KENYA: Kenyan airplane's search continues as Cameroon fishermen report unusual sound to the authorities

Record ID: 361469

  • Title: KENYA: Kenyan airplane's search continues as Cameroon fishermen report unusual sound to the authorities
  • Date: 7th May 2007
  • Summary: RELATIVES CONSOLING EACH OTHER
  • Embargoed: 22nd May 2007 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Kenya
  • Country: Kenya
  • Topics: Disasters / Accidents / Natural catastrophes,Transport
  • Reuters ID: LVA5WW94TWN2H0WRBJ2FSDA2XBMV
  • Story Text: Searchers comb dense Cameroon forest for Kenya plane as local fishermen reported loud bang and unusual water disturbance the day Kenya Airways aircraft went missing.
    Military helicopters and villagers on motorbikes continued with the search in thick tropical forest in southern Cameroon on Sunday (May 6) for a Kenya Airways passenger plane which crashed after takeoff in the central African country as fishermen reported a loud bang near where they were fishing.
    The Boeing 737-800 aircraft, which was carrying 114 people from more than 20 countries, went missing on Saturday after leaving Douala for Nairobi in torrential rain.
    Relatives of those on board have turned up at airports and Kenya Airways offices in Douala and Nairobi seeking information.
    Kenya Airways Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Titus Naikuni told a news conference in Nairobi on Sunday that some local fishermen had heard a loud bang and disturbance on the water levels the day that the aircraft went missing.
    "Fishermen reported hearing a loud bang accompanied by a significant water disturbance the fishermen noticed because they were in a boat fishing, this was the night that the KQ aircraft went missing, these particular information now raises the possibility that the aircraft may have come down in that particular area," Kenya Airways Chief Executive officer said.
    A signal from the plane's emergency locator beacon that had been picked up on Saturday was lost, he said, raising fears the machine's battery may run out.
    Radar-equipped helicopters, including one sent by the French military from a base in Gabon, were focusing on an area between three or four towns, a French diplomat in Cameroon said.
    The aircraft, which was only six months old, was carrying 105 passengers and nine crew, the bulk of them African with others from China, India, Europe and elsewhere. The flight originated in Ivory Coast.
    Kenya Airways has three 737-800s in its fleet and Naikuni said they had not decided whether to ground the others.
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