Who can explain it?

Isn't it strange how the manner in which a person is killed affects how we feel about it? The inquest opened yesterday into those British victims of the tsunami last Boxing Day. Top news story, with many interviews of relatives and friends. Hour-long programme on prime-time television. And yet, why are their deaths any more terrible and tragic than the hundreds or possibly thousands of other people who have been killed accidentally over the past year? If a plane crashes killing a hundred or so, it seems to have massively more impact than the same number of people killed in individual car crashes. Like I say - isn't it strange?