Global General
Plane with 104 crashes in Libya; boy the only survivor
(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-05-13 06:40
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TRIPOLI – A Libyan Airbus jet crashed early on Wednesday as it tried to land at Tripoli airport, killing 103 people on board and leaving a young Dutch boy the sole survivor, Libyan officials said.
 An unidentified Dutch child the sole survivor of plane crash in Libya receives medical treatment in a hospital in Tripoli in this image taken from TV Wednesday May 12, 2010. [Agencies] |
The Airbus A330-200, which had been in service only since September, was flying from Johannesburg to the Libyan capital when it crashed just short of the runway around 6 a.m. (0400 GMT), the airline and planemaker said.
The aircraft is the same type as Air France Flight 447, which crashed in the Atlantic on June 1 last year. The cause of that crash has not been firmly identified.
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"Everybody is dead, except for one child," said Libyan Transport Minister Mohamed Zidan. The plane was carrying 93 passengers and 11 crew, Libyan officials and executives from the airline said.
The minister said the survivor was 10 years old. Other Libyan officials said the child was a boy and was in a stable condition after surgery on leg fractures in a Tripoli hospital.
A manifest of those on board was not released but officials in Libya and in the passengers' countries of origin said besides the Dutch contingent they included small numbers of nationals from Britain, Germany, the Philippines, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
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The transport minister told a news conference 13 Libyan passengers and crew had been on the aircraft. He said there were also citizens of France and Finland on board, though he did not say how many.
The minister said investigators were working out what went wrong with Afriqiyah Airways Flight 8U771. He ruled out terrorism as the cause. He said arrangements were being made to help victims' family members come to Tripoli.
The Dutch Foreign Ministry said its diplomats were trying to see the surviving child.
Mohamed Rashid, a doctor at Tripoli's al-Khadra hospital, said the child was doing well after surgery.
"The operation was successful and he is under our care," he told reporters, adding that some of the medical staff spoke Dutch and were able to communicate with the patient.
