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France 'banned Yemen crash plane' France 'banned Yemen crash plane'
(about 3 hours later)
A Yemeni plane which crashed into the Indian Ocean was banned from France because of "irregularities", the French transport minister has said.A Yemeni plane which crashed into the Indian Ocean was banned from France because of "irregularities", the French transport minister has said.
Dominique Bussereau told parliament of ongoing concerns about the safety record of the Yemenia Airbus 310.Dominique Bussereau told parliament of ongoing concerns about the safety record of the Yemenia Airbus 310.
One child is said to have been rescued from the ocean, the only known survivor from the 153 people on board.
The plane was heading from Yemen to the Comoros islands, but many on board began their journey in France.The plane was heading from Yemen to the Comoros islands, but many on board began their journey in France.
Most had flown on a different Yemenia aircraft from Paris or Marseille before boarding flight IY626 in Sanaa, the capital of Yemen. Rescuers have pulled a child from the ocean, the only known survivor from the 153 people on board.
One of the rescuers told French radio that the 14-year-old girl had been seen swimming among dead bodies and debris in the choppy waters, more than two hours after the plane vanished from radar screens.
She was pulled from the water suffering from exhaustion and cold, and is being treated at a hospital in the Comoros capital, Moroni.
"We tried to throw a life buoy. She could not grab it. I had to jump in the water to get her," the rescuer said.
Dr Ada Mansour, who treated the child in hospital, told AFP news agency she was conscious and talking, but added: "We are trying to warm her up because she was freezing."
It is believed the girl lives in Marseille and was travelling with her mother to the Comoros.
Change of aircraft
Most of the plane's passengers had flown on a different Yemenia aircraft from Paris or Marseille before boarding flight IY626 in Sanaa, the capital of Yemen.
The crash was the second involving an Airbus aircraft in recent weeks. On 1 June an Air France Airbus 330 travelling from Rio de Janeiro to Paris plunged into the Atlantic, killing all 228 people on board.The crash was the second involving an Airbus aircraft in recent weeks. On 1 June an Air France Airbus 330 travelling from Rio de Janeiro to Paris plunged into the Atlantic, killing all 228 people on board.
That tragedy also involved large numbers of French citizens. That tragedy also involved a large number of French citizens.
'Never again' In Paris, Mr Bussereau told legislators that the Yemenia plane was not permitted to fly into France, and raised concerns about the transfer of passengers from a plane classed as safe to one which crashed into the ocean.
In Paris, Mr Bussereau told legislators that the Yemenia plane which crashed was not permitted to fly into France, and raised concerns about the transfer of passengers from a plane classed as safe to one which crashed into the ocean.
See a map of the plane's route See a map of the plane's route
"A few years ago, we banned this plane from national territory because we believed it presented a certain number of irregularities in its technical equipment," Mr Bussereau told parliament."A few years ago, we banned this plane from national territory because we believed it presented a certain number of irregularities in its technical equipment," Mr Bussereau told parliament.
FLIGHT IY626 Airbus A310-300 aircraft, built in 1990153 people on board, including 66 French nationalsFlight originated in Paris, using modern Airbus A330-200Stopped in Marseille before flying to SanaaPassengers moved to A310-300Stopover in Djibouti Comorans 'warned of flight safety' 'We are praying for a miracle' In pictures: Yemeni plane crash Timeline of Flight IY626FLIGHT IY626 Airbus A310-300 aircraft, built in 1990153 people on board, including 66 French nationalsFlight originated in Paris, using modern Airbus A330-200Stopped in Marseille before flying to SanaaPassengers moved to A310-300Stopover in Djibouti Comorans 'warned of flight safety' 'We are praying for a miracle' In pictures: Yemeni plane crash Timeline of Flight IY626
"The question we are asking... is whether you can collect people in a normal way on French territory and then put them in a plane that does not ensure their security. We do not want this to happen again.""The question we are asking... is whether you can collect people in a normal way on French territory and then put them in a plane that does not ensure their security. We do not want this to happen again."
However, a spokesman for the airline said poor weather was more likely to have been a factor in the crash than the condition of the plane. However, an airline spokesman said poor weather was more likely to have been a factor in the crash than the condition of the plane.
Yemeni Transport Minister Khaled Ibrahim al-Wazeer also told Reuters news agency that the plane had recently undergone a thorough inspection overseen by Airbus and conformed to international standards.Yemeni Transport Minister Khaled Ibrahim al-Wazeer also told Reuters news agency that the plane had recently undergone a thorough inspection overseen by Airbus and conformed to international standards.
The crash prompted the European Union to highlight its own concerns about Yemenia's safety record, proposing a world blacklist of those carriers deemed unsafe. The crash prompted the European Union to propose a world blacklist of carriers deemed unsafe.
The EU already has its own list, and its transport commissioner, Antonio Tajani, said such a list would be a "safety guarantee for all".The EU already has its own list, and its transport commissioner, Antonio Tajani, said such a list would be a "safety guarantee for all".
Another EU official told Reuters there were concerns about the airline's "incomplete reporting procedure and incomplete follow-up" following 2007 tests on the aircraft that crashed, but that its record was improving.
Anger and griefAnger and grief
Reports say the plane was due in the Comoros capital, Moroni, about 0230 (2330GMT on Monday). Most of the passengers had travelled to Sanaa from Paris or Marseille on a different aircraft. Reports say the plane had been due in Moroni at about 0230 (2330GMT on Monday).
The flight to Moroni, on the island of Njazidja (Grande Comore), was also thought to have made a stop in Djibouti.
There were more than 150 people on board, including three babies and 11 crew. Some 66 of the passengers were French, although many are thought to have dual French-Comoran citizenship.
Anxious relatives of passengers wait at Paris airportAnxious relatives of passengers wait at Paris airport
This is the second air tragedy this month involving large numbers of French citizens. Those on board included three babies and 11 crew.
Some 66 of the passengers were French, although many are thought to have dual French-Comoran citizenship.
All we can do is wait for information. Nobody is eating, nobody is drinking. All we are doing is waiting. Abdul Rahman Bar Amir, journalist in Moroni Ties that bind: Comoros and France EU wants world blacklist Air disasters timeline
Gen Bruno de Bourdoncle de Saint-Salvy, French naval commander in the Indian Ocean, said the plane had come down about 15km (eight nautical miles) north of the Comoran coast.Gen Bruno de Bourdoncle de Saint-Salvy, French naval commander in the Indian Ocean, said the plane had come down about 15km (eight nautical miles) north of the Comoran coast.
They put us aboard wrecks, they put us aboard coffins, that's where they put us - it's slaughter Relative at Paris airport class="" href="/2/hi/middle_east/8126370.stm">Ties that bind: Comoros and France class="" href="/2/hi/europe/8126431.stm">EU wants world blacklist class="" href="/2/hi/in_depth/2008892.stm">Air disasters timeline The French military is helping in the search operation, which is being hampered by strong winds and high seas.
A search is under way, with the French military assisting with the operation, which is battling strong winds and high seas. Comoran journalist Abubacar Omar told the BBC that the government had appealed for calm, and key politicians had returned from overseas to take charge of the recovery operation.
Initial reports said that a five-year-old child was found alive in the ocean, but later information suggested the child may have been older. Another local journalist, Abdul Rahman Bar Amir, said: "Everybody is talking about only one thing - the crash.
Five bodies and some wreckage of the plane have also been recovered. "There are groups of people huddled everywhere, talking. All we can do is wait for information. Nobody is eating, nobody is drinking. All we are doing is waiting."
The three Comoros islands are about 300km (190 miles) north-west of Madagascar in the Mozambique channel.
Radio stations in Moroni have stopped playing music and are broadcasting passages from the Koran as a mark of respect for those killed, a local reporter, Abubacar Omar, told the BBC.
The government had appealed for people to stay calm, he said, with key politicians returning to the Comoros from overseas to take charge of the recovery and rescue operation.
"Everybody here is talking about only one thing - the crash", another local journalist, Abdul Rahman Bar Amir, said.
"There are groups of people huddled everywhere, talking. Nobody seems to know what is going on. All we can do is wait for information. Nobody is eating, nobody is drinking. All we are doing is waiting."
In France, relatives also gathered at Paris' Roissy Charles de Gaulle airport and at Marseille Marignane airport to wait for news.
Some expressed anger at the state of the airline's planes.
"They put us aboard wrecks, they put us aboard coffins. That's where they put us. It's slaughter. It's slaughter," one relative in Paris told French TV.
The airline Yemenia is 51% owned by the Yemeni government and 49% by the Saudi government.
In 1996, a hijacked Ethiopian airliner came down in the same area - most of the 175 passengers and crew were killed.
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