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Landslide victim identified

<p>The victim of the Blue Mountains landslip has been identified as Mehraab Nazir, a British Lawyer who was holidaying in Australia, and his 9-year-old son. Both bodies were recovered on Tuesday the 5th of April.</p> <p>Mr Nazir, 49, had been on a hike with his family in the Wentworth Pass area of the Blue Mountains, a national park west of Sydney in NSW on Monday, when the incident occurred.</p> <p>Mr Nazir's wife remains in a critical condition in an intensive care unit, while another son, 14, has undergone surgery and is in a stable condition. His 15-year-old daughter walked from the scene and is under observation in hospital. </p> <p>Mr Nazir was a partner at law firm Watson Farley &amp; Williams and was based in its Singapore office.</p> <p>"It is with the greatest sadness that we must confirm that our dear friend and colleague Mehraab Nazir, a partner in our Singapore office, tragically lost his life in a landslide in Australia earlier this week alongside his young son," the company said in a statement.</p> <p>"We will be remembering and honouring Mehraab, however, with the surviving members of the family in serious conditions or in shock, we ask that you respect their privacy and grief at this incredibly difficult time."</p> <p>NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet is seeking advice as to whether the walking track should have been open given recent heavy rain in area.</p> <p>"Obviously, the Blue Mountains is a place where people love to go trekking. It's one of the wonders of the world but when those tragedies occur it would be remiss of any government not to act."</p> <p>Following the removal of the bodies, the NSW Department of Environment and Heritage announced that the area was closed to the public until further notice and a "comprehensive review" would be undertaken.</p> <p>The department said it had a program to assess geotechnical risks and maintain the safety of walking tracks and that the walking track was inspected in the days leading up to the landslip.</p> <p><em>Image: Nine News</em></p>

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Young girl's desperate walk to safety after deadly landslide

<p dir="ltr">The victims of a horror landslide in the NSW Blue Mountains have been identified as a British family of five holidaying in Australia.</p> <p dir="ltr">The father, 49, and his nine-year-old son died at the scene after the family was caught in a landslide on a Wentworth Falls walking track at around 1.30pm on Monday afternoon.</p> <p dir="ltr">The 50-year-old mother and 14-year-old son, both found in critical condition, were winched out that evening and taken to hospital. They remain in critical condition.</p> <p dir="ltr">The couple’s 15-year-old daughter escaped injury, with NSW Police saying she was walked from the location by emergency services and treated for shock.</p> <p dir="ltr">It is understood the young girl also assisted rescuers on the ground, as reported by <em><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/blue-mountains-wentworth-falls-landslide-hikers-trapped/18dff055-80de-4549-a5c5-371704d0e7a0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">9News</a></em>.</p> <p dir="ltr">Police have confirmed the family were visiting from the United Kingdom, and that the British consulate is assisting with the incident.</p> <p dir="ltr">With the dense bush making the rescue even more difficult, two police helicopters and special operations paramedics were among those enlisted to help.</p> <p dir="ltr">Seven road crews and two road crews were also dispatched to the scene by NSW Ambulance.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Unfortunately there’s been a landslip while they were bushwalking and a man and a boy have passed away,” NSW Police Detective Acting Superintendent John Nelson told reporters.</p> <p dir="ltr">“In terms of the site, it’s extremely dangerous and unstable.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Two other patients are critical, with head and abdominal injuries, requiring sedation before extraction.”</p> <p dir="ltr">NSW Ambulance superintendent Stewart Clarke addressed the incident on Monday night, telling the media it was “absolutely heartbreaking”.</p> <p dir="ltr">“This is absolutely heartbreaking for all involved and a truly tragic ending to what I’m sure was meant to be a pleasant day out,” he said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It is terribly sad to have lost two lives here today and my heart goes out to the families and the survivors of this horrific ordeal who have witnessed what is certainly a traumatic event.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Trish Doyle, the Labor MP for the Blue Mountains, and the Wentworth Falls City - Blue Mountains Council Deputy Mayor, Romola Hollywood, both shared their condolences to the family online.</p> <p dir="ltr">“My heart goes out to this family, their friends and community, on behalf of ours,” Ms Doyle commented on a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/nswpoliceforce/posts/352525600253199" target="_blank" rel="noopener">post</a> from NSW Police about the incident.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I extend the deepest respect to our Blue Mountains Police Rescue, Special Ops Paramedics &amp; all first responders - for your traumatic but crucial work. Thank you.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“Our hearts go out to the family in these tragic circumstances. So incredibly sad,” Ms Hollywood also commented. “And we hope the woman and boy in hospital make a strong and speedy recovery.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Deepest thanks to our first responders for your amazing work in difficult circumstances and thanks to all who support them too. Take care everyone too.”</p> <p dir="ltr">The devastating incident comes after weeks of heavy rain across the state forced the National Parks and Wildlife Service to close several popular tracks due to “flood damage and ongoing rockfall risk”.</p> <p dir="ltr">All tracks in the area have been closed since the incident.</p> <p dir="ltr">A coroner’s report will be prepared for the man and young boy, as Blue Mountains police return to the area to retrieve their bodies.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-6f2c7767-7fff-b976-fb6d-8e875410c264"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: 9News</em></p>

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Parents condemned for crazy clifftop camping spot

<div class="post_body_wrapper"> <div class="post_body"> <div class="body_text redactor-styles redactor-in"> <p>A couple has been slammed for camping with their child on the edge of a cliff in Yorkshire, UK.</p> <p>The Coastguard in the UK was furious and needed to move the family away from the area.</p> <p>“Today’s call was to attend a section of the Cleveland Way to issue safety advice to two adults and a child camping on the cliff edge,” the Staithes Coastguard said.</p> <iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fstaithes.coastguard%2Fposts%2F1857131324439338&amp;width=500&amp;show_text=true&amp;height=752&amp;appId" width="500" height="752" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share"></iframe> <p>“An Officer from North Yorkshire Police also attended due to breach of coronavirus restrictions.</p> <p>“Safety advice was given from Coastguard Rescue Officers due to the dangerous location of their tent, especially with recent landslips.</p> <p>“If you see anyone at risk or in danger at the coast, immediately call 999 and ask for the Coastguard.”</p> <p>As a social media post was put up about the incident, people have slammed the couple for being "braindead".</p> <p>“Not just being stupid for themselves &amp; putting a child in danger but using up valuable time with the coastguard when they could be elsewhere,” one user wrote.</p> <p>Another agreed, saying: “Beggars belief! You can see where the ground has partially broken away! Braindead”.</p> <p>People were particularly angry as the trail where the family were found has recently seen devastating landslides.</p> </div> </div> </div>

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Tragic scenes as clifftop cemetery collapses into the sea

<div class="post_body_wrapper"> <div class="post_body"> <div class="body_text redactor-styles redactor-in"> <p>A landslide has caused hundreds of coffins to end up in the ocean on the Italian coast near Genoa.</p> <p>The Camogli cemetery was built more than 100 years ago and is situated along an area of rocky seaside cliffs.</p> <p>Francesco Olivari, the mayor of Camogli, called the collapse an “unimaginable catastrophe.”</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Camogli?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Camogli</a> (GE), frana cimitero: prosegue da parte di specialisti <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/sommozzatori?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#sommozzatori</a> e nautici dei <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/vigilidelfuoco?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#vigilidelfuoco</a> la ricerca e il recupero delle centinaia di bare finite in mare lunedì pomeriggio. Droni in volo per monitorare le operazioni delle squadre e l’area del crollo <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/24febbraio?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#24febbraio</a> <a href="https://t.co/cRFxHw0KJe">pic.twitter.com/cRFxHw0KJe</a></p> — Vigili del Fuoco (@emergenzavvf) <a href="https://twitter.com/emergenzavvf/status/1364576829546364928?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 24, 2021</a></blockquote> <p>Maintenance was being performed on Saturday alongside the areas of the coastline when it was stopped after workers noticed cracks in the rocks.</p> <p>“We were doing work on a portion of the rocky coast - it was close to the area that fell today,” Olivari told CNN on Monday.</p> <p>“Some signs of fissures were seen. We decided to close the cemetery.”</p> <p>On Tuesday, officials said they will continue work on recovering the coffins and corpses.</p> <p>It is estimated 200 coffins had fallen, but only 10 have been recovered.</p> <p>Recovering the rest of the coffins will "depend on the sea in the coming days", according to Giacomo Giampedrone, regional assessor of civil protection.</p> </div> </div> </div>

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