AFP
 
Paris, Jul 1: One of the black box flight recorders from the Yemenia jet which crashed off the Comoros has been located and efforts to retrieve it will begin Wednesday, the French government said.

"The black box's signal was located yesterday (Tuesday) at 4:30pm local time (1230 GMT) by an aerial patrol, 40 kilometres (25 miles) from Grande Comore," said cooperation minister Alain Joyandet, quoted by a spokeswoman.

A French patrol ship, the Rieuse, was to arrive on site later Wednesday to start operations to recover the flight recorder, he added.

French rescue teams Wednesday joined in the search for survivors of the Yemenia jetliner, more than a day after it plunged into the sea while trying to land at Moroni airport in rough weather.

Sixty-six French nationals, and large numbers of Comorans resident in France, were among the 153 passengers of the Airbus A310.

A French military plane, two navy ships, Zodiac fast boats and other equipment have arrived from the neighbouring French island of Reunion to assist in the search.

A 14-year-old girl was saved from the seas off the coast of the Comoros archipelago, but the Red Cross has warned hopes of finding more survivors were slim.

The teenager, the sole survivor so far among the 142 passengers and 11 crew on Flight IY 626, was in hospital and her condition was "not worrisome," said Ramulati Ben Ali from the local Red Cross.

A man identified as one of the girl's rescuers told France's Europe 1 radio that the girl was seen swimming in choppy waters in the middle of bodies and plane debris around 4:00 am (0100 GMT).

"We tried to throw a life buoy. She could not grab it. I had to jump in the water to get her," the rescuer said. "She was shaking, shaking. We put four covers on her. We gave her hot, sugary water. We simply asked her name, village."

A Comoran government spokesman also confirmed that the girl is the only survivor so far and hailed from the southeastern village of Nioumadzaha.

"She is conscious, she is speaking.... but we are not asking her too many question as not to tire her," said Ada Mansour, the doctor who treated the girl at the hospital, where she was in the intensive care unit.

The girl lives in the French southern city of Marseille and was travelling with her mother to the Comoros, according to a Comoran community group in France.

Abdallah Ibrahim, the Marseille coordinator of the Comoros Solidarity Union, said that airport authorities in Moroni identified the girl as Bakari Baya.