Displaying items by tag: deaths

About 60 people were killed and dozens wounded on 21 February in an explosion at an informal gold mining site in Burkina Faso. TV images showed a site of felled trees, destroyed tin houses and bodies covered in mats. The country is home to major gold mines run by international companies, but also to hundreds of smaller, informal sites that operate without oversight or regulation. Children frequently work in these so-called artisanal mines; accidents are common in one of the world's least developed countries. Islamist groups linked to al-Qaeda and IS seek control of mining sites to fund their violence and turmoil. Burkina Faso already struggles with political stability, rebel groups, and ethnic tensions. It can barely cope with additional religious terrorist attacks on both Christians and Muslims. See

Since the start of the pandemic 200,000 Americans have died from drug overdoses, an alarming increase over previous years. Numbers for 2021 are not yet released but look to be higher still. The crisis is driven by a new, ultra-potent drug called fentanyl. Only two milligrams are lethal. It is the most powerful painkiller on the market, and 100 times more potent than morphine. In 2021 Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seized over 11,000 pounds of fentanyl, enough to kill 2.5 billion people. Fentanyl is being laced into less potent drugs like marijuana and heroin, often without the knowledge of the user. CBP said, ‘Almost every methamphetamine positive also has a fentanyl positive. Once that first high occurs, nothing after that compares.’ Pray for the pandemic casualties, now experiencing depression, to turn to Christ for inner peace and avoid illegal substances. Pray for God to touch the lives of the families of addicts.

On the last day of 2021 two teenagers were murdered in London in the space of an hour, bringing the number of teenage homicides in the capital to 30 - the highest ever recorded. Less than an hour after a teenager was murdered in Croydon, a 16-year-old in Hillingdon died from a puncture wound. Pray for the victims’ next of kin as they begin 2022 without their sons, brothers, nephews. Knife crime offences are rising across the UK, but data shows that London consistently suffers the highest number of knife crime offences per capita of any region. Pray for youth teams, teachers, social workers, churches, charities, police and parents to work together and develop solutions that reduce knife crime. May young people feel secure and protected without the need to carry a knife. See also

The number of deaths of people treated under the Mental Health Act in England rose during the coronavirus pandemic. The Care Quality Commission's findings come amid concerns over staff shortages in psychiatric units. 490 people died while detained under the act in the year to March 2021, 324 of them for non-Covid reasons. The average overall figure between 2012 and 2019 was 273. Former health secretary Jeremy Hunt warned that shortages of doctors and nurses were now compromising patient safety ‘in every part of the NHS’. Mr Hunt, who now chairs the Commons health and social care committee, said ‘We still put far too many people into secure accommodation when they haven't committed any crime, just because it's the only option left.’

This year’s rainy season in Chennai is as heavy as 2015, when 200 people died in floods. Fortunately, the death count is lower this time, but heavy rains are still pounding the area, so the danger continues. Uprooted trees block roads, cars are damaged, and people wade through knee-high water. The rains are taxing the infrastructure. To avoid the danger of electrocution, the government shut down the power grid in some areas. If the rains continue, other low-lying areas of Chennai will be in danger. Pray for God's mercy for those who are most vulnerable to flooding, cholera, and electrocution. Illegal building has left Chennai vulnerable to flood damage; pray for God to raise up righteous decision-makers. Pray for those suffering amid days of stagnant waterlogging and no power. ‘Drainage water is mixed with rainwater, causing odour, and a lot of insects and snakes are coming into the house,’ said a local.

Record-breaking rains and heavy flooding have killed over 150 people in India and Nepal in recent days. 77 have been killed, 22+ injured, and 26 are missing across Western Nepal; at least 46 have died in Uttarakhand, and 27 bodies have been recovered in Kerala. 11 teams from the National Disaster Response Force also evacuated 6,500 people to 184 relief camps. Crops have been destroyed, roads are waterlogged, bridges washed away, vehicles submerged, and houses reduced to rubble in Kerala, home to 33 million people. The flooding comes in the middle of a religious pilgrimage when Hindus journey to Uttarakhand. 3,000 pilgrims were evacuated from a barge on the Sarda River, which had overflowed. Meanwhile more than 200 families are currently in a further 26 evacuation camps across the state. Heavy rainfall is forecast to continue for the coming days, and residents are urged to stay indoors.

Two people are dead, five are missing, 31 injured and five in intensive care after an explosion at a German chemical site. The blast in Leverkusen had been declared an ‘extreme threat’ after sending a large black cloud rising into the air. Emergency services took three hours to extinguish the fire at the Chempark site. Police asked nearby residents to remain in their homes and keep windows and doors shut. Playgrounds in nearby neighbourhoods were closed and residents told to rinse fruit and vegetables from their gardens before eating them. Chempark ‘s chief said, ‘Hopes of finding the missing alive are fading. Solvents were burned during the incident, and we do not know precisely what substances were released. We are examining this with authorities, taking samples.’ The explosion was at a rubbish incineration plant of the chemical park. The smoke cloud is moving toward the towns of Burscheid and Leichlingen.

The UN reported the number of Afghan civilians killed or hurt has sharply increased since the Western coalition began pulling out of the country. A total of 1,659 civilians were killed and 3,254 injured in the first half of 2021, a 47% increase from the same period in 2020. The actual numbers may be even higher, considering that the UN only records casualties it is able to verify independently. Out of those killed or maimed, 46% were women and children. The Taliban and other militants were responsible for 64% of civilian casualties, while 25% were attributed to pro-government forces and 11% to ‘crossfire’ between warring parties. An alarming trend of growing death toll since May reveals the highest number since the UN began keeping records in 2009. If this violence is not stemmed, an unprecedented number of civilians will perish or be maimed this year.

The death toll from flooding in Western Europe keeps climbing as rescue workers dig deeper into debris left by receding waters. Germany’s finance minister has proposed a package of immediate aid, of more than 300 million euros. Pray for the government also to dig deeper into available funds so that suitable rebuilding programs can be set up speedily. From experience with previous flooding, costs will be in the billions of euros. Police fear the number of dead may still rise in many areas. Pope Francis offered a prayer for the flood victims and for the efforts of all to help those who suffered great damage: ‘I express my closeness to the populations of Germany, Belgium and Holland, hit by catastrophic flooding.’ German officials have asked people not to make any more donations, as their generosity has left storage facilities for clothes and food full.

At least 33 people have died in the ‘heaviest rainfall in a millennium’ in central China. The torrential floods paralysed several cities, causing millions of pounds in damage. Vast swathes of Zhengzhou city are under several feet of water. Cars float down streets and 200,000 people fled flooding in Henan province, home to China’s agricultural industry. The subway flooded, trapping passengers inside carriages as water levels rose. Platforms were submerged and commuters clung to railings to keep their heads above the fast-flowing deluge as air was running out. Train services across the province have been suspended, highways remain closed, and flights cancelled. At least two dams in Inner Mongolia have collapsed. Other dams that enclose China’s reservoirs are threatening to fail. Rescue workers are evacuating residents from Hefei, and a hospital with 7,000+ beds lost power, with staff racing to relocate hundreds of critically ill patients. More rain is expected in the coming days.