Wails of grief at Beirut airport as relatives gather - Feature

Khaldeh, Lebanon- The cries of weeping Lebanese fathers and wailing mothers filled the VIP lounge at Beirut International Airport Monday - as they learned that the chances of finding any survivors from the Ethiopian plane that crashed off the Lebanese coast are "slim.""I have my son and my nephews on board," said Um Ali Jaber, as Prime Minister Saad Hariri tried to comfort her at the airport.

"My heart is with you and we are doing all we can to find survivors," Hariri told the weeping lady.

A government official said there were several children on board the plane.

According to an airport official, the Ethiopian plane crashed into the sea "90 seconds" after take off from Beirut airport.

Witnesses near the airport said they saw a fireball plunging into the sea.

"There was heavy rain and wind ,then we saw the whole sky lit by an orange ball," a gas station clerk near the airport said.

A source in the rescue team said the plane had likely sunk to a depth of more than 500 meters.

So far fifteen bodies were recovered from the crash site - most still in their seats, with their seatbelt on.

Lebanese army patrol boats were seen scouring the waters around the crash site.

Helicopters hovered over the scene and Italian and German boats in the UN Martime Task Force were alongside the Lebanese army in the rescue operation.

An investigation into the cause of the crash has been launched.

Airport officials declined to say whether the bad weather conditions which was hitting Lebanon was the main cause of the crash.

Transportation Minister Ghazi Aridi said 90 passengers were board of whom 54 were Lebanese.

"The control tower was assisting the pilot of the plane on takeoff and suddenly lost contact for no known reason," Aridi told reporters.

"Fifteen of the Lebanese were the southern market-town of Nabatiyeh, (a shiite town 54 kilometers south of Beirut)," said a Mohammed Jaber, a cousin of one of the passengers.

Also among the passengers is thought to be the wife of the French ambassador to Lebanon Marla Sanchez Pietton and 54 Lebanese nationals.

An official from the Ethiopian airliner at Beirut airport told the German press agency dpa, "no reports of survivors from the plane crash yet."

A Lebanese security source denied conflicting reports from the Lebanese media indicating that seven survivors were found.

Earlier Lebanese media and Arab channels said seven survivors were found.

Lebanese premier Saad Hariri announced Monday a day of mourning on the victims of the crashed plane.

On his part, Lebanon's president Michel Suleiman described the incident as "painful" and called on Lebanese hospitals to be on alert.

Meanwhile, the Ethiopian Airlines has sent a team to Beirut to investigate Monday's crash , the Ethiopian News Agency said.

"A team is already working on gathering all pertinent information," the statement said.

"An investigative team has already been dispatched to the scene and we will release further information as further updates are received," it added.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/305605,wails-of-grief-at-beirut-airport-as-relatives-gather--feature.html.