Funerals held for Madrid victims

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The first funerals have been taking place for victims of Wednesday's plane crash in Madrid, which killed 153.

One of the first to be buried was 21-year-old Isaac Dominguez from Salamanca, who survived the crash but died later in hospital.

Hundreds of people attended the funeral of Amalia Filloy and her 14-year-old daughter, also named Amalia.

Investigators are now assessing whether a loss of power on take-off caused the crash of the Spanair MD-80 plane.

Amalia Filloy made headlines in Spain after a firefighter who was one of the first to arrive at the crash scene told reporters that she had begged him to save her 11-year-old daughter Maria first.

A funeral was also held in Spain's Canary Islands, the destination of the flight and home to about half of its passengers and crew, for a soldier named David Caballero.

Caballero was based in Madrid and was returning to the Canaries for a holiday with his family.

"I lost my 27-year-old son, I am devastated," his mother told Spanish television channel TVE.

"We expect that throughout the day two or three more coffins will arrive," the head of the islands' regional government, Paulino Rivero, told a news conference in Madrid after holding talks with Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.

The archbishop of Madrid, Cardinal Antonio Maria Rouco, will preside over a memorial service for all of the victims of the crash on 1 September in the Almudena Cathedral, Madrid's mayor Alberto Ruiz-Gallardon has announced.