afrol News, 7 May - Rescue workers, who found the crashed Kenyan Airways plane in a mangrove swamp, said they are yet to see any survivor, although many bodies could be seen partly buried in the mud.

The six-month old Boeing 737-800 KQ 507 carrying 114 people from 27 countries crashed shortly after it departed from Douala at the weekend. It was on its way to the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.

The plane sent communication to the control tower in Douala after take-off but it later issued an automatic distress signal. The aircraft is among the new fleet of planes bought by Kenya Airways, which has been known for good safety record.

The airline last recorded a crash in January 2000, when its Airbus A310 plunged into the sea after take off from Abidjan, killing 169 of the 179 passengers on board.

Rescue workers who spotted the wreckage ruled out any possibility of finding a single survivor. The plane’s parts and debris could be seen scattered.

The search and recovery mission is jointly led by the International Red Cross and Cameroonian government.

Besides, experts from the United States National Transportation Safety Board are expected to storm the scene to assist with forensics and the recovery of bodies.

Villagers close to Mbanga Pongo said they saw a body, one arm, some seats and a piece of plane about the size of a car door.

Fishermen in the area who claimed to hear a heavy noise led rescuers to the site, the Chief Executive Officer of Kenya Airways, Titus Naikuni, confirmed.

The cause of the crash is yet to be established. Rescuers said the inaccessibility of vehicles to the scene will make recovery of bodies and investigation slow and difficult.

The victims of the latest crash include passengers from several west, central north and southern African countries, the Comoros Islands, Korea, the United States, Britain, Sweden, Switzerland, China and India.

Distressed families of the passengers and crew of the plane waited endlessly at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, seeking for information on the crash. Some of them got fainted.

Titus Naikuni confirmed that the entire flight crew were Kenyans. He said Mr Francis Mbatia and Wanyoike Kioru, captained the plane.

Kenya’s Minister for Transport and Communication, Ali Chirau Makwere, led a high powered delegation of crash investigators from Kenya Civil Aviation Authority to complement the rescue efforts in Cameroon.

Kenya Airways was established in January 1977 after the East African Airways broke up with the East African Community.

The national carrier started operations on 4 February the same year. It remained the property of the Kenya government until April 1996 when it was privatised.
Over the years, Kenya Airways has accelerated profit by eightfold.

In the past few years, KA successfully launched an ambitious expansion programme targeting new destinations in West Africa and Central Africa. This drove South African Airways out of the regions.

The company addressed the needs of passengers in no-go areas of most African air carriers.

With a fleet of 23 commercial jets serving 44 operations across the world, KA has succeeded in conquering most routes in West Africa within a short period of time. Its newly introduced flights to Liberia and Benin have been highly welcome.

KA’s aggressive expansion programme started in 2004 when it phased out the Boeing 737-200 fleet and replaced it with the Boeing 737-800.

Its first Boeing 737-800 arrived in Nairobi from Singapore Aircraft Enterprise in November.

By staff writer

© afrol News

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