Libya plane crash 'kills all 104 on board'

Erna

The Living Force
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8676758.stm

Libya plane crash 'kills all 104 on board'

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A commercial passenger plane has crashed in Libya, killing at least 104 people on board, airport officials say.

The Afriqiyah Airways flight from Johannesburg had been due to land at 0610 local (0410 GMT), they said. The plane crashed close to the airport.

At least 93 passengers were on board the Airbus 330. They are believed to be of various nationalities, including British and South African.

The 11 crew were all thought to be Libyan nationals, an employee said.

Initial reports said there were 94 passengers on board, but Reuters news agency cited Afriqiyah as saying there were 93.

The plane had been due to go on to Gatwick airport near London after stopping in Tripoli.

The BBC's Rana Jawad in Tripoli says it was not clear whether the plane was on the runway when it crashed, but she says that people she spoke to at the airport said they could not see the plane.

Ambulances have been going back and forth to the airport, our correspondent says.

She adds that the weather has been sunny and clear over the past few days.

Afriqiyah Airways is a Libyan airline that was founded in 2001.
 
Only one survivor: a ten years old Dutch boy, who, after surgery, is stable and doing well considering the circumstances. According to the different (Dutch) news sources Afriqiyah Airways is a young airline, but has a good reputation (not on any black list). It operates with a (new) fleet of three type 330-200 Airbus airplanes. Only one fatal crash with this type of airplane: Air France flight AF 447 in the Atlantic last year was an Airbus 330-200 also.

As a side note, according to a Dutch news reporter: with Afriqiyah Airways Libya wants to be the hub for Africa's air traffic...
 
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