Aircraft down in sea off Gabon
2004-06-08 12:47
Libreville - An aircraft owned by a private Gabonese company plunged into the Atlantic Ocean on Tuesday off the Libreville coast, with almost 30 people on board, an journalist at the scene said.
The Gabon Express HS 748 had taken off from Libreville heading for Franceville in the southeast. It went into the sea about 100 metres (yards) off the beach, close to the Leon Mba international airport.
Six people have been rescued but no casualty figures were available, the journalist said.
Boats surrounded the aircraft, of which only the tailplane could be seen above the water. Ambulances, airport fire crews and French troops based in the former colony in central Africa were on the beach.