Survivors 'unlikely' in jet crash

Story Highlights

• Aviation officials say survivors are unlikely from Kenya airlines creash
• Wreckage of plane was said to be buried in mangrove swamp
• Boeing 737 was carrying at least 114 crew and passengers from 25

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(CNN) -- No survivors are expected to be found in the wreckage of a Kenya Airways plane that crashed shortly after takeoff in Cameroon on Saturday with 114 people aboard, one of the country's top aviation officials said Monday.

"The probability of any survivors is very low," according to Celestine Ngoue, the General Inspector of Cameroon's Civil Aviation Authority. He said the plane is buried in a heavily forested mangrove swamp.

Kenya Airways Chief Executive Officer Titus Naikuni was more cautious in his assessment.

"We still have no confirmed information about survivors or casualties," he said at a Nairobi news conference."

"We are told the site is very difficult to access ... and clearing of the heavy bushes surrounding the site of the accident started last night."

The wreckage was spotted from the air shortly before nightfall on Sunday, some 15 miles (25 km) southeast Douala, the Cameroon city where Kenya Airways Flight 507 had taken off shortly after midnight on Saturday. Authorities said the plane was about 4 miles (6 km) from the nearest road.

The Boeing 737 was carrying at least 114 crew and passengers from 25 nations.

The people on board included one American, five Brits, one Swiss, one Swede, six Chinese, and 15 Indians. The remainder were Africans, including at least 35 from Cameroon and at least nine from Kenya, according to airline figures.

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said Saturday it was sending a team to assist the government of Cameroon in its investigation. A Kenyan government spokesman said his country was sending air force officers help with the effort.

The plane was scheduled to arrive in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi from Douala on Saturday at about 6 a.m. (4 a.m. in Cameroon), the airline said. There were reports of thunderstorms in the area around the time of takeoff after midnight.

CNN's Roya Shadravan contributed to this story.

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