Yemen says bodies spotted at plane crash site

30 Jun 2009, 6:24 pm   -   Source: AFP/AAP
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The wreckage of a Yemeni Airbus jet that crashed in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Comoros has been spotted, a Comoros government official says.

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The wreckage of a Yemeni Airbus jet that crashed in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Comoros has been spotted, a Comoros government official says.

"A small plane flew over the scene and the pilot spotted debris and the craft," said Nourdine Bourhane, the secretary-general of the government on Tuesday.

Yemen's civil aviation authorities said some bodies had also been spotted at the site of the plane crash.

"Bodies were seen floating on the surface of the water and a fuel slick was also spotted about 16 or 17 nautical miles from Moroni," senior civil aviation official Mohammad Abdel Kader told reporters.

The Airbus, belonging to Yemen's national carrier Yemenia, crashed on Tuesday with 153 people on board, mainly French and Comorans, officials said, less than a month after an Air France Airbus plunged into the Atlantic while en route from Brazil to France.

Abdel Kader said three of the passengers were newborn babies, while the 11-member crew was made up of various nationalities.

No Australians are thought to have been on board the flight, a spokeswoman for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said.

"The Australian embassies in Port Louis, Riyadh and Paris are urgently seeking to confirm the reports and determine whether any Australians are on board," she said. "We have not had any suggestions that any Australians were involved.

"Comoros Island authorities have advised the embassy in Port Louis that most passengers are from Comoros Island and France."

Numerous faults noted on crashed jet: French minister

Numerous faults had been noted on the jet and the airline was being closely monitored by French authorities, France's transport minister said.

The airline "was a company that was being very closely monitored" and the plane that crashed had not been flying in French air space because "numerous faults had been noted," Dominique Bussereau told i-tele news.

A Comoran airport official told AFP the plane went down in stormy weather conditions. "The flight was expected at 2230 GMT (0830 AEST, Tuesday).

Before landing the control tower lost communication with the crew," said Hadji Mmadi Ali, the director of Moroni international airport.

"The weather conditions were unfavourable with strong winds," he added.

 

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