Queen Elizabeth has sent her “sincere condolences” to the families of those killed in the Tunisian beach massacre. Officials fear the UK death toll from Friday’s gun attack which killed 39 is likely to be more than 20s. Relatives of others still missing are anxiously awaiting any news. The Queen said, she and the Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philippe were shocked by the attack and also offered their deepest sympathy to the injured. Other countries affected by the shooting carried out by 23-year old Seifeddine Rezgui who had links with Islamic State include Belgium, Germany and Ukraine. Three people from Ireland were also killed.
Home Secretary Theresa May, speaking after she chaired a meeting of the government’s emergency Cobra committee said Foreign Office staff were working round the clock in Tunisia and a 24-hour crisis centre was up and running in the UK. She also sent 28 experts to provide ground support. Scotland Yard says its investigation into the attack is likely to be one of the largest counter-terrorism deployments since the London 7/7 bombings in 2005 which killed 52.
Travel Agency Thomas Cook said 1,100 people who cut short their stay in the country were among 3,600 who have flown back since the attack. It laid on two extra flights on Saturday and one on Sunday. Thomson had 12 flights out of Tunisia on Sunday to bring people home at the end of their holiday and repatriate others who wished to return home straight away. The beach area at Sousse where the attack took place has now reopened.
Meanwhile, a bus carrying 34 British schoolchildren, 6 adults and 2 drivers has crashed on a motorway in Belgium yesterday at around 10 am local time on the E40 in Middelkerke, a coastal town on the road between Calais and Ostend. The children were travelling from Essex, United Kingdom to Cologne in Germany when their coach crashed. The driver reportedly lost control and hit a bridge pillar. One of the two drivers who has been killed was a Northern Ireland resident and the driver’s assistant has been seriously wounded. Two pupils were also seriously injured. One of the two, a 13-year old is still in an intensive care in a Belgian hospital due to brain bleeding. His parents drove to Belgium after hearing the news. Private Brentwood School in Essex, whose ex-pupils include Frank Lampard and Noel Edmonds, said its pupils aged around 10 to 13 walked away from the crash. The coach was operated by Richmond Coaches based near Lisburn, Northern Ireland which has described the crash as an “awful tragedy”.
Hello World Portion: Greetings to my early morning listeners worldwide: Marissa Galarosa-Borja (Milan, Italy), Mario Porcema (Paris, France), my sis Sarah Andes-Imbat (New York, USA), Marivic Mateo (Brussels, Belgium), Miles Cruz (San Jose, California, USA), Josanna Hanawa (Japan), Ed Bartolome, Josephine Pactao, Glo Alidon, Edwin Paul Kaimo, Mina Gallagher and Leslie Legarda So-Alihuddin (Philippines).
I would like to extend my deepest condolences to the family of my High School batchmate Joselito Valentin who died last week in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and to the wife and children of my Belgian adoptive Dad Jacques Dewispelaere who died of heart attack last Saturday. My thoughts and prayers are with you Peter, Marianne and Mama Rosette Dewispelaere.
