Last Of Wreckage Recovered

Lebanese divers have reportedly found the last of the wreckage from the Christmas day crash of a Boeing 727 just off the coast of Benin. In the meantime, Benin's foreign minister said the death toll from the watery crash rose to 113. Of the 151 passengers and 10 crew members on board, 26 are still unaccounted for.

More than a dozen Bangladeshi peace keepers from nearby Sierra Leone were among the dead.

The aircraft was flown by Union des Transports Africains. Most of the passengers were Lebanese ex patriots headed home for the holidays. It was the worst aviation disaster in the histories of both Benin and Lebanon.

Lebanese Foreign Minister Jean Obeid spent Saturday in the town of Cotonou, comforting 16 of his countrymen who survived the accident. He told reporters the aircraft appeared to have been overloaded with both passengers and baggage. The aircraft impacted a building just after takeoff, then plunged into the shallow surf off the Beninese coast. A radio operator atop the stricken building was also reportedly injured.

Both of the 727's black boxes have now been recovered. The French news agency AFP reports Paris is sending a team of investigators to glean what they can from the flight data and voice recorders.

Benin is now a nation in mourning. Flags fly at half-staff and President Mathieu Kerekou attended a multi-faith religious ceremony Sunday in memory of the victims.

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