 39, but the number of missing was raised to 52, having risen steadily over the last two days from initial single figures.

Officials said improved coordination between emergency services and local authorities meant they were now aware of more people who had not been heard of since the disaster.

"We initially counted only the people who were certain to be missing, such as those witnessed being carried away in gushing water," said a spokesman at Hiroshima prefecture police.

"As we continued to investigate and assess the situation, the number rose," he said.

Firefighters and soldiers were still keeping heavy machinery away from collapsed houses, preferring to remove debris by hand in the hope of finding survivors.

But falling rain was complicating their task in an area where the hillsides are made of decomposed granite — a coarse sand-like material that is used for driveways and paths, but which occurs naturally in this part of Japan.

Geologists say the rock is so weathered that it easily fractures into smaller chunks and becomes fragile when waterlogged.

Forecaster said heavy rain was expected in the afternoon, bringing with it the risk of further landslides.

Meteorologists said the downpour could continue until Saturday evening, with few breaks.

Heavy rain was also affecting parts of Japan further south.

In Shime town in Fukuoka prefecture, a 21-year-old police officer was swept away in a flooded gutter in the early hours of Thursday while trying to assess road conditions.

His body was found about two hours later in a river, a Fukuoka police spokesman said.

Chikushino city also in Fukuoka issued an evacuation advisory to all its 102,000 residents. -AFP

MH17: Philippine embassy flies flag at half-mast tomorrow

Posted: 21 Aug 2014 08:35 PM PDT

KUALA LUMPUR: The Philippines, which lost three of its citizens in the MH17 tragedy, will fly its national flag at half-mast tomorrow at its embassy here in memory of the passengers and crew of the ill-fated Malaysian Airlines MH17 flight.

This is in keeping with unity and respect in light of the Day of National Mourning declared by the Malaysian government, the embassy said in a statement to Bernama.

"We join the Malaysian Government and people as they pay their respects to those who perished in the flight, and we also remember the three Filipinos who were also aboard," it said.

Filipina Irene Pabellon-Gunawan and her two children, Darryl Dwight and Sherryl Shania, were en route to the Philippines via Kuala Lumpur for a family reunion.

"The officers and staff of the Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, and as a next-door neighbour and a brother in Asean, extend their heartfelt condolences to the Malaysian Government and people, especially to the bereaved families of the passengers and crew aboard MH17," the embassy said.

Flight MH17 crashed in eastern Ukraine on July 17 as it was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur with 283 passengers and 15 crew on board. The Boeing 777-200 aircraft is believed to have been shot down over the troubled country.

Besides Malaysians and the Filipinos, nationals from the Netherlands, Australia, Indonesia, the United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium, Canada and New Zealand were among the 298 people on board. — BERNAMA

20 hearses driven past Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Abdul Halim

Posted: 21 Aug 2014 08:34 PM PDT

KUALA LUMPUR: Twenty hearses bearing the remains of the MH17 tragedy were driven past Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah soon after the one minute of silence at 10.54am to honour Malaysian victims of the tragedy.

The hearses would go on different ways, with 13 heading to the cemeteries decided on by the families.

The Royal Malaysian Air Force C-130 Hercules aircraft would fly the remains of two victims to the Kuching International Airport, Sarawak and the remains of three others to the Sultan Azlan Shah Airport in Ipoh, while the EC724 helicopters would fly the remains of two more victims to Pagoh and Segamat in Johor.

The special Malaysia Airlines aircraft bearing the remains of the MH17 tragedy touched down at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang at 9.54am today after a 12-hour journey from Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport.

Forty-three Malaysians perished in the downing of MH17 over Ukraine on July 17. — BERNAMA

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Coffins bearing MH17 victims taken out from special plane

Posted: 21 Aug 2014 08:33 PM PDT

KUALA LUMPUR: The remains of 20 Malaysian victims of the MH17 crash were brought out of the special Malaysia Airlines (MAS) aircraft this morning after their arrival at the Bunga Raya Complex of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport from Amsterdam.

Draped in the Jalur Gemilang, the first two coffins to be removed from the plane contained the remains of two MH17 crew members – stewardess Mastura Mustafa and first officer Ahmad Hakimi Hanapi.

Family members could be seen breaking down in tears as more caskets were brought out from the aircraft.

The remains arrived home in 17 caskets and three urns, each of them solemnly carried by eight military pallbearers towards the waiting hearses.

A minute of silence as a mark of respect for the victims was observed before the hearses left the complex for their respective hometowns or funeral homes and eventual final resting place.

The remains were the first batch of the 43 Malaysians killed in the crash to be sent back to Malaysia from Amsterdam.

The MAS plane on flight MH17 with 298 people on board is believed to have been shot down over eastern Ukraine on July 17 enroute to Kuala Lumpur from Amsterdam.– BERNAMA