Plane crashes on coast of Benin
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Benin TV showed plane wreckage on the coast.
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COTONOU, Benin (Reuters) -- An airliner crashed into the sea moments after takeoff in Benin on Thursday, killing at least 90 people on board and forcing rescuers to plunge into the waves to save others or salvage their bodies.
Benin's Health Minister Celine Segnon said at least 90 had been killed, four of them having died in hospital after being rescued, and 18 had survived. Onlookers screamed in horror as corpses washed up on a beach in Cotonou, Benin's main city.
The Boeing 727's smashed cockpit, twisted metal and battered suitcases littered the shallow waters at the sea's edge.
Relatives and others dived into the waves to try to overturn a chunk of the fuselage, but were thwarted by a wing rammed into the seabed. Some relatives who plunged into the water said they did not want their loved ones' bodies disfigured by fish.
Rescue workers toiled into the night under powerful lights.
Airport officials in Cotonou said the plane had had problems retracting its landing gear after takeoff. It smashed into a building at the end of the runway, exploded and then crashed into the sea at around 1415 GMT (9:15 EST).
Fishermen, navy divers, the army and Red Cross workers searched the shores of the Gulf of Guinea for survivors and the President of Benin Mathieu Kerekou visited the scene.
The plane had been heading for Beirut, carrying members of Lebanese communities in West Africa. In Beirut, people waited anxiously at the international airport for word of survivors on UTA Flight 141.
"I learned that my son has broken bones. But what matters is he is alive," said Ali Bashir, his eyes red from crying.
The aircraft belonged to Lebanese-owned Union Transport Africaines, officials in Cotonou said. Most of those on board were Lebanese but some passengers were from Benin, Guinea and Sierra Leone.
Relatives grieve and hope
West Africa has had Lebanese communities for more than a century and they form the backbone of some smaller economies.
"My brother and my uncle are on this plane. We have called people we know in Cotonou and they said they got on the plane. Now we don't know what happened to them," said a weeping man at Beirut airport.
"We hope they are still alive. We don't know their fate."
Some relatives watched news of the crash on television sets in the airport. Others glanced at other Lebanese, some clutching welcome bouquets and waiting for happy reunions with relatives arriving on other flights.
"It is a disaster for Lebanon as most of the passengers are Lebanese," Lebanon's Transport Minister Najib Mikati said. He added that most of the survivors were Lebanese and a Libyan co-pilot had also survived.
Middle East Airlines, Lebanon's national carrier, said it had been asked by the government to send a plane to Cotonou with a medical team on board.
Africa's poorly maintained airliners are prone to disaster. Thursday's crash is the third this year in Africa in which planes have plunged to the ground shortly after takeoff.
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Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
