Bam's death toll estimated at 40,000
BAM, Iran, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- Thousands of rescue workers, apparently still nearly outnumbered by victims, early Sunday probed the wasteland left by the earthquake around Bam, Iran.
The death toll remained uncertain but massive in scope, with some estimates as high as 40,000 dead and several times that number injured, The New York Times reported.
Fairfax County, Va., sent 73 people with special detection equipment to listen for signs of life, part of a growing international rescue force of several hundred who are helping the many thousands of Iranian rescuers working frantically to move and examine rubble.
Aftershocks have cracked apart many of the buildings that survived the initial 12 seconds of devastation.
Trenches were being dug for mass burials while thousands of injured were trucked and flown to hospitals around Iran.
CBS reported two Americans died when the ancient Silk Road settlement's 2,000 year old mud-brick citadel, Arg-e-Bam, toppled.
China identifies new SARS case
GUANGZHOU, China, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- China's Ministry of Health Saturday confirmed a new case of severe acute respiratory syndrome in Guangdong Province, the first since spring.
An expert cautioned against unnecessary alarm after a 32-year-old man was hospitalized in Gaungzhou, Guangdong Province on Dec. 20 after suffering fever and headache for four days, reported Xinhua, China's government-run news agency.
He was initially diagnosed with pneumonia, but test results have confirmed SARS.
Professor Zhong Nanshan of the Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Diseases said the man is recovering and this case "does not seem to be infectious."
Zhong said sporadic cases should be expected since "it is not likely that the SARS virus will die out so soon after its emergence."
The first case of SARS was found in November last year in Guangdong Province. Researchers found the virus in live animals sold for food.
China suffered more than 5,300 SARS cases, with 349 deaths, from November to May.
Seventh body discovered after mudslide
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif., Dec. 27 (UPI) -- Having found a seventh victim, search teams in California continued looking through the night Saturday for possible survivors of a deadly Christmas mudslide.
Hope diminished that any others of the seven people still missing are alive and trapped in the mud and debris that was sent rushing through a San Bernardino canyon by heavy rains that could return Monday night.
A firefighter told United Press International Saturday that residents living around fire-scarred hillsides and canyons should think about evacuating and warned "there's no reason it can't happen again in the same canyon."
Seven victims have been confirmed dead with the two bodies found Saturday and officials believe other victims could have been carried as far as a few miles from the scene by the water and debris.
Parmalat's founder Tanzi detained
MILAN, Italy, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- The founder of beleaguered Parmalat SpA, Calisto Tanzi, was deteained by Italian authorities in Milan Saturday on suspicion of fraud.
Tanzi was charged with criminal association related to bankruptcy just hours after the company moved into a formal insolvency status, the next step after filing for bankruptcy Wednesday, the Italian news agency, ANSA, reported.
The company has more than 36,000 employees worldwide, and owns several companies in the United States.
There has been no explanation yet how the company hid its insolvency from investors and everyone else, apparently for over a decade.
A total of $12 billion could be missing or may not have existed to begin with, a black eye for regulators in Italy who do not have many international companies to oversee.
Stock and bondholders are beginning to file their own lawsuits but may have lost all their holdings.
The accountants, Grant Thornton, Saturday denied a role in any fraudulent scheme.
