For the victims of the Kenyan Airways crash almost two weeks ago a day of mourning has been observed in Cameroon.
All 114 people on board the flight died when the aircraft came down into swamps shortly after taking off from Douala Airport.
The official inquiry is still yet to report on the tragedy. Rescuers took 2 days to locate the wreckage.
The people in Cameroon have been very critical about how the crash has been handled by the government. The country’s transport minister still hasn’t visited the site.
Kenya observed a day of mourning on Monday.
Two weeks later and only a few bodies have been formally identified. Most are believed to still be buried in the swampy waters where the plane came down.
Showing posts with label Nairobi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nairobi. Show all posts
Friday, 18 May 2007
Friday, 11 May 2007
Indentification of plane crash victims a slow and painful process
The continuing rescue operation for the plane crash in Douala has been a very slow and frustrating process.
As soon as the aircraft disappeared from radars it appears the confusion started straight away, it was only 24 hours later that a co-ordination team was put together.
When that was eventually sorted the team were looking for the plane 248 miles away from where the actual wreckage was found, questioning whether the authorities can actually manage a major crisis.
One investigator said: "There is too much red tape here. Even when we are faced with a deadline to recover the body parts before they totally decompose,"
Joshua Osih, an aviation consultant in Douala said: "The professionals have been pushed aside in favour of politicians and this has resulted in the mission delays. Despite the urgency of the task, the crisis committee has failed to assemble the appropriate equipment for search operations - even though air force helicopters are readily available in Cameroon”
Human parts that can make up seventy-six bodies had been recovered by Wednesday evening.
Forensic experts from the UK have been flown in to help with the grim process of identifying bodies. But the process of identifying the victims remains difficult.
The crash has been seen as a wake up call for Cameroon’s authorities to assemble a more professional and well equipped team ready to cope with such disasters.
"Going by what happened to the plane it's clear that however rapid the authorities were no lives would have been saved, but we should learn from these mistakes and improve for the future."
Lets hope for everybody’s sake that they do.
As soon as the aircraft disappeared from radars it appears the confusion started straight away, it was only 24 hours later that a co-ordination team was put together.
When that was eventually sorted the team were looking for the plane 248 miles away from where the actual wreckage was found, questioning whether the authorities can actually manage a major crisis.
One investigator said: "There is too much red tape here. Even when we are faced with a deadline to recover the body parts before they totally decompose,"
Joshua Osih, an aviation consultant in Douala said: "The professionals have been pushed aside in favour of politicians and this has resulted in the mission delays. Despite the urgency of the task, the crisis committee has failed to assemble the appropriate equipment for search operations - even though air force helicopters are readily available in Cameroon”
Human parts that can make up seventy-six bodies had been recovered by Wednesday evening.
Forensic experts from the UK have been flown in to help with the grim process of identifying bodies. But the process of identifying the victims remains difficult.
The crash has been seen as a wake up call for Cameroon’s authorities to assemble a more professional and well equipped team ready to cope with such disasters.
"Going by what happened to the plane it's clear that however rapid the authorities were no lives would have been saved, but we should learn from these mistakes and improve for the future."
Lets hope for everybody’s sake that they do.
Tuesday, 8 May 2007
Doomed Kenya Airways jet's flight data recovered
The flight data from the crashed Kenyan plane has now been retrieved by rescuers.
It’s hoped that this will be able to give answers as to why the aircraft went down and crashed into a mangrove swamp killing all those on board.
"We found the flight data recorder," Cameroon's civil aviation director general Ignatius Sana Juma was quoted as saying, and then added: "We still need to recover the cockpit voice recorder”.
The plane was located nearly 36 hours after the plane lost contact with the control tower. An official leading the recovery effort at the wreckage said that he had surveyed the entire scene and that nobody had survived. Rescuers began the grim task of removing bodies on Monday.
"There are no chances of finding any (survivors) under the circumstances," Luc Ndjodo said. "There is a crater filled with water and a clearing, then buried in the mud there are scattered plane parts and debris”.
As the swamp is unaccessible by vehicles, recovering bodies will be made more difficult and slow.
It’s hoped that this will be able to give answers as to why the aircraft went down and crashed into a mangrove swamp killing all those on board.
"We found the flight data recorder," Cameroon's civil aviation director general Ignatius Sana Juma was quoted as saying, and then added: "We still need to recover the cockpit voice recorder”.
The plane was located nearly 36 hours after the plane lost contact with the control tower. An official leading the recovery effort at the wreckage said that he had surveyed the entire scene and that nobody had survived. Rescuers began the grim task of removing bodies on Monday.
"There are no chances of finding any (survivors) under the circumstances," Luc Ndjodo said. "There is a crater filled with water and a clearing, then buried in the mud there are scattered plane parts and debris”.
As the swamp is unaccessible by vehicles, recovering bodies will be made more difficult and slow.
Monday, 7 May 2007
No survivors on Kenya Airways Jet crash.
The wreckage of Flight KQ507 has been reached by emergency workers in swamps. It is now confirmed that there are no survivors of the Kenya Airways jet, of those were 5 Britons.
It’s said that the plane was all buried under the swamp, which made the wreckage hard to find.
The plane had taken off from Douala on its way to Nairobi when a distress signal was sent from the plane before disappearing off the radar. The aircraft was located 12 miles from the town’s outskirts in a forest.
A local resident assisting officials in searching for the crash site reported he had seen one body and a body part.
The cause of the plane going down has not yet been established. Patrick Smith a US based airline pilot and aviation expert said: "Whatever happened must have happened very fast, which is usually a sign of catastrophic structural failure".
The aircraft was only 6 months old and had no history of problems. Investigations are continuing to establish the cause of the crash.
It’s said that the plane was all buried under the swamp, which made the wreckage hard to find.
The plane had taken off from Douala on its way to Nairobi when a distress signal was sent from the plane before disappearing off the radar. The aircraft was located 12 miles from the town’s outskirts in a forest.
A local resident assisting officials in searching for the crash site reported he had seen one body and a body part.
The cause of the plane going down has not yet been established. Patrick Smith a US based airline pilot and aviation expert said: "Whatever happened must have happened very fast, which is usually a sign of catastrophic structural failure".
The aircraft was only 6 months old and had no history of problems. Investigations are continuing to establish the cause of the crash.
Sunday, 6 May 2007
Rescuers still working away at flight KQ507 crash sight.
Courtesy of CNN.com
As I stated before the wreckage of flight KQ507 has been located nearby the airport it took off from in Douala. The aircraft was concealed from view by trees in mangroves therefore making it hard to see.
There has been no information on any passengers as yet and rescuers are still working away at the site.
CEO Titus Naikuni spoke at a news conference in Nairobi: "Kenya Airways regrets to confirm that its flight KQ 507 has been located on a mangrove swamp 20km (12 miles) south of Douala,"
Bad weather may have been a possible factor in events leading to the crash as the plane took off in very heavy rain. But this of course is still speculation until the real facts are established.
Saturday, 5 May 2007
Kenya Airways Jet goes down en-route to Nairobi.
A Kenya Airways passenger jet has crashed whilst carrying 115 people in Cameroon. Among these are at least 5 Britons.
Contact with the jet was lost shortly after take off when air traffic control picked up a distress signal. No contact thereafter could be made.
The plane had stopped off at Douala, which is Cameroon’s largest city. It was here that more passengers boarded the flight to be taken to Nairobi.
The jet was a 737-800 having long-range capability and can carry 189 passengers. There are said to be 8 crew members and a flight engineer also on board.
Titus Naikuni the boss of Kenya Airways said: "The last message was received in Douala after takeoff and thereafter the tower was unable to contact the plane.”
A crisis management centre has been arranged nearby the airport and relatives of those on board will be told of any new information at a nearby hotel.
The last time a Kenya Airways jet went down was in January 2000 where 169 people were killed on a flight from the Ivory Coast to Nairobi.
Contact with the jet was lost shortly after take off when air traffic control picked up a distress signal. No contact thereafter could be made.
The plane had stopped off at Douala, which is Cameroon’s largest city. It was here that more passengers boarded the flight to be taken to Nairobi.
The jet was a 737-800 having long-range capability and can carry 189 passengers. There are said to be 8 crew members and a flight engineer also on board.
Titus Naikuni the boss of Kenya Airways said: "The last message was received in Douala after takeoff and thereafter the tower was unable to contact the plane.”
A crisis management centre has been arranged nearby the airport and relatives of those on board will be told of any new information at a nearby hotel.
The last time a Kenya Airways jet went down was in January 2000 where 169 people were killed on a flight from the Ivory Coast to Nairobi.
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