This is from the CNN Web Site [http://www.cnn.com} Omar Njie ============================================= 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) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In this story: Most on board were Nigerians Airline has good safety record RELATED STORIES, SITES -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------------