At least 60 killed in Benin plane crash: witnesses
COTONOU : More than 60 people were killed on Thursday when an aircraft bound for Beirut crashed into the sea off the west African state of Benin, witnesses said.
Witnesses said they had seen the bodies lined up on the beach near the plane, which crashed into the sea near the runway after take off from Cotonou, capital of Benin.
One of the crewmembers on board, who survived the disaster, told local journalists that the plane was heading to Beirut and that most of the passengers were Lebanese.
The plane belonged to a Lebanese charter airline called UTA, according to airport sources in Beirut.
Other unconfirmed reports in Beirut said there were 140 passengers on board.
The tiny African state of Benin lies west of Nigeria on the Atlantic Ocean. - AFP
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Plane Crashes Into Atlantic Off West Africa's Benin
Thursday, December 25, 2003 10:53 a.m. ET
COTONOU, Benin (Reuters) - A Boeing passenger plane bound for Beirut crashed into the Atlantic Ocean after takeoff in the West African country of Benin on Thursday, killing dozens of passengers, witnesses and airport officials said.
Witnesses said they saw at least 30 bodies strewn on the beach near the airport in the main city Cotonou, where the plane crashed just after takeoff in the Gulf of Guinea.
It was not immediately clear which airline was involved but witnesses said most of the bodies recovered appeared to be Lebanese. There is a large Lebanese community in West Africa.
Airport officials said the plane had problems retracting its landing gear after takeoff, smashed into a building at the end of the runway, exploded and then crashed into the sea.
Airport officials said the flight originated in Conakry, capital of the West African nation Guinea, and was traveling to Beirut via Dubai.
Sixty-three passengers boarded in Cotonou but the total number of passengers was not immediately clear.
Rescue workers were searching the sea after the crash, which took place around 1415 GMT.
In December 1995 about 60 people were killed when a Cameroon airliner on a flight from Cotonou crashed into a swamp in Cameroon.