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Wreckage of Kenyan aircraft spotted

May 07, 2007 09:07 IST
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The wreckage of the Kenyan Airways Boeing 737-800 that went missing on Saturday has been spotted in a swamp, 20 km southeast of Cameroon's Douala airport.

The aircraft, carrying 144 people onboard including 14 Indians, had gone off radar on Saturday shortly after taking off from Douala for Nairobi in torrential rain.

Addressing media persons, Cameroon Minister of State for Territorial Administration Hamidou Yaya Marafa said, "All I can say for now is that the wreckage of the plane has been located in the small village of Mbanga Pongo, in the Douala III subdivision. We are putting in place rescue measures."

"For now, we cannot say whether there were any survivors or not. Access to the area is very difficult. We are beginning a new painful phase. Our task will be more difficult now, the task of recovering the corpses," he added.

Meanwhile, Indian Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel had on Sunday said that the government will extend all help to the relatives of the victims of the air crash.

According to an External Affairs Ministry release, the passengers on the flight from Doula to Nairobi have been identified as -- Nigli Shirly, Nigili Kewin Joseph J, Kocherry George Joseph, Maria Joseph, Manuel Gracey, Gaur Aman, Prakam Sundaraman, Bhagya Madhusudhan, Poojitha Madhusudhan, Madhusudhan Madhu, Ruby Mary, Shah, Chauhan L S and Gireesan Nalkath.

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