Student lay dead in New Zealand university dorm for two months

WELLINGTON, New Zealand - A teenager lay dead in his campus dorm room for up to two months, a New Zealand university said Thursday, with the young man's body only discovered after fellow residents complained of the smell.

The remains of the first year University of Canterbury student were so badly decomposed that specialist disaster investigators were brought in to identify them.

"Clearly there's been quite a big failure here," New Zealand Education Minister Chris Hipkins said.

"And if that means that things need to change to make sure this sort of thing doesn't happen again in the future, then we will do that."

The 19-year-old, who has not been publicly identified, was described by friends as a "good and confident guy," but who would sometimes "go off the grid for a week or so."

The undergraduate began his course in July -- the start of the academic year in New Zealand -- having opted to live on Canterbury University's leafy campus in Christchurch.

Single rooms at the halls of residence where the student's body was found cost NZ$17,000 (US$10,000) a year, the university's website says, boasting they offer a "close knit community."

The halls of residence is run by Campus Living Villages (CLV) -- a company that operates student accommodation with more than 45,000 beds in the US, the UK and Australia, as well as New Zealand, according to its website.

"The thing that haunts me is how did we miss him?" CLV managing director John Schroder told reporters.

"I'm very perturbed. If indeed the young man was deceased for as long as he was… then I would say that is a failing on our part and we have to adjust our processes and systems."

Local media reported the dead man's stepfather had raised concerns with police after being unable to contact the student via friends.

"It's not right, it's just not right on any level," one outlet quoted a family member as saying.

Canterbury University vice-chancellor Cheryl de la Rey said it was an "extremely distressing time" for students and staff coming to grips with what had happened, adding an independent investigation into the death will be launched.

"Despite the comprehensive pastoral care programs in place, for us it is inconceivable to imagine how these circumstances could have occurred," she said in a statement.

De la Rey promised an independent investigation into the circumstances of the death. When questioned on national radio she said she had no explanation for the student's family.

"I am deeply sorry, I and the university will do all we can to answer these questions," De la Rey said.

Hipkins added the government would wait for the outcome of investigations launched by the police and coroner, before looking at whether regulations governing student accommodation needed to change.

The university, one of New Zealand's oldest, has more than 17,000 students.

Undergraduates pay around NZ$6,500 a year in fees.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

12 dead, mainly schoolgirls, in Turkey dorm fire

ISTANBUL - Twelve people, most of them schoolgirls, were killed on Tuesday when fire ravaged a dormitory for pupils in the southern Turkish region of Adana, local officials said.

The fire, which officials said was likely caused by an electrical fault, raced through the building's wooden interior as panicked victims tried to jump from windows to safety.

Officials expressed concern that many of the dead were killed after they were unable to open a closed fire door to escape the top floors of the building.

Images showed scenes of devastation as emergency services arrived to tackle the fire at the dormitory building, parts of which were turned into a blazing wreck and whose roof collapsed.

"We lost 12 of our citizens in the fire. Eleven of them were schoolchildren and one was a tutor. 22 citizens are injured," Adana region governor Mahmut Demirtas told Turkish NTV television.

"According to initial findings, we believe the fire was caused by electrical fault," he said.

The Dogan news agency specified that all 11 of the schoolchildren killed were girls. Their identities have yet to be disclosed but they were also said to be 14 or under.

The disaster took place in the town of Aladag north of Adana city, one of the biggest urban centres in the south of Turkey.

- Jumped from window in panic -

Television footage showed the three-storey building in flames, with fire engine teams trying to put out the blaze.

Demirtas said some terrified schoolgirls were injured after jumping out of the window to escape the flames. He added that none of the injuries were serious condition.

The governor said the fire at the private schoolchildren dorm broke out at around 19:25 (1625 GMT) and it was brought under control some three hours later.

Demirtas declined to comment on claims that fire escape stairs were locked and students were unable to use them.

But Adana city Mayor Huseyin Sozlu said: "It appears that the fire escape stairs door was locked. Children could not open it. Bodies were found there," he said.

He told NTV "of course children would have survived" if they had been able to flee down the fire escape stairs.

"From tomorrow the governor's office will start an investigation."

He said the children were aged between 11-14.

Students trapped on the second and third storeys of the building who could not flee outside, were killed in the fire, the Dogan news agency said.

The fire spread rapidly because of the building's wooden interior and carpeted floor, officials said.

Aladag district's mayor Mustafa Alpgedik, quoted by the Dogan news agency, said the fire erupted on the ground floor and then the flames spread because the third floor was wooden.

With the burning of the wooden floor, the roof then entirely collapsed, he said.

In an agonising wait, families who could not see their children stood outside in tears, Dogan added.

The dorm had a capacity for 54 students and was open to both secondary and high school students. Demirtas said it was a private dormitory with 34 students in residence.

Fires are frequent in Turkey due to antiquated and often wooden buildings and faulty electrics. But a disaster of this magnitude is highly unusual.

In a sign of the seriousness of the incident, several ministers were heading to the region, including Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu and Education Minister Ismet Yilmaz.

Demirtas meanwhile informed President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who expressed his sadness over the catastrophe, the state-run Anadolu news agency said.

source: news.abs-cbn.com