Comorian authorities request US help to retrieve Yemenia’s black boxes

YEMEN - Comorian authorities have officially asked help from the United States to retrieve the two black boxes of Yemenia Airways crashed plane. Comorian Minister of Foreign Relations Ahmed Said Ja'afer said Monday that his country has officially requested the United States to retrieve the black boxes and to take part in the investigations over its crash.

The Comorian decision came after they checked some parts of the plane brought from Kenya and Tanzania. Two days after Yemenia crash the Comorian vice president hinted that it might be shot down mistakenly by a French missile as the French Navy were undergoing a military exercises in the area where the plane was crushed . 

“Yemenia jet was in the wrong place at the wrong time,” said the Comorian vice president. Yemenia officials and Comorian officials have been shedding doubts over the French black out of information about the real causes of the crash particularly when the French declined to allow Yemeni and Comorian investigation teams and divers to take part in the search.

The French also refused to conduct any DNA tests for the recovered bodies. Both Yemen and Comoros authorities had demanded unbiased international party to take part in the investigations over Yemenia crash.  Three parts of a Yemenia plane which crashed into the Indian Ocean few weeks ago found off the shore of the Kenyan Coast. The three parts have been ferried to Comoro for further investigation and expected to be brought to Yemen.  

Honorary Consul of Yemen in Mombasa Saleh Shigog told reporters three parts  of Yemenia crashed plan were found along Bamburi beach near Ya'mas hotel by a tourist  and have been transported to Yemen via Tanzania and Comoros before being taken to Yemen. "We have dispatched a team of three people with the parts to Tanzania where they will submit them to our bosses to be transported to Yemen to help in the ongoing investigation on the cause of the plane crash," said the Consul.

Speaking in his office while dispatching the parts of the wreckages, Mr.  Shigog said a team is still at the site to check out more parts. "Because of high tide, we hope the team might recover more parts which will help in investigation," said the Consulate.

The parts which are being ferried written in Arabic and English languages were recovered by a tourist 20 kilometers away from the shore. The Consul said the body parts indicated they were from three different parts of the plane. Over 20 corpses were found on the Kenyan and Tanzanian shores. The sole survivor 13 old girl was found near Moroni coasts.

Two days following the incident the French authorities announced they found the wreckage of the plane and some corpses near Comorian coasts and that they detected signs from the two black boxes. However one day later they said no corpses or debris of the plane were found.

An aviation expert said that finding parts of the plane in Kenya Tanzania and Comoros Islands indicate that the plane exploded while flying therefore its parts flown away to three different directions.  “if the parts were driven by the tide they would be driven to one direction not three,” said the expert on condition of anonymity. 

 He expected that the real cause of the crash won’t be released same like the case of the TWA 747 airliner crash in 1996 two days before the Olympics held in Atlanta. Although investigators had found remains of explosives on some debris of the wreckage which indicated the plane was shot down by a missile, the authorities refused to admit the fact and pretended the plane had undergone some tests against explosives while it was manufactured.

The French authorities immediately following the crash accused Yemenia Airways of lacking safety standards and said that some notices were issued regarding the crashed plane. The French also sent a minister to bring the sole survivor ’13 old girl’ to Paris after rumors said that she said she heard an explosion before the plane came down.

Hospital officials said  Bahia Bakari was treated  for multiple bruises, minor burns and a broken collarbone. “Minor burns!!” “Why the French organized demonstrations against Yemenia while they did not organize similar demonstrations against the crash of the Brazilian crashed jet,” said the same source. However the French have retreated of their harsh announcements against Yemenia and the EU aviation organization did not enlist Yemenia in the EU aviation black list.   

Bahia Bakari, whose age has been reported between 12 and 14, was discharged on July 23, after undergoing treatment and surgery, hospital officials said Friday July 24. Health officials have said Bahia is 12 years old and will be celebrating her 13th birthday in August. Bahia was the only known survivor of Yemenia Airways Flight 626, which crashed into the Indian Ocean between the southeastern African coast and Madagascar while en route from the Yemeni capital of Sana'a to Comoros on June 30.

The other 152 passengers, including Bahia's mother and its 11 crewmen are presumed dead. Bahia clung to debris in the Indian Ocean for more than 13 hours before being rescued. She only suffered multiple bruises, minor burns and a broken collarbone.

French officials have declined to comment on where the girl went following her hospital stay but the family keeps a home in Paris. Yemenia Airways has announced suspending all flights to and from France as of August 11, the company’s representative for France, Switzerland and Belgium region,  Faisal Amran , said last week. 

Amran said business reasons were behind the decision, which comes after a sharp fall in the number of passengers from France due to reducing flights numbers to some African states.  A final flight will originate in Paris heading to Sana’a on August 10 and after it, all flights would be suspended until further notice,” he concluded.  The sole survivor of a plane crash near the Comoros Islands has been released from a Paris hospital after nearly a month of treatment.

 

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