Indians feared dead in Kenyan plane crash

Nairobi: Kenya Airways confirmed that the Boeing 737-800 aircraft was missing. "We do not know what happened to the aircraft," airline chief Titus Naikuni said. "We have not yet found the plane."
There were indications however that the aircraft may have gone down in thick rainforest in the southwest of the country. Residents in the Lolodorf region reported hearing a loud explosion, Cameroon radio said.
Following is the list of 15 Indians on board the Kenyan Airways airliner feared to have crashed in the Cameroon Saturday, according to a list of the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs:
Girishyan Nalakathu, Madhusudanan, Poojitha Madhusudanan, Madhu Madhusudanan, Chandan Lovel Chapol, Mr. Sha, Ruby Marie, Prakash Sundaram, Gowraman, Negle Kevin Joseph, Sherly Negle, George Joseph Kochery, Maria Joseph, Gracy Manuel.
A spokesperson for the airline said that takeoff from the Cameroonian city of Douala had been delayed by an hour due to heavy rains.
The airline also revised downwards the number of passengers on board, from 106 to 105. The plane also carried at least seven Europeans, including five Britons, a Swiss and a Swede, the airline said.
The aircraft originally took off from the Ivory Coast city of Abidjan and made an interim stop at Douala before taking off again shortly after midnight on its way to Nairobi. It was due to land early Saturday.
An emergency signal was received from the aircraft shortly after takeoff, Naikuni said. The signal was an automatically generated broadcast and had not been transmitted by the pilot.
05/05/07 DPA/IANS/Mangalorean.com

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Categories: Foreign May 2007, Safety May 2007