No Other Survivors Found In Yemenia Airliner Crash

A Yemenia Airbus A310-300 has ditched in the Indian Ocean off the archipelago of Comoros, and the only apparent survivor is a 5-year-old child.

The flight, which originated in Paris, was on approach to the Comoros Islands in what is reported as bad weather about 12 miles off the coast of Grande Comore island. The Australian Broadcasting Company and  Reuters report witnesses said they saw the aircraft attempt to land, then turn away before it disappeared.

It is the second time in a month that an Airbus airliner has gone down in the ocean.

French authorities told the ABC that the plane had been under surveillance, and that problems had been reported with the aircraft, though they are unspecified at this time. French Transport Minister Dominique Bussereau said during a recent inspection numerous faults had been noted on the Yemenia jet and the airline was being closely monitored by EU authorities.

"The A310 in question had been inspected in France in 2007 by the DGAC [French civil aviation authority] and a certain number of faults had been noted," Mr Bussereau said. However, Yemen's transport minister said the aircraft had undergone a thorough inspection in May under Airbus supervision. "It was a comprehensive inspection carried out in Yemen ... with experts from Airbus," Khaled Ibrahim al-Wazeer said. "It was in line with international standards."

The flight originated in Paris using an Airbus A330, and had traveled from there to Marseille and then Sanaa. There, passengers boarded the A310 and flew to Djibouti before heading to the Comoros capital, Moroni. There were 142 passengers and 11 crew on board.

So far authorities report 5 bodies have been recovered, as well as the one, unidentified surviving child. "Bodies were seen floating on the surface of the water and a fuel slick was also spotted about 16 or 17 nautical miles from Moroni," senior Yemeni civil aviation official Mohammad Abdel Kader said.

Mr Kader said the wind was blowing in gusts of up to 71 miles per hour, nearly hurricane strength, when the disaster happened.

"Weather conditions were bad," he said. "The sea was rough."

French authorities have sent two nearby naval vessels to the area to assist in rescue efforts.

FMI: www.aviation-civile.gouv.fr, www.yemencivilaviation.com/