WORLD DIGEST || Father thankful for passers-by

hFather thankful for passers-by

LOGAN, Utah

A man whose car slid off an icy Utah road and into a river and whose two children and niece were saved by passers-by says he is thankful to be alive.

Roger Andersen was headed for a ski resort Saturday up a canyon about 80 miles north of Salt Lake City with his 9-year-old daughter, 4-year-old son and 9-year-old niece when his car went off the road.

It turned upside down in the river and submerged. Within seconds, passers-by stopped and helped rescue the trapped children.

They were treated and have been released from a hospital.

Andersen said Monday he thought they were all going to die. He says without the “citizen bystanders” his family would have been preparing for funerals. Instead, everyone is full of gratitude.

Christchurch hit by 17 quakes in 18 hours

WELLINGTON, New Zealand

New Zealand’s quake-ravaged city of Christchurch was rocked Monday by 17 earthquakes in 18 hours.

No serious damage was reported from the swarm, which included two shakes stronger than magnitude 5 and another six between magnitude 4 and 5. The City Council issued a statement asking the “community to look after neighbors, friends and family and take care during this difficult time.” The South Island’s largest city has been racked by quakes since September 2010, including one in February that killed 181 people.

The first tremor, measuring 3.9, hit at 1:27 am, and the city kept shaking with a significant tremor of magnitude 4.8 just before 7 p.m., the state GeoNet organization, which monitors quakes, reported.

A double shock 12 seconds apart with the biggest of magnitude 5.5 struck before dawn and triggered an automatic power shutoff to 10,000 homes, but electricity was restored by 8 a.m.

Killings reportedly continue in Syria

BEIRUT

Syrian security forces still are killing anti-government protesters despite the presence of foreign monitors in the country, the head of the Arab League said Monday. But he insisted the observer mission has yielded important concessions from the Damascus regime, such as the withdrawal of heavy weapons from cities.

Syria’s opposition cautioned the observers not to be taken in by President Bashar Assad’s government, which has unleashed a withering military assault to crush a 9-month-old uprising. Opposition groups have been deeply critical of the mission, saying it is simply giving Assad cover for his crackdown.

Human remains on royal estate

LONDON

Human remains have been discovered on Sandringham estate, a vast area in rural Norfolk where the royal family retreats for the holiday season, local police announced Monday.

A terse statement posted to the website of the Norfolk Constabulary said that a member of the public found the remains on New Year’s Day in an area of woodland at Anmer, a tiny village about 115 miles northeast of London.

Police Sgt. Andrew Terry said he didn’t know whether the remains were found on the site of Sandringham, but Britain’s Press Association news agency identified Anmer as being part of the royal estate. No indication of the age or nature of the remains was given, and Terry said no further information would be released until today.

Combined dispatches