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Gulf Air Plane Crashes Near Bahrain, 70 Bodies Recovered
About 70 bodies, mostly children, have been recovered from the wreckage of the crashed Gulf Air plane off Bahraini coast Wednesday night, but no survivors have been found yet.
Rescue operation is continuing and helicopters from the US Navy 5th Fleet based in Bahrain are assisting in search for more bodies, possible survivors and the two blackboxes that record pilots' conversations and the performance of the plane.
The two-engine Airbus A320, carrying 135 passengers and eight crew and on a schedule flight from Egyptian capital Cairo to Bahrain went down at 1630 GMT in the Persian Gulf 4.8 to 6.4 kilometers north of Bahrain after two landing attempts, a Bahraini official said.
Bahraini officials had earlier said the flight GF072 plunged into the waters shortly after taking off from the Bahraini International Airport in the country's capital of Manama.
The passengers included 63 Egyptians, 34 Bahrainis, 12 Saudis, two Britons, an Australian, nine Palestinians, six from the United Arab Emirates, three Chinese, one Korean, one Kuwaiti, one Sudanese and one Omani, officials of the Gulf Air confirmed.
Gulf Air belongs in equal parts to Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and the government of Abu Dhabi, the largest of seven sheikdoms making up the United Arab Emirates. The Bahrain-based Gulf Air operates a fleet of 28 planes and flies to 53 international destinations.
There are altogether 1,100 A320s in service around the world and the Airbus A320 can seat up to 150 passengers.
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