 Air crash death toll hits 153
(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-08-22 07:43 MADRID: The death toll in Wednesday's plane crash in Madrid rose to 153 yesterday as the Spanish government declared a three-day mourning and ordered investigators to find the cause of the country's worst air disaster in nearly 25 years. Only 19 people survived the crash of the Spanair plane bound for the Canary Islands. Flags in Madrid flew at half mast yesterday and a silent vigil was held at noon. The Spanish king and queen plan to visit a makeshift morgue where relatives are waiting to claim the remains of their loved ones. President Hu Jintao sent a message to King Juan Carlos yesterday, mourning the deaths, the Foreign Ministry said. Hu has expressed sympathy with the victims' families on behalf of the Chinese government and people. Premier Wen Jiabao, too, sent a condolence message to Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero. Spanair yesterday said it did not know the cause of the crash. The pilot of the US-built MD-82 airliner initially reported a problem with a gauge that measures temperature outside the plane. The takeoff was delayed because the defect had to be set right, it said. The plane crashed at the end of the runway during the second takeoff attempt, turning into an intense ball of fire. Spanish newspaper El Pais, however, has said one of the plane's two engines might have failed and caught fire during takeoff. In Washington, the US National Transportation Safety Board said it was sending a team of investigators to help the probe. Spanair has also encountered other engine problems recently. The company confirmed that an MD-82 was forced to make an emergency landing on Saturday while flying from Lanzarote in the Canary Islands to Madrid because of problems with both its engines. The plane landed in the nearby island of Gran Canaria, the destination of Wednesday's ill-fated flight. But it is not known if the same plane was involved in both the cases, said an official of the company, which still has eight MD82s in its fleet. Spanish Development Minister Magdalena Alvarez said 14 bodies had been identified so far. Identifying all of them could take several days because many bodies had been burned beyond recognition and forensic teams are taking DNA samples to establish their identity. Agencies (China Daily 08/22/2008 page1) |
