Relatives wait in vain

Details have been slow to emerge for those waiting

Weeping relatives of those on board flight GF072 gathered at Cairo and Manama airports as news of the disaster broke, desperate to find out their loved ones' fate.

Egyptians and Bahrainis made up most of the 135 passengers and eight crew who were on board the Gulf Air A320.

Passengers

63 Egyptians

34 Bahrainis

12 Saudis

Nine Palestinians

Six UAE citizens

Three Chinese

Two Britons

One American, Australian, Canadian, Kuwaiti, Omani, Sudanese

The plane left Cairo bound for the Bahraini capital on Wednesday afternoon, and crashed in waters off the coast of the Gulf state as it tried to land.

As more and more bodies were recovered from the sea, anger rose among the relatives at Cairo's new airport who wanted to be told more.

"Nobody has given us any information," one man in tears told the French news agency AFP.

The disaster was the second to hit Egypt in less than a year. Last October, an EgyptAir Boeing 767 crashed into the Atlantic, killing all 217 people on board.

Security ring

Security personnel cordoned off the Gulf Air offices at Cairo airport, allowing access only to people close to those on board the flight.

Grief-stricken relatives have been given their own room

A room was set aside for those anxiously awaiting news, and two ambulances put on stand-by.

Gulf Air is arranging a special flight to take the Egyptian relatives to Bahrain later on Thursday to help identify the dead.

'They're all dead'

In Manama, police threw a security cordon around the entire airport.

Its terminal - packed with relatives of the passengers and crew - echoed with the sound of weeping.

Some fainted as a Gulf Air official read out a list of the names of those on board the A320.

"That's it, they're all dead," said one man.

"I want my son," wailed an Egyptian woman.

The crowd was then told to return in the morning for more information.

Many had to be physically helped to cars waiting outside.

Counsellors were on hand to offer support.