Chillwinston
26th Feb 2004, 17:56
The killer of the Zurich air traffic controller on duty when dozens of Russian children died in a mid-air collision was on the run on Wednesday from Swiss police who think revenge may have been the knifeman's motive.
The 36-year-old died when a burly, black-clad man speaking broken German stabbed him at his home in the suburb of Kloten on Tuesday after a brief exchange of words, police said.
"(Revenge) cannot be ruled out. We are looking into whether there is a link between the killing and the air accident," public prosecutor Pascal Gossner said. The collision over southern Germany in summer 2002 killed 71 people in all.
On Wednesday, colleagues cut back air traffic by 40 percent to ensure grief-stricken staff could maintain flight safety. Officials stepped up protection for a second controller on duty on the night of the crash as well as for other staff.
The dead controller, who was not named, was in charge of traffic over Lake Constance late on July 1, 2002 when a holiday charter carrying more than 50 Russian children collided in the darkness with a DHL cargo jet above the town of Ueberlingen.
Pressed on whether the murder might be an act of vengeance on behalf of bereaved families in the oil-rich, mainly Muslim region of Bashkiria, prosecutor Gossner said: "You have to say he spoke broken German. But you cannot say he was from Russia. This is really speculation."
A lawyer pressing compensation claims for parents of the dead said his clients were distressed by such a connection being made: "We reject any violent act... The families do not want to be associated with this," Gerrit Wilmans said.
A police spokesman said a link to the crash was a "central issue" in the hunt for the powerfully built assailant, aged about 50, who fled on foot. But Gossner added: "We are also looking into the personal circumstances of the victim."
The prosecutor said investigators had some witness testimony. Police said the wanted man sported heavy stubble.
GRIEF
The killing sent shockwaves through the close-knit community of air traffic controllers, who came in for heavy criticism over a collision in the almost empty night-time skies over Europe.
"You'll Never Walk Alone" read a card attached to flowers sent by colleagues and placed outside the small, pink-washed suburban apartment house where the victim lived and died.
"The murder has been a huge shock across Europe. Quite a few flight controllers did not turn up for work," the head of the Swiss air traffic agency, Skyguide, told a news conference.
A quarter of Zurich staff failed to report for work on Wednesday. But chief executive Alain Rossier blamed bad weather for most of the morning's delays at Zurich Airport.
At times close to tears, he said the dead man was "a long-time employee of Skyguide who was very competent and professional".
Accident investigators found only one controller was on duty as the other took a break, that a collision alert system was out of action for maintenance and work on the telephones meant a warning from German colleagues never got through.
Initial suggestions from Switzerland that the pilots of the Bashkirian Airlines Tupolev 154 might have erred in flying into the Boeing 757 cargo plane operated by the DHL courier firm added to anger in Russia at the role played by the controllers.
Families of crew were compensated by Skyguide recently but negotiations with most of the children's relatives were still going on, lawyers and a Skyguide spokeswoman said.
(Reuters)
The 36-year-old died when a burly, black-clad man speaking broken German stabbed him at his home in the suburb of Kloten on Tuesday after a brief exchange of words, police said.
"(Revenge) cannot be ruled out. We are looking into whether there is a link between the killing and the air accident," public prosecutor Pascal Gossner said. The collision over southern Germany in summer 2002 killed 71 people in all.
On Wednesday, colleagues cut back air traffic by 40 percent to ensure grief-stricken staff could maintain flight safety. Officials stepped up protection for a second controller on duty on the night of the crash as well as for other staff.
The dead controller, who was not named, was in charge of traffic over Lake Constance late on July 1, 2002 when a holiday charter carrying more than 50 Russian children collided in the darkness with a DHL cargo jet above the town of Ueberlingen.
Pressed on whether the murder might be an act of vengeance on behalf of bereaved families in the oil-rich, mainly Muslim region of Bashkiria, prosecutor Gossner said: "You have to say he spoke broken German. But you cannot say he was from Russia. This is really speculation."
A lawyer pressing compensation claims for parents of the dead said his clients were distressed by such a connection being made: "We reject any violent act... The families do not want to be associated with this," Gerrit Wilmans said.
A police spokesman said a link to the crash was a "central issue" in the hunt for the powerfully built assailant, aged about 50, who fled on foot. But Gossner added: "We are also looking into the personal circumstances of the victim."
The prosecutor said investigators had some witness testimony. Police said the wanted man sported heavy stubble.
GRIEF
The killing sent shockwaves through the close-knit community of air traffic controllers, who came in for heavy criticism over a collision in the almost empty night-time skies over Europe.
"You'll Never Walk Alone" read a card attached to flowers sent by colleagues and placed outside the small, pink-washed suburban apartment house where the victim lived and died.
"The murder has been a huge shock across Europe. Quite a few flight controllers did not turn up for work," the head of the Swiss air traffic agency, Skyguide, told a news conference.
A quarter of Zurich staff failed to report for work on Wednesday. But chief executive Alain Rossier blamed bad weather for most of the morning's delays at Zurich Airport.
At times close to tears, he said the dead man was "a long-time employee of Skyguide who was very competent and professional".
Accident investigators found only one controller was on duty as the other took a break, that a collision alert system was out of action for maintenance and work on the telephones meant a warning from German colleagues never got through.
Initial suggestions from Switzerland that the pilots of the Bashkirian Airlines Tupolev 154 might have erred in flying into the Boeing 757 cargo plane operated by the DHL courier firm added to anger in Russia at the role played by the controllers.
Families of crew were compensated by Skyguide recently but negotiations with most of the children's relatives were still going on, lawyers and a Skyguide spokeswoman said.
(Reuters)