theSun | TUESDAY JUNE 9 2009
news without borders
Thousands attend mass for
victims of daycare blaze
HERMOSILLO (Mexico): Thou-
sands of people attended a mass here
on Sunday to remember the young
victims of a tragic fire that swept
through a government daycare
centre, killing at least 42 children,
most under the age of two.
Some 3,000 people gathered in
an auditorium in Hermosillo, north-
ern Mexico, to pray for the children
who perished in Friday’s blaze at a
converted downtown warehouse,
where scores of mostly poor child-
ren were cared for.
A priest who officiated at the
service recalled the acts of one des-
perate father who frantically tried to
aid in the rescue effort by backing
his truck into the side of the build-
ing to break down its cement walls.
The cleric said the man was able
to rescue three children, although
he failed to find his own and that
they died in the blaze.
“Jesus brought him near his chil-
dren, and now has returned them
REUTERSPIX
to the arms of God and the Virgin
Mary,” the priest declared.
Sonora state health secretary
Raymundo Lopez said on Sunday
that in addition to the children who
died, 22 were still hospitalised, 12 in
serious condition. Six adults have
also been hospitalised.
The cause of the blaze was
unknown but questions were being
raised about safety conditions at the
ABC centre, and authorities vowed
a thorough probe.
“This has been a painful tragedy
for all Mexicans,” President Felipe
Calderon said.
“I have ordered the federal pros-
ecutor to carry out investigations as
soon as possible to help us know
exactly what happened and how,
and to determine the corresponding
responsibility.”
Meanwhile grieving Mexican
parents have begun burying their
children.
Dozens of people carrying flow-
ers and toys came to a small chapel
on Saturday to bid a final farewell to
a three-year-old girl named Camila
who died from asphyxiation, while
her four-year-old sister fought for
her life in a hospital in Guadala-
jara.
Elsewhere, distraught parents
sat outside hospitals awaiting word
on the fate of their children, with
questions being raised about how
the fire began and whether deaths
could have been prevented.
Many of the 142 children in the
daycare facility were taking an after-
noon nap when the fire broke out.
Most of the children died from
smoke inhalation, officials said.
Others died when the roof in the
crib room collapsed.
The centre lacked emergency
exits and the structure was so weak
that part of the roof caved in on an
area where many newborn babies
were sleeping, reports said.
The daycare centre was housed
in an old warehouse on a dirt road
in the centre of Hermosillo. Local
media reported it had only two doors,
one of which was always locked, and
five windows high on its walls.
But state authorities said the
facility passed a safety inspection
in May.
Local media suggested the fire had
started in a neighbouring tire shop, a
claim the shop owners quickly den-
ied, according to news reports.
Emergency services arrived
some time after locals began bring-
ing victims out, witnesses said.
A 40-year-old man who lives in
front of the centre and was the first
to arrive told La Reforma daily how
he handed to his neighbours burnt
and lifeless bodies that he pulled
from the building.
“It was a terrifying experience,”
said Roberto Bustamante, as he
choked back tears. “There was a
lot of smoke, but there were no
children’s cries. They were all un-
conscious or dead.” – AFP
11
Son, dad jump to death within 2 hours
SINGAPORE: A father and his son fell to death from an apart-
ment block within two hours of each other, news reports said
yesterday.
Selvaraja Suppiah, 26, fell on Saturday at around 11pm after
he had locked his parents and other family members in the flat on
the ninth floor of the block, The Straits Times reported.
When civil defence officers freed the family and discovered
Selvaraja’s body at the foot of the block, his father, Nadeson Sup-
piah, 55, turned hysterical. On the way back to the family flat, he
dashed out of the lift and jumped to his death from the building.
Nadeson’s body was found just 15m away from the spot
where his son’s body was still lying, the report said.
Family members said Selvaraja had an argument with his
mother before leaving the flat and locking the door from outside.
He had been his father’s favourite among three children. – dpa
Franco’s grandson accused of attack
BUENOS AIRES: The grandson of Spanish dictator Francisco
Franco could face legal charges after he allegedly struck and
hurled a stream of racist invectives at a female Argentine
railway guard last week.
Francisco Franco Martinez Bordiu, the son of Franco’s only
daughter, was allegedly angry after attempting to board a
departing train in the Spanish city of Zaragoza. He then hit
and insulted the guard, the Movement for Argentines Abroad
said. “It was an act of xenophobia and manifest racism,” a
member of the group, Gustavo Maradini, told Argentine TV.
Witnesses quoted by the Argentine media said Franco ar-
rived in a rush at the station only to find the train doors closed.
He made his way through a closed barricade and began bang-
ing on the windows in an effort to get the train to stop.
The display attracted the attention of two stewardesses and
the security guard, whom Franco allegedly hit and threw to the
floor shouting “go back to your own f***ing country”. – AFP
China wants PCs that block sites
SINGAPORE: China’s government wants all PCs sold in the coun-
try from July 1 to be loaded with software that blocks certain
Relatives of websites.
a victim of
The Wall Street Journal yesterday cited the software’s main
the fire at developer as saying the primary target was pornography, and
his funeral
added that the government said it was to protect young people
service from “harmful” content. The software, called “Green Dam-Youth
at the
Escort”, would block access to banned sites by connecting to a
municipal database, the Journal reported.
cemetery
Jinhui Computer System Engineering Co developed the soft-
in ware with the help of the Beijing Dazheng Human Language
Hermosillo
Technology Academy Co, it said. The requirement, put in a notice
on Sunday. on May 19 by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology,
has not yet been publicised, the paper said. – Reuters
Daughter and parents found dead
GENEVA: Three members of the same family were found
dead in northwest Switzerland, police said on Sunday, ap-
parently the victims of an attack.
Two bodies were discovered in a fourth-floor apartment in
the centre of Grenchen in the canton of Solothurn. They were
tied up and had plastic bags put over their heads, the Swiss
ATS news agency reported. A third body was discovered on
the ground floor.
Police said the victims were parents, aged 60 and 55, and
their 35-year-old daughter. The apartment was ransacked,
though it was unclear if anything was taken. Police were
looking for witnesses and awaiting forensics results. – dpa