Families face gruesome task
2008-08-21 20:09
Madrid - Distraught relatives struggled on Thursday to identify the charred remains of the 153 victims of the Madrid jet disaster as investigators scoured the wreckage for clues.
Cranes lifted debris of the Spanair MD-82 from a field next to the Madrid-Barajas airport runway as Spanish media highlighted the financial problems and cost-cutting measures carried out by the Spain's second largest carrier.
Thousands of people held silent tributes to the victims in Madrid and other cities while three days of national mourning were declared.
"Inferno at Barajas" headlined newspapers to describe the crash of the jet, carrying 162 passengers, including two babies and 20 other children and 10 crew on Wednesday afternoon.
Having returned to the terminal once with a technical problem, the jet was taking off for Las Palmas in the Canary Islands when it veered to the right of the runway before erupting into flames.
One Red Cross psychologist described the atmosphere was "calm" but the identification process was slow.
Alvarez said it would take two days to identify all the victims and that DNA tests may have to be used.
One of the 19 survivors recalled seeing bodies strewn around the burning wreckage.
"I lifted my head and all I saw were scattered bodies," Ligia Palomino, a doctor, told El Pais newspaper.