Remains pulled from plane crash
2004-01-03 15:33
Cairo - Rescue workers have recovered body parts from some of the 148 people who were aboard a plane that crashed into the Red Sea near the resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, Egyptian Civil Aviation Minister Ahmed Shafik said.
"We have found parts of bodies from some passengers," Shafik said on state television.
He added that "debris from the aircraft has also been recovered."
A hotel manager told reporters he and an employee saw items of luggage as well as white pieces of wreckage, perhaps doors, arrive aboard a police speedboat to Sharm el-Sheikh's Naama Bay, where dozens of hotels and dive centres are located.
The items were quickly taken to an undisclosed destination, he said.
The manager, who did not want to be named, said he could see a military plane, a helicopter, navy ships and other boats conducting search operations a couple of kilometres off shore.
The hotel manager said he did not hear any noises of a crash during the night, nor had he seen any bodies.
Egyptian officials said 135 French tourists and 13 Egyptian crewmembers were aboard the flight that crashed before dawn, with none surviving.
A French diplomat added "there are children" among the victims, without knowing how many.
A civil aviation ministry official said the crash appeared to have been caused by a technical problem, ruling out an explosion, while Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher said it was "absolutely not the result of a terrorist act."