Libya crash: Dutch mourn 61 among 103 dead
An unidentified Dutch child the sole survivor of plane crash in Libya receives medical treatment in a hospital in Tripoli in this image taken from TV . (AP)
By AGENCIES
Published: May 12, 2010 23:58 Updated: May 13, 2010 00:45
AMSTERDAM/TRIPOLI: The Netherlands went into mourning Wednesday, shocked at the deaths of at least 61 Dutch citizens flying back from spring break vacations in South Africa on a plane that plunged into the Libyan desert near Tripoli. A 10-year-old Dutch boy was the only known survivor.
The plane carrying 104 people crashed on approach to Tripoli's airport, leaving a field scattered with smoldering debris that included a large chunk of the tail painted with the airline's brightly colored logo.
The Dutch prime minister said everyone on the Afriqiyah Airways Airbus A330-200 arriving from Johannesburg, South Africa, was killed except the child, whose survival was hailed as a miracle.
The boy was taken to a hospital in Tripoli and was undergoing surgery for injuries including broken bones.
Libyan TV showed video of the dark-haired child lying in a hospital bed with a bandaged head and wearing an oxygen mask. He had intravenous lines in one arm and appeared to be conscious. An unnamed doctor, speaking in Arabic in the Libya TV video, said the child "has several breaks in both legs and is under intensive care but is stable."
Besides the Dutch, the other victims were French, German, South African, Finnish, British and Libyan, according to the transportation minister.
The Dutch daily Telegraaf said the child had been traveling with his or her parents and an 11-year-old sibling.
The case of the Dutch boy is a reminder of the story of a 12-year-old girl who survived a Yemeni airliner crash last year. Bahia Bakari was the only known survivor among the 153 people on the Yemenia Airbus A310 jet, which crashed off the Comoros on June 30, 2009.
Dutch flags were lowered and campaigning for the June 9 parliamentary elections was suspended in respect for the dead. Hundreds of people phoned emergency numbers to ask about family and friends while authorities at other destination airports set up crisis centers.
"We are sad and sore at the thought of the more than one hundred passengers and crew who lost their lives," the Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, Thabo Makgoba, said in a statement. "We thank God for the sole survivor. In his survival, we see that even in this dark cloud of death, there is this ray of hope."
The plane was carrying 93 passengers and 11 crew, said Afriqiyah Airways in a statement. The plane was approaching the airport in Tripoli when it crashed at around 6 a.m. (0400 GMT) There was no immediate word on the cause, according to a statement by the airlines posted on its website.
The aircraft that crashed was delivered from the production line in September 2009. It had accumulated approximately 1,600 flight hours in some 420 flights, according to Airbus.
According to reports, the plane crashed as it neared the threshold of Tripoli International's main east-west runway, while preparing to touch down from the east.
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Posted By Samotalis to SAMOTALIS at 5/13/2010 03:42:00 AM
An unidentified Dutch child the sole survivor of plane crash in Libya receives medical treatment in a hospital in Tripoli in this image taken from TV . (AP)
By AGENCIES
Published: May 12, 2010 23:58 Updated: May 13, 2010 00:45
AMSTERDAM/TRIPOLI: The Netherlands went into mourning Wednesday, shocked at the deaths of at least 61 Dutch citizens flying back from spring break vacations in South Africa on a plane that plunged into the Libyan desert near Tripoli. A 10-year-old Dutch boy was the only known survivor.
The plane carrying 104 people crashed on approach to Tripoli's airport, leaving a field scattered with smoldering debris that included a large chunk of the tail painted with the airline's brightly colored logo.
The Dutch prime minister said everyone on the Afriqiyah Airways Airbus A330-200 arriving from Johannesburg, South Africa, was killed except the child, whose survival was hailed as a miracle.
The boy was taken to a hospital in Tripoli and was undergoing surgery for injuries including broken bones.
Libyan TV showed video of the dark-haired child lying in a hospital bed with a bandaged head and wearing an oxygen mask. He had intravenous lines in one arm and appeared to be conscious. An unnamed doctor, speaking in Arabic in the Libya TV video, said the child "has several breaks in both legs and is under intensive care but is stable."
Besides the Dutch, the other victims were French, German, South African, Finnish, British and Libyan, according to the transportation minister.
The Dutch daily Telegraaf said the child had been traveling with his or her parents and an 11-year-old sibling.
The case of the Dutch boy is a reminder of the story of a 12-year-old girl who survived a Yemeni airliner crash last year. Bahia Bakari was the only known survivor among the 153 people on the Yemenia Airbus A310 jet, which crashed off the Comoros on June 30, 2009.
Dutch flags were lowered and campaigning for the June 9 parliamentary elections was suspended in respect for the dead. Hundreds of people phoned emergency numbers to ask about family and friends while authorities at other destination airports set up crisis centers.
"We are sad and sore at the thought of the more than one hundred passengers and crew who lost their lives," the Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, Thabo Makgoba, said in a statement. "We thank God for the sole survivor. In his survival, we see that even in this dark cloud of death, there is this ray of hope."
The plane was carrying 93 passengers and 11 crew, said Afriqiyah Airways in a statement. The plane was approaching the airport in Tripoli when it crashed at around 6 a.m. (0400 GMT) There was no immediate word on the cause, according to a statement by the airlines posted on its website.
The aircraft that crashed was delivered from the production line in September 2009. It had accumulated approximately 1,600 flight hours in some 420 flights, according to Airbus.
According to reports, the plane crashed as it neared the threshold of Tripoli International's main east-west runway, while preparing to touch down from the east.
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Posted By Samotalis to SAMOTALIS at 5/13/2010 03:42:00 AM
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