SAA crew back on home ground

2008-11-29 14:26

Johannesburg - The remaining seven South African Airways (SAA) crew members have arrived back home safely from Mumbai on Saturday morning, the airline said.

The crew members were stranded in Mumbai amid terrorist attacks which have left over 195 people dead.

"The flight landed after 09:00 at OR Tambo International Airport, and all seven were receiving trauma counselling before reuniting with their families," SAA general operations manager Chris Smith said.

"I met the crew members on their return to South Africa and was happy to find them to be a close unit...they have obviously had an incredibly frightening experience, and they are extremely happy to be home," he said.

Foreign affairs spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa said that the department was still in liaison with authorities in Mumbai, to verify if there were any other SA tourists still in the Indian city.

"We have received a lot of calls and are busy verifying the data, so we can help all those who may still be in Mumbai," he said.

The first five crew members arrived home on SAA flight SA285 on Friday morning.

SAA was also informed that the airport in Mumbai remained safe and secure and all flights scheduled to Mumbai would continue to operate normally.

- SAPA