- Title: CAMEROON: 60 PASSENGERS DIE IN PLANE CRASH
- Date: 4th December 1995
- Summary: NEAR DOUALA AND DOUALA, CAMEROON (DECEMBER 4, 1995) (RTV - ACCESS ALL) NEAR DOUALA 1. SV BOAT APPROACHING ALONG RIVER 0.04 2. SV PLANE ENGINE IN WATER 0.08 3. SV AIRLINE LOGO ON WRECKAGE / PAN/SLV PEOPLE AT WRECKAGE (2 SHOTS) 0.23 4. SV CONTROL PANEL 0.27 5. SV BODY IN BLANKET 0.34 6. LV SMOULDERING WRECKAGE / SV FIRE / SV RESCUE WORKERS CUTTING THROUGH DEBRIS (3 SHOTS) 0.58 7. SLV BODY BEING CARRIED ON STRETCHER 1.08 8. SV FLIGHT RECORDER (2 SHOTS) 1.18 9. GV BODIES LINED UP / SV BODIES (3 SHOTS) 1.38 10.LV BODIES BEING CARRIED ON STRETCHER 1.40 DOUALA 11.SV STEWARDESS IN HOSPITAL BED 1.49 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
- Embargoed: 19th December 1995 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: NEAR DOUALA AND DOUALA, CAMEROON
- City:
- Country: AFRICA Cameroon
- Reuters ID: LVA9MNOX4COCKTL77KW542OB07WU
- Story Text: A Cameroon Airlines jet crashed into a mangrove swamp while attempting to land at the Cameroon port city of Douala on Monday (December 4), killing about 60 of least 77 passengers and crew.
Most of the passengers were from Cameroon, but they included other West Africans and a handful of Europeans, said a government statement in the capital, Yaounde.
Fishermen in dugout canoes were the first to reach the wreckage of the Boeing 737, which came down in the swamp in pitch darkness, complicating rescue efforts.
The army, joining the rescue effort, pulled out alive several survivors including the pilot, co-pilot and a stewardess.
Reporters saw five of the survivors, including the stewardess, at one of two local clinics in the port city.
The cause of the crash was not immediately known but airport officials said the pilot first tried to land then aborted the attempt, apparently due to problems with the undercarriage.
The plane was on a scheduled flight from the Benin city of Cotonou and was due to continue from Douala to Yaounde and then on to Garoua in the extreme north.
Cotonou, Benin's most important city, where the plane began its return flight, was playing host to heads of state of 47 countries attending a summit of French speakers, which ended officially on Monday. Officials said dignitaries from the summit were on the flight.
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