Wrap-up: 83 Bodies Recovered in Taiwan Air Crash

Home>>China

Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, May 27, 2002

Wrap-up: 83 Bodies Recovered in Taiwan Air Crash

Rescue workers had recovered a totalof 83 dead bodies at the crash site of a China Airlines passenger plane by late Sunday night, and were busy continuing with their rescue operations. An aviation safety official in Taiwan said Sunday that no possibilities could be ruled out in locating the cause of the plane crash. A senior executive from the airlines said it was urgent to find the black boxes before their power run out.

DISCUSSION

CHINESE

SEND TO FRIEND

83 Bodies Recovered in Taiwan Air Crash

Rescue workers had recovered a total of 83 dead bodies at the crash site of a China Airlines passenger plane by late Sunday night, and were busy continuing with their rescue operations.

It's also reported that positions of the two black boxes have been determined, which might shed light on the cause of the accident. But the boxes are unlikely to be recovered soon.

Passenger Flight CI-611 undertaken by a Boeing 747-200 of China Airlines, bound for Hong Kong, took off from the international airport in Taoyuan Saturday afternoon. It crashed less than half an hour later into the sea off the island county of Penghu.

Some 225 people were on board, including 206 passengers and 19 crew.

External assistance for the air crash

Taiwan aviation officials said Sunday that the ill-fated plane experienced "in-flight breakup" and broke into four large pieces at an altitude over 30,000 feet. Causes of the crash are not known at present.

An aviation safety official in Taiwan said Sunday that no possibilities could be ruled out in locating the cause of the plane crash. A senior executive from the airlines said it was urgent to find the black boxes before their power run out.

Chinese mainland's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits has provided to China Airlines a list of 35 family members of the nine mainland victims in the accident who would go to Taiwan. The Straits Exchange Foundation on the Taiwan side pledged to "provide full support within its capacity" to those family members going to Taiwan.

The Taiwan authorities for flight safety required China Airlines to suspend operations of all its Boeing 747-200 planes until they pass safety tests. Historical data show the airlines has suffered 10-odd air disasters since 1969.

Boeing has sent a team of experts to Taiwan to help find out the cause of the crash.

According to local aviation authorities, flights on the island flights remained normal Sunday.

Taiwan Air Crash

Accident:A China Airlines passenger jetliner with 206 passengers and 19 crew en route from Taipei to Hong Kong crashed into the Taiwan Straits off the island county of Penghu Saturday afternoon.

Rescue work: Taiwanese transportation authorities said that search vessels had found more than 100 bodies in the sea around 25 nautical miles north of Penghu where aChina Airlines jetliner crashed Saturday.

Condolences & external assistance: Soon after the crash, the mainland's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) sent a letter of condolences Saturday to the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) in Taiwan. China's Communications Ministry Sunday afternoon sent two powerful tugboats to help the rescue work in the vicinity of the crash site.

Questions?Comments? Click here

Crashed Plane's Black Boxes Cannot Be Retrieved Immediately: Official

Family Members of Mainland Victims of Air Crash to Go to Taiwan

Reason for Taiwan Plane Crash Not Determined

>> Full Coverage

China Sets to Land on Moon by 2010 ( 64 Messages)

"Solid Water" Invented for Planting Trees in Deserts ( 3 Messages)

UNDP Starts Research on Chinese Women in WTO ( 90 Messages)

Clinton Reaps US$250,000 in 30-Minute Speech in Shenzhen ( 15 Messages)

Lee Kuan Yew: China to Overtake the US in 2050 ( 16 Messages)

Japanese, Chinese Economy Combined to Overtake US in 20 Years ( 16 Messages)