'Overloading' caused crash
2003-12-27 15:32
Beirut - Fifteen people injured in a plane crash off the West African nation of Benin returned home on Saturday as the Lebanese foreign minister suggested that overloading may have caused the Christmas Day crash.
More than 100 of the 161 passengers and crew were killed in the crash. Several more were missing. About 20 sirvived, including the pilot.
The cause of the crash of the privately owned Boeing 727 was not known, but Lebanese foreign minister Jean Obeid said that overloading of people and baggage may have contributed to the crash.
"It appears that the number of passengers exceeded the normal number, which, in addition to the load, was very much in excess," he told reporters at Beirut airport upon returning from Benin with the survivors.
The jetliner, owned by Lebanese businessmen, clipped a building at the perimeter of Benin's Cotonou airport after take-off on Thursday. The plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean and broke into pieces.
Obeid had joined Lebanese army divers and a six-member medical team who travelled to Benin on Friday on a special flight of Middle East Airlines, Lebanon's national carrier.
The survivors were who flown back to Beirut included 12 Lebanese, two Palestinians and a Syrian. They were met by a group of about 50 weeping relatives. Ambulances carried the injured to Beirut hospitals. At least four were reportedly in critical condition.
Thousands of Lebanese work in West Africa, and most of the passengers were Lebanese returning home for the holidays.
"Authorities in Benin are investigating, and I think an investigation should be opened in Lebanon to state part of the responsibility," Obeid added.
The Union des Transports Africains (UTA) plane was registered in the West African state of Guinea. Lebanese transport minister Najib Mikati has said his ministry had "refused to register the plane ... because we were not satisfied with technical matters" relating to it. He did not elaborate.
UTA issued a statement on Friday saying it follows international standards and specifications.
A French military plane carrying the bodies of Lebanese who died in the crash was expected to arrive in Beirut within the next 48 hours.
- AP