This is from the CNN Web Site [http://www.cnn.com}

Omar Njie
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Kenya Airways says 10 rescued after jetliner crash

A survivor is brought ashore by a rescue boat

82 bodies recovered; dozens more missing
January 31, 2000
Web posted at: 2:00 p.m. EST (1900 GMT)


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In this story:

Most on board were Nigerians

Airline has good safety record

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ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (CNN) -- Kenya Airways officials said Monday that at
least 10 people survived the Sunday night crash of an Airbus A310 carrying
179 people. Rescuers have recovered 82 bodies from the crash scene in the
waters off the Ivory Coast but the fate of the rest of those on board
remained unknown.

Kenya Airways Flight 431 plunged into the Atlantic shortly after takeoff
from the airport in Abidjan, the Ivory Coast capital, bound for Lagos,
Nigeria.

"It broke up on impact. It broke into 100 pieces, said medical worker Alain
Thonar.

One survivor, Samuel Ogbada Adje, said the plane started having problems as
soon as it became airborne. "It wasn't quite balanced, and the next thing we
knew we were in the water," Adje said. He managed to swim out of the
wreckage, but said the rescue effort had been a disaster.

"If they had come sooner, a lot of us would have been saved. We waited two
hours for people to rescue us," Adje said.

Witnesses said fire could be seen in the water for about 30 minutes after
the crash.

Soldiers from the Ivory Coast were involved in the rescue effort. French
officials said Monday one of their military helicopters and a marine
battalion based nearby were assisting.


A relative of a crew member awaits news in Nairobi, Kenya


Most on board were Nigerians

Kenya Airways set up two phone numbers, in Nairobi, Kenya, and in London, to
provide information for relatives of those who were on board the plane.

An emergency response team was dispatched Monday from London to assist the
operation. But at Lagos airport, relatives of passengers complained they
were getting no information.

Airline officials said the majority of the 168 passengers and 11 crew
members on board Flight 431 were Nigerians. Other nationalities on the plane
included U.S., Canadian, French, Italian, Dutch, British, Japanese, Indian,
Madagascarian, Rwandan, Senegalese, Gambian and Kenyan.

"The last information we had is that we have been able to identify two
American men by their passports which appear on the manifest," said a
spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi.

Authorities said the survivors included four Nigerians, two Rwandans and one
each from France, India, Madagascar and Gambia.

An airport official said senior Kenya Airways officials were also on board
the plane.

The flight began in Nairobi and had been scheduled to stop in Lagos en route
to Abidjan. But strong winds forced it to head directly for Abidjan, said
Steve Clarke, the airline's technical director.

"It was an irregular routing because of bad weather," Clarke said told a
news conference in Nairobi. "Some people are dead because they didn't stop
in Lagos."

Airline has good safety record
Sunday's crash was the first fatal accident for Kenya Airways, which is
owned partly by the Kenyan government and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. The
airline has a good safety and maintenance record and is considered a model
airline in Africa by industry observers, aviation journalist Nicholas
Ionides said.

Aviation experts and airline officials from Nairobi were headed for Abidjan
on Monday to assist in the crash investigation. France has sent
investigators, and Airbus officials will aid the crash probe as well.

KLM spokesman Hugo Baas said two KLM employees may have been among the 10
crew members on the flight. He said the local government had asked the
military to assist in locating survivors.

"It's too early to make any statements on the cause," Baas said. "The airway
has a good name in safety standards."

The plane was one of four Airbus A310s owned by the airline. Because of
their age, they were scheduled to be replaced within two years.

Kenya Airways flies from Abidjan to Lagos three times a week.

Nairobi Bureau Chief Alphonso Van Marsh, The Associated Press and Reuters
contributed to this report.



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