Kenya jet crash: 114 feared dead

[Guest Fred Bear]

Lucie Peytermann in Nairobi May 06, 2007 02:00am

 

• Jet crashed after take-off in Cameroon
   
  
  
   
   
  
• Rescue teams rushing to site
   
  
  
   
   
  
• Accident occurred during violent storm
   
  

 

A KENYA Airways passenger plane with 114 people on board crashed after taking off from Douala airport in Cameroon on a flight to Nairobi, officials said.

 

A Kenya Airways official said rescue teams were trying to find the site of the crash, and there was no immediate word on any casualties. The search was later suspended until daybreak.

 

“We are trying to get to the area of the crash, but the weather is really bad. We are getting help from the army,†the official said in Cameroon.

 

Search efforts centred on a densely forested area 100km southwest of Yaounde, the chief executive officer for Kenya Airways, Titus Naikuni, said.

 

He said the airliner had been delayed from taking off by one hour due to heavy rain, though he did not confirm that the plane had crashed.

 

However, an official with the Kenyan Civil Aviation Authority, who asked not to be named, said: “The plane has crashed.â€Â

 

Air traffic controllers picked up a distress signal just after it took off from Douala during a violent storm, a source linked to the Agency for the Safety of Aerial Navigation in Africa said.

 

In Cameroon, officials said military helicopters and police were searching a densely forested area in the south of the country for signs of the plane.

 

“The searches are very difficult because they are taking place in an area of very dense forest,†an official said.

 

Speaking at a news conference in Nairobi, Kenya Airway's Mr Naikuni revised down an initial figure of 115 on board to 114, comprising nine Kenyan crew members and 105 passengers.

 

Including the crew, there were 82 Africans of various nationalities, 15 Indians, six Chinese, five Britons, one Swiss, one Swede and one US citizen.

 

Mr Naikuni said three of six others who had not previously been identified included one Cameroonian and two from Equatorial Guinea, and that authorities were still working to identify the nationalities of the other three.

 

Flight KQ 507 was flying from Abidjan in Ivory Coast via Douala to Nairobi, where it was due at 6:15am (1.35pm AEST yesterday).

 

Most of the passengers were connecting through Nairobi to other destinations outside Kenya.

 

“As far as I know, the aircraft is updated in terms of maintenance and the pilots are also updated in terms of training,†Mr Naikuni said, adding that the plane was only six months old.

 

Cameroonian authorities set up two emergency centres, one in Yaounde and the other in Douala, to coordinate search operations. A crisis centre has also been established at Kenya Airways headquarters at Nairobi airport.

 

In January 2000 a Kenya Airways Airbus crashed into the sea after taking off from Abidjan airport, killing 169 passengers and crew.

 

Air France-KLM owns a 26 per cent stake in Kenya Airways, which prides itself on its reputation as a reliable African air company.