Gulf Air investigation launched

Salvage teams have recovered debris from the plane

Gulf Air has launched an urgent inquiry into the crash of its plane off Bahrain on Wednesday, killing all 143 people on board.

The plane fell into the sea before it could land

Both black boxes of the Airbus 320 have been recovered from the crash site in the sea about 5km (three miles) from Bahrain airport.

So far there are very few clues about why Flight GF072 from Cairo plunged into the Gulf on its third landing attempt. The crew made no distress call before the plane went down.

Relatives of the passengers are being flown from Egypt to Bahrain to identify and bring home the bodies.

Shallow water at the crash site has helped the rescue effort, and all the bodies of the dead have also been recovered.

The salvage work is continuing

Local officials have begun an initial investigation, but are waiting for experts from the French Airbus company and the US National Transportation Safety Board to arrive before beginning a full inquiry.

"It is too early to ascertain what caused the crash," said Gulf Air vice president Ali Ahmadi.

"The investigation is ongoing and it will be some time until the results are published."

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Holidays

Most of the passengers were Egyptian, Bahraini or Saudi nationals returning to the Gulf island state after holidays abroad. Thirty-six of them were children.

Passengers

63 Egyptians

34 Bahrainis

12 Saudis

Nine Palestinians

Six UAE citizens

Three Chinese

Two Britons

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

BBC correspondent Caroline Hawley reports from Cairo airport that the relatives looked shell-shocked and distraught as they prepared to fly to Bahrain. A team of doctors had been administering tranquillisers.

The crew comprised two Bahrainis, an Omani, a Filipino, a Pole, an Indian, a Moroccan and an Egyptian.

The captain, who has not yet been named, had 21 years experience.

Reports say that one passenger - an Egyptian - who should have been on board was turned away by Cairo passport control because his Bahraini work permit was not in order.

International emergency phone number for Gulf Air

0044 208 2839666

The salvage operation was assisted by frogmen and helicopters equipped with searchlights from the US Navy's Fifth Fleet, which is based in Bahrain.

Waters at the crash site are less than 10 metres (35 feet) deep.

'Worst day'

Officials read out the names of those killed to a crowd of grieving relatives, some of whom fell to the floor wailing and screaming.

"This is the worst day of my life. I lost a part of me," said Khalifa al-Hashil, a Saudi national whose 35-year old brother Mohammed was on the flight.

Distraught relatives have gathered at Cairo Airport

The Emir of Bahrain, Sheikh Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa declared three days of mourning.

Ahmed Hassan, an eyewitness, told the BBC that the jet veered to avoid buildings before plunging into the sea.

"It U-turned and tried to land, then in 15 seconds it went sharply down into the sea and there was a huge fire," he said.

He said the jet fell "sharply, like an arrow".

Past record

The plane had been delivered to Gulf Air in September 1994.

The plane broke up after hitting the water

The A320 entered service in April 1988. Wednesday's crash is its sixth major disaster.

In the last fatal A320 crash, 87 people died when one of the jets came down near Strasbourg in eastern France in January 1992.

Gulf Air, which has a good safety record, is jointly owned by the Gulf states of Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

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