Valuable Evidence Being Lost?

Like carrion birds descending on the carcass of a ruined leviathan, hundreds of scavengers raked over the wreckage of a downed 737-200 in the Peruvian jungle Thursday, even though the remains had barely cooled from the fire that partially consumed them.

"I'm collecting this for my house to hang my laundry," said 47-year old Rosario Dahua, who was quoted by the Associated Press. She was pulling on heavy black wires near an engine partially submerged in the swamp surrounding the crash site.

Even though the cause of the mishap has not yet been established, Peruvian Air Force Commander William Rodriguez, in charge of security at the crash site, said he didn't think the scavengers would pose a problem to the investigation. Perhaps, he suggested, they might even help.

"We are verifying that all the bodies have really been recovered," Rodriguez said. "So if these people want to search for things, perhaps they'll encounter another body."

Officials now say 98 people were on board the TANS Airlines 737-200 when it went down in heavy storms Tuesday just two miles short of the runway at Pucallpa. At least 58 people survived. Wind shear is suspected in the crash. But with so many people taking so much of the wreckage away, we may never know.

FMI: www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/pe.html