Discover more from News from Underground by Mark Crispin Miller
In memory of those who 'died suddenly' in Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda, Israel, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and Russia, August 8-August 15
Nigerian director Otu Njama; in Israel, singer/songwriter Svika Pik (and 13 fatal crashes in 3 days); in Russia, songwriter Valery Mishchuk, and sax player Yuri Lo; Ghanaian DJ Stephen Tetteh; & more
GHANA
Tears as Young Ghanaian DJ Reportedly Dies; Fans Mourn as His Photos Pop Up
August 12, 2022
Ghanaian disc jockey (DJ) Stephen Tetteh, popularly known as Djstee Jay, has reportedly passed, but the cause of his unexpected demise is unknown to the public. His sudden demise was announced by media personality Bishop Gyatabuom Gyata, in a Facebook post.
No age reported.
NIGERIA
Filmmaker Otu Njama Found Dead Hours After Mourning Late Colleague Biyi Bandele, Nigerians React
August 12, 2022
Popular Nigerian filmmaker, Otu Njama, is dead. The young man who was in his 30s gave up the ghost on Aug 9, 2022. According to reports, the deceased had been battling with high blood pressure, unknown to his family members. It was gathered that Njama was found dead in his home at Unity Estate in Badore, Ajah, a few hours after he retired for the night. The deceased had reportedly been seeing a doctor who told him that his blood pressure was very high at about 200 and told him to get enough rest. However, the filmmaker noted that he could not because he had a show on August 11.
It was gathered that the filmmaker had visited a bar that he owned near his residence to check on his staff. After taking his meal, Njama reportedly retired for the night and told nobody to disturb him. His lifeless body was however found later. According to Linda Ikeji’s Blog, the deceased’s sister, Judith, who confirmed the news of his death added that she found a medicine in his apartment and a quick check online showed that it was for blood pressure. The sister added that she was not aware of her brother’s health struggle.
UGANDA
Former environment minister Jesca Eriyo is dead
August 13, 2022
Jesca Eriyo, the former state minister for environment has died aged 52. She is said to have died on Friday evening at the MD Anderson Hospital in Houston, Texas in the United States, where she was receiving cancer treatment. Eriyo, according to a closer family friend, has for the last few months been battling cancer. She was briefly hospitalised at Mulago Cancer Institute before being taken to USA for specialised treatment
She was first diagnosed with cancer in September 2019, but after rounds of chemotherapy and other treatments for three months, there were improvements, but she developed complications that lead to her death.
ISRAEL
Iconic Israeli singer-songwriter Svika Pick dies at 72
August 14, 2022
Pop singer Svika Pick, considered one of Israel's treasures, died at home Sunday. He was 72. Pick came of age as a singer in the 1970s, when he played a lead part in the Hebrew version of the musical "Hair," and became a known entity in the Israeli music scene.
Prime Minister Yair Lapid mourned the loss of the singer and songwriter, noting that Pick sang the words, "’Music penetrates the heart’ - a sentence which describes most of the songs and tunes that have penetrated Israeli culture ... Svilka was a revolutionary artist of his generation, a pillar of Israeli pop. Svika died today, but his songs and music will continue to be played for many years."
No cause of death given.
2 men killed crossing highway to help motorists after crash; 13 die in three days
August 12, 2022
Two people were killed while trying to cross a busy highway to help victims of a car crash early Friday morning. The victims brought the number of people killed in road-related incidents over the past three days to 13.
The two were attempting to walk across Highway 4 near Yad Mordechai in southern Israel when they were both struck by passing cars, according to police. They were declared dead at the scene. The pair had been attempting to provide help after a crash between two cars on the other side of the road, one of the main highways along the southern coast north of Gaza. The victims were later identified as Yoav Hadari and Hanoch Telker, bus drivers from the southern city of Ofakim.
The drivers of the vehicles in the other crash, men aged 28 and 67, were taken to a nearby hospital with light-to-moderate injuries, MDA said. Police did not release any information about the drivers of the cars that fatally struck the two other men.
The fatalities were the latest in a particularly deadly period on Israel’s roads. On Thursday night, a mother and her two young daughters were killed when a bus rolled away from its driver and smashed into a bus stop in Jerusalem. Days earlier, another bus in the same Jerusalem neighborhood lost control and crashed into a building, killing a man, 70.
Also on Thursday, a 54-year-old woman and her 7-year-old niece from Qalansawe were killed when a car and a truck collided at the Be’erotayim Junction along Route 57 near Netanya. And a 40-year-old man died after his truck was hit by another truck in the Tel Aviv suburb of Holon.
On Wednesday, a man was killed when a Palestinian driving a stolen car against traffic collided with him on Route 5, near the central city of Rosh Ha’ayin. The Palestinian driver was also killed.
Less than an hour after the deadly West Bank collision, a 25-year-old motorcyclist was killed in a crash involving another motorcycle and a car on Route 65 near the northern Israeli town of Kafr Qara, southeast of Haifa.
Despite the rising death toll, the 213 traffic fatalities in Israel this year as of Thursday morning were still 4% lower than the year previous, according to official figures from the National Road Safety Authority. A total of 364 people were killed in traffic incidents in Israel in 2021.
UKRAINE
Truck driver suddenly dies in Burgas
August 13, 2022
Yesterday, in Burgas [Bulgaria], a truck driver died suddenly, most likely due to a heart attack. The truck driver, a citizen of Ukraine, died at the entrance to a parking lot in the port west of Burgasbus. Police and an ambulance arrived at the scene to remove the man from the truck.
No age reported.
https://bourgas.ru/v-burgase-vnezapno-skonchalsya-voditel-gruzovika/
AZERBAIJAN
Reported on August 11:
AzTV employee suddenly died at the age of 40
August 11, 2022
An employee of the Azerbaijan Television and Radio Broadcasting CJSC (AzTV) Fariz Babayev died suddenly. According to the TV company, Babayev died today at the age of 40. It should be noted that Babayev worked as an operator at AzTV.
No cause of death reported.
RUSSIA
The author of "Songs under the fly", bard Valery Mishchuk, 71, died
August 15, 2022
Bard, guitarist and songwriter Valery Mishchuk passed away in Moscow. This was told to TASS by his brother Vadim. "Died. In Moscow, in the hospital. From cancer. Yesterday (August 14 – TRUD.RU) in the evening,” he said.
Valery Mishchuk was born on March 10, 1951 in Riga. In the 1970s, together with his brother, he organized the Domino ensemble. Since 1989, the brothers have performed as a duet, accompanying on six-string guitars. In the 1990-2000s, the brothers recorded several of their own records, including with bard Leonid Sergeev. Among them are “Prodigal Son”, “Someday”, “Songs Under the Fly”, “Port Wine Blues”, “No Words” and others. Valery and Vadim Mishchuk took part in the Songs of Our Century project, the last album of which was released in 2020.
In Tver, the famous musician Yuri Lo died suddenly
August 15, 2022
One of the best Tver saxophonists and clarinetists died at the age of 46. From the age of 14, the life of Yuri Lo (Lomov) was connected with music in all its manifestations. Professional musician-saxophonist, composer and performer, including his own songs. In 1995, Yuri graduated with honors from the Tver Music College. He received his higher education at the Moscow University of Culture and Art. Lo collaborated with the group of Mikhail Krug and with the Ensemble of Pokrovsky, performed on the same stage with the legendary "Aquarium" and "Spleen". In recent years, he was an artist of the municipal variety and brass orchestra of the city of Tver. His solo concerts and performances were very popular.
No cause of death reported.
https://tverigrad.ru/publication/v-tveri-skoropostizhno-skonchalsja-izvestnyj-muzykant-jurij-lo/
Reported on August 9:
In the Omsk region, the head of the structure of the Ministry of Agriculture suddenly died
August 9, 2022
Nikolai Yakushev headed the department for about a year. The press service of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Omsk region reported the death of the director of the Office for the Development of Rural Territories and Economic Services, Nikolai Yakushev. The agency is part of the ministry. It is known that 65-year-old Nikolai Yakushev headed the Department almost a year ago, in September 2021. Prior to his appointment, he worked at the Regional Overhaul Fund.
No cause of death reported.
https://gorod55.ru/news/2022-08-09/v-omskoy-oblasti-vnezapno-umer-glava-struktury-minselhoza-1091582
Child suddenly died on the beach after swimming and running
August 15, 2022
On the shore of the Gulf of Finland found the corpse of a 12-year-old child from Moscow. The boy came to rest in the Leningrad region from Moscow. According to the 47news portal, according to preliminary data, the teenager became ill after physical exertion - swimming and jogging. The boy came to the Leningrad region with his relatives. They planned to rest on the shores of the Gulf of Finland in a tent. There is a campsite next to the family resting place. The regional department of the Sledkom of the Leningrad Region is conducting an inspection.
No cause of death reported.
https://gubdaily.ru/news/rebenok-vnezapno-umer-na-plyazhe-posle-togo-kak-poplaval-i-pobegal/
Reported on August 9:
46-year-old combine operator died during the harvest near Volgograd
August 9, 2022, 11:53
In the Volgograd region, a 46-year-old combine operator died during the harvest. The man became ill when he was driving special equipment. The tragedy happened yesterday afternoon, August 8, in the Yelansky district. A local resident was driving a combine and harvesting fields near the village of Rodinsky. Suddenly he became ill. “In the presence of eyewitnesses, he fell out of the cab and began to lose consciousness,” the acting director told RIAC. Senior Assistant to the Head of Department (for information interaction with the public and the media) of the Investigative Committee of the Investigative Committee for the Volgograd Region Denis Fedyushkin.
Witnesses of the incident put the combine operator in a car and took him to the Yelan Central District Hospital. However, the 46-year-old man did not make it to the medical facility alive - he died on the way. There are no signs that the death of the Volgograd citizen came for criminal reasons.
No cause of death reported.
https://www.riac34.ru/news/146995/
Body found in the center of Yekaterinburg
August 12, 2022
In the center of Yekaterinburg, near the house on Khokhryakova, 72, lies a corpse. The body of a man was found near a bench, according to E1.RU photographer Vladislav Lonshakov. It has already been covered with black cloth. "Some person stands over the body and takes testimony from witnesses,” a reader told E1.RU. According to eyewitnesses, an elderly man died, they suggest that he was overtaken by a heart attack. We have contacted the press service of the Investigative Committee for comment.
In memory of those who 'died suddenly' in Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda, Israel, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and Russia, August 8-August 15
Cancer, heart attacks or no cause of death reported. It is similar around the world. What must the heart and cancer doctors be thinking?
The comfort of specifics has always helped me. Generalities, like averages, are not real. Best M