Families mourn lost loved ones

2004-01-08 12:12

Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt - More than 100 relatives, many of them sobbing, attended a seaside memorial on Thursday for the French tourists and others who died when an Egyptian charter plane crashed into the Red Sea last week.

The memorial at Egypt's resort at Sharm el-Sheikh was held on a hilltop by the sea where a Boeing 737 crashed minutes after take-off before dawn on Saturday, killing all 148 aboard, most of them French tourists.

A representative of each family was invited to throw a rose into the sea following the memorial where Roman Catholic, Protestant and Muslim clerics would take turns saying a prayer.

The family members, who had arrived from Paris late on Wednesday accompanied by psychologists and doctors, were joined at the memorial by French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin and Suzanne Mubarak, wife of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

Several Egyptian cabinet ministers were also present.

A cross was set up for the families of the Christian victims and a crescent was displayed for the Muslims among them.

The relatives arrived here in white buses trailing the French red-white-blue colours, but first had to pass through a metal detecting doorway before entering the site where tents had been set up.

Egyptian and French officials say the investigation of the crash so far points to an accident.

"There is no indication that it can be a question of anything other than a terrible accident even if everything must be methodically and systematically checked," De Villepin told reporters after arriving here late on Wednesday.

"Everything must be done to establish exactly the circumstances of this drama", he added.

- AFP