UNI
New Delhi/Nairobi, May 6: Fourteen of the 15 Indians, who were killed in the Kenyan plane crash near Cameroon on early Saturday, have been identified.
Most of them had boarded the ill-fated flight KQ-507 in Douala, according to the Kenyan Airways.
Kenyans pray during a church service held for the victims of the Kenya Airways plane crash at the All Saints cathedral in Nairobi, Kenya, Sunday, May 6, 2007. Morning fog and thick forest reduced visibility to about 200 meters (yards) Sunday morning as rescuers prepared to resume the search in southern Cameroon for a Kenya-bound flight that crashed with 114 people on board after sending out a distress signal, officials said. (Karel Prinsloo / AP)
A list released by the External Affairs Ministry here on Sunday identified the 14 as, Nigli Shirly, Nigili Kewin Joseph, George Joseph Kocherry, Maria Joseph, Gracey Manuel, Aman Gaur, Prakam Sundaraman, Madhusudan, Bhagya Madhusudan, Poojitha Madhusudan, Mary Ruby, Meera Shah, Amol Chauhan and Nalakath Gireesan.
Those who boarded from Douala are Madhusudan, Bhagya Madhusudan, Poojitha Madhusudan, Aman Gaur, Nalakath Gireesan, Amol Chauhan, Meera Shah, Prakash Sundararaman, The Kenyan Airways identified one Deep Indeer as among the dead who had reportedly boarded from Abidjan.
Meanwhile, an air and ground operation by a French Army and Cameroonian search team continued today to look for the wreckage of the Kenyan airliner which went missing shortly after take-off yesterday, The search area, 80 nautical miles south east of Douala, is about 150 ground kilometres.
Besides the 15 Indians, those who were killed in the crash included Cameroon (37), South Africa(7), Ivory Coast and Nigeria (6 each), China and Britain (5 each), Niger (3), Central African Republic, Equitorial Guinea, Democratic Republic of Congo (2 each), Mauritania, Korea, Switzerland, Mali, Sweden, Ghana, Comoros, Mauritius, Senegal, Congo, Egypt, Tanzania, US and Burkina Faso (1 each).
There were also nine Kenyans who formed the crew.
A relative consoles the wife of a South African passenger who was on the Kenya Airways flight at Panari Hotel in Nairobi, Sunday, May 6, 2007. Fog and thick tropical forest hampered a rescue mission that resumed early Sunday in southern Cameroon for a Kenya-bound flight that crashed with 114 people on board. Searchers, meanwhile, could not explain silence from the plane after an initial automated distress signal. The Kenya Airways plane had stopped emitting signals after the distress call, though an automatic device should have kept up
Amol Chauhan, who was one of the victims, was an ace pistol shooter and the son of Sharad Chauhan, managing director of Parle Products. Meanwhile, reports from Nairobi said rescuers combed the forest area today for the wreckage of the Boeing 737-800 aircraft, which went missing after leaving Douala airport for Nairobi in bad weather. It went off radar immediately after takeoff.
The KQ 507 flight was reported missing after taking off from Douala. It crashed near Niete, north of the border with Equatorial Guinea, due to bad weather.
The 737-800 aircraft had left Douala at 0005 Hrs local time (0635 IST) and was expected to land in Nairobi at 0615 Hrs. (1245 IST).
The Kenya Airways has opened an international passenger information centre in South Africa. The public enquiry number is +27 11 2071100.
A local passenger information centre in Kenya has also been opened at the Intercontinental Hotel. The public enquiry numbers are +254-20-3200353, +254-20-3200354, +254-20-3274349.
Kenya Airways plane wreckage found: Radio
Reuters
Yaounde: A Kenya Airways plane reported missing on Saturday with 114 people aboard, was found on Sunday in southern Cameroon, the central African country's state radio said.
The radio interrupted its programming to report the find, but made no mention of casualties or the state of the aircraft.
The plane was found near the village of Awanda, near the town of Mvengue, southwest of the capital Yaounde, the radio said.
The Kenya Airways 737-800 airliner, bound for Nairobi, went missing early Saturday shortly after it took off from Douala in Cameroon.
Local officials could not be reached for immediate comment.
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