COMOROS: Father of Comoros plane crash victim says his son's phone is still ringing

Record ID: 575124

  • Title: COMOROS: Father of Comoros plane crash victim says his son's phone is still ringing
  • Date: 4th July 2009
  • Summary: MORONI, COMOROS (JULY 03, 2009) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF ABDULRAHIM ABUBAKAR, FATHER OF MISSING PASSENGER MOHAMMED "EDDY" ABDULRAHIM WITH FRIENDS AT HIS HOUSE (SOUNDBITE) (Kiswahili) ABDULRAHIM ABUBAKAR, SAYING: "I heard the plane at around 1 am in the morning, I was sleeping but when I heard the plane I woke up. I was very uneasy because of the sound of the plane. Then after a short while I got a call from Dubai that a plane has crashed." PICTURE OF "EDDY" IN A SEA SHELL FRAME ABUBAKAR'S FRIEND LOOKING ON (SOUNDBITE) (Kiswahili) ABDULRAHIM ABUBAKAR, SAYING: "What really worries me is that we don't know where the plane is, if there are bodies, where they are, or even what is happening. They are just doing things on their own. And that is really worrying because we don't know anything, it is people outside that are giving us that information, and we don't even know if it is true or false." VARIOUS OF ABUBAKAR LISTENING TO RADIO ABUBAKAR ON THE PHONE (SOUNDBITE) (Kiswahili) ABDULRAHIM ABUBAKAR, SAYING: "We are not really shocked. When we call his phone, it is ringing but no one is picking up. This is the phone he had with him while at the airport. Now, I don't know." SEARCH OPERATION CENTRE AT BEACH DIVERS GOING OUT FOR SEARCH BOATS IN WATER VARIOUS OF SEARCH SHIP IN WATER
  • Embargoed: 19th July 2009 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Comoros
  • Country: Comoros
  • Topics: Disasters / Accidents / Natural catastrophes
  • Reuters ID: LVAASIIAFEG847T8EXRHOUNWGHC3
  • Story Text: Abdulrahim Abubakar's son was aboard the Yemeni flight that crashed off Comoros island four days ago. He says his son's phone is still ringing as rescue operations continue and hopes of finding any survivors dwindle.
    When Abdulrahim Abubakar went to bed on Monday night, he hoped his 32-year-old son, Mohamed Abdulrahim, also known as "Eddy", would be home from abroad by morning.
    Eddy, who had been in Dubai for seven years working as a cargo clearing agent, was one of 153 passengers aboard a Yemeni jet that plunged into the Indian Ocean off the Comoros islands.
    "I heard the plane at around 1 am in the morning, I was sleeping but when I heard the plane I woke up. I was very uneasy because of the sound of the plane. Then after a short while I got a call from Dubai that a plane has crashed," said Abubakar.
    Abubakar has a photo of Eddy when he was 5 years old that he shows to visitors as he speaks fondly of his son.
    Rescuers have been unable to find any of the remaining 152 passengers and crew since the Yemenia Airbus A310-300 crashed in strong winds in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
    The sole survivor of the crash, 14-year-old Bahia Bakari, could barely swim and clung to floating debris for more than 12 hours before search teams spotted her in rough seas.
    Four days after the crash, Abubakar says he has no information about the progress of the search out in the ocean.
    American and French military aircraft scoured the crash site for a third day but failed to locate any wreckage, thought to be in waters up to 500 metres (1,600 ft) deep.
    "What really worries me is that we don't know where the plane is, if there are bodies, where they are, or even what is happening. They are just doing things on their own. And that is really worrying because we don't know anything, it is people outside that are giving us that information, and we don't even know if it is true or false," said Abubakar.
    However, Abubakar said he still has hope of finding his son. Eddy's phone is still ringing.
    "We are not really shocked. When we call his phone, it is ringing but no one is picking up. This is the phone he had with him while at the airport. Now, I don't know," said Abubakar.
    Local rescuers suspect many of the dead remain trapped inside the sunken wreckage. An official from the regional air security body ASECNA said the French navy believed the plane was 350-500 metres below the surface.
    The cause of the crash is still unknown.
    The airline said there were 75 Comoran passengers on board, along with 65 French nationals, one Palestinian and one Canadian. The crew was comprised of six Yemenis, two Moroccans, one Indonesian, one Ethiopian and a Filipina.
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