Showing posts with label Crash. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Crash. Show all posts

May 12, 2010

Plane crash in Libya kills more than 100 on board

A passenger plane has crashed in Libya, killing more than 100 people on board, officials in the capital Tripoli say.

The Airbus 330 crashed on landing at Tripoli airport after a flight from Johannesburg, Afriqiyah Airways said.
Sixty-one Dutch nationals were among those killed, Dutch tourism board ANWB said. A Dutch boy was the sole known survivor, the Libyans say.

British and South African passengers are also thought to have been on board. The 11 crew were said to be Libyan.


Nicky Knapp, a spokeswoman for Airports Company South Africa, said seven passengers were booked to connect to London Gatwick airport, 32 to Brussels, 42 to Dusseldorf in Germany, and one to Charles de Gaulle in Paris.

"Nationalities and names won't be revealed at this stage," she said.

"A 24-hour helpline has been set up to assist families and relatives."
Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende confirmed that "several dozen" Dutch nationals were killed.
Dutch Foreign Ministry spokesman Ad Meijer said the boy who survived was undergoing surgery in Tripoli for his injuries, including broken bones.

Afriqiyah Airways said on its website: "We are very sorry to announce the tragic loss of Afriqiyah Airways flight 8U771 from Johannesburg in an accident during landing at Tripoli International Airport at 04:00 UTC (06:00 am Tripoli time) today Wednesday 12 May.

"We extend our deepest sympathy to the families and friends of the victims. The search and rescue mission has now been completed."

Libyan Transport Minister Mohammed Ali Zidan said 104 people had been on board the plane - 93 passengers and 11 crew.
He said that the remains of 96 victims had already been recovered.

An airline employee said the 11 crew were all thought to be Libyan nationals, but this has not been confirmed.
Britain's Foreign and Commonwealth Office said said it was "aware of reports that there were British nationals on board the flight, but this has not been confirmed".

"We are urgently investigating. A consular team from the British Embassy are on their way to the airport. Consular staff in Tripoli are urgently seeking further details," it said.

Libya's state TV showed footage of a field scattered with pieces of plane debris, and police and rescuers walking with surgical masks and gloves.

The cause of the crash was not immediately known. Some reports suggest the plane crashed very close to the runway.

"It exploded on landing and totally disintegrated," a Libyan security official told news agency AFP.


A flight recorder has already been recovered, and officials hope this will provide some clues as to what caused the disaster.

However, Mr Zidan ruled out terrorism as the cause of the crash.

The airport is currently sealed off and ambulances have been going back and forth to the airport.
Our correspondent adds that the weather has been sunny and clear over the past few days.


Afriqiyah Airways is a low-cost Libyan airline founded nine years ago and operates a relatively new fleet of Airbus aircraft.


It flies many routes between Africa and Europe with passengers often transiting through Tripoli, our correspondent adds.


Daniel Hoeltgen, spokesman for the European Aviation Safety Agency, said the airline had undergone 10 recent safety inspections at European airports, with no significant safety findings, the Associated Press reports.

He added that a team of French crash investigators was already on its way to Tripoli to help Libyan officials determine the cause of the crash.

February 15, 2010

Belgian train crash: At least 20 feared dead in Halle

Reports from Belgium say at least 20 people have been killed in a head-on collision between two trains outside the capital, Brussels.

Railway officials said the two trains collided during the morning rush hour at Halle, south-west of Brussels.

The local mayor told Belgian media that at least 20 people had been killed in the crash, but railway officials could not confirm the figure.

Belgian media said the trains collided in snowy conditions.

Mayor Dirk Pieters said "the most recent information we have is that 20 people died".

The trains collided in the commuter town around 0830 local time (0730GMT) Monday when the carriages were .

Television pictures showed the lead carriages of each train pushed into the air leaning against each other.

Witnesses said passengers were thrown around violently inside the trains.

Emergency workers said there was considerable damage to the overhead power lines at the station in Buizingen, the district of Halle where the trains crashed.

Railway services in the area, including the high-speed line between Paris and Brussels, have been blocked.

Eurostar said services to and from Brussels were canceled until further notice.

There has been no indication of what caused the collision but it comes after a weekend of snow and freezing temperatures across Belgium.

In 2001, eight people were killed and 12 were injured in a head-on collision between commuter trains outside Brussels. It was thought that language difficulties between a Flemish-speaking signalman and a French-speaking colleague might have been a factor in that crash.

Another accident in 2008 left more than 40 people injured when a passenger train traveling in the wrong direction hit a goods train in central Belgium, AFP news agency said.

February 12, 2010

NY Plane Crash Anniversary Observed With Walk

Folks also friends of the passengers killed when Continental Connection Flight 3407 crashed outside Buffalo have begun a 10-mile memorial walk to documentation the tragedy's one-year anniversary.

About 200 people gathered at a fire hall moment Clarence and walked the succinct distance to the street where the Newark-to-Buffalo dash plunged activity a house, farcical all 49 on board and a man inside the home.

After saying a moment again laying a wreath at the now-vacant lot, the capture sign superficial for the Buffalo Niagara International Airport to complete the journey the ill-fated facet never finished.

''Miracle on the Hudson'' co-pilot Jeffrey Skiles is among those choicest the walk.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check lead forthwith because more information. AP's earlier story is below.

CLARENCE, N.Y.(AP) -- The Newark-to-Buffalo bit of Continental Connection sprint 3407 ended tragically early in a fiery thump into a family last Feb. 12. Now, folks and friends of the passengers killed plan to complete the journey.

Joined by ''Miracle on the Hudson'' co-pilot Jeffrey Skiles, about 500 people are expected to stride from the crash station in suburban Clarence to Buffalo Niagara International Airport on Friday's first anniversary of the accident.

What would've been five miles by twist is about double on foot.

Organizers say the walk is meant to attention the lives lost, but also to violation proposed safety legislation that addresses pattern training, fatigue and other issues cited by investigators.

The crash killed all 49 people aboard the element and the home's hotelier.

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