Crash: Cops restrain relatives
2005-08-14 18:40
Larnaca - Angry relatives who waited six hours to be told if their loved ones were aboard an ill-fated Cypriot airliner that crashed in Greece on Sunday, had to be restrained by police as they were finally called in by airline staff to check their names against the passenger list.
"Butchers, butchers, they killed my children," one distraught relative screamed, echoing widespread fury with the airline, Helios Airways, the Mediterranean resort island's only private carrier.
"I want them to bring my children back."
About 300 anxious family members queued in the canteen of the island's main international airport from which the doomed plane took off with 121 people on board to be told the devastating news one by one.
Not sure of passengers
Several collapsed, overcome by grief, and were stretchered out to waiting ambulances.
Airline officials acknowledged that they were still not sure that the manifest they were working from was the definitive list of passengers who actually boarded Flight 522 for Prague via Athens.
"It is not a definitive list but we are doing this to try to help the grieving relatives," said Helios representative Nicos Anastassiades.
The airline announced emergency telephone numbers for concerned relatives and promised counselling for the bereaved.
"We are doing everything we can to keep people informed and updated about this tragic accident," a Helios statement said.
Another airline official confirmed in Athens that the passengers were largely Cypriots, including a group of 48 youngsters headed for a trip to Prague.
No survivors
"There were also a certain number of Greeks and only a few foreigners," the official, George Dimitriou, said.
There were no reports of survivors.
It was the first serious air accident in nearly four decades to hit the small island of less than a million people.
Tourism is Cyprus's biggest source of income and the crash came at the height of the island's summer holiday season.
Relatives' anger had mounted throughout the afternoon as worried family members rushed to Larnaca airport after news of the crash broke around midday.
"Tell us if our relatives are dead," some cried when Helios officials arrived at the airport after about two hours to brief family members.
"Give us the names, we have waited too long."
One woman said she feared her daughter, son-in-law and grandchild were all aboard the stricken plane.
"They've destroyed my family," she screamed. "I want them to bring my children back."
'Like sitting on hot coals...'
Prodromos Prodromou said his nephew might have been filling in as cabin crew on the doomed flight.
"It's like sitting on hot coals... no one has come here to tell us anything," he complained before the airline officials arrived.
Other angry relatives demanded that the government stop the carrier operating.
"Close down Helios or we will close it for you," one middle-aged man yelled.
Cyprus President Tassos Papadopoulos interrupted his holidays to rush to the airport where he was locked in talks with airline and civil aviation officials.
The government later announced three days of official mourning from Monday.
"At this difficult time, I want to assure the relatives that we will do everything to support them and I give my deepest condolences," said a statement read on the president's behalf by spokesperson Christodoulos Pashardes.
Cause not clear
Officials were quick to stress that there was no immediate evidence to suggest the crash was anything other than an accident.
"First indications from the Greek authorities are that this wasn't a terrorist attack," presidential spokesperson Marios Karoyan told reporters.
But Helios managing director Demetrios Pantazis acknowledged that the airline still had little idea of the cause of the crash.
"We can't say at this time what exactly happened," he admitted.