Investigators probe Thai air disasterPHUKET, Thailand (AFP) — Crash investigators sifted through the charred debris of a Thai jet Monday as anguished relatives desperately sought news of loved ones after Thailand's worst air disaster in a decade. Officials said 89 people -- including up to 55 foreigners -- died when the plane crashed in driving rain on the resort island of Phuket, slamming into a wooded embankment and breaking up in flames. Transport Minister Thira Haocharoen said the two flight recorders, or black boxes, had been dug out of the wreckage and would be sent to the United States or Australia for analysis, with results due within two weeks. "The plane had been used for 12 years, and normally, any plane could surely serve flights for at least 15 years," he said. "We have to admit that weather conditions were really bad, it is something beyond people's control." As family members from Asia and Europe headed to Phuket, horrific witness accounts emerged of the doomed jet's final moments Sunday that left passengers trapped and burning alive. "The people all around me were burning. Some on the floor and some standing, and they were on fire," said Parinyawich Chusaeng, a local artist who escaped with cuts and bruises. "The plane just dropped really fast and then jerked back up. The right wing hit a tree and then the plane hit the ground." Canadian tourist Millie Furlong, 23, said a man sitting behind her and her boyfriend kicked open an emergency exit. "You don't have time to think or be scared or anything. The flames came so quick, and there was smoke so you couldn't see anything. It was just smoke," she said. Visibility was poor and there was heavy rain when the flight from Bangkok, operated by budget carrier One-Two-Go and carrying 123 passengers and seven crew, approached for landing. Aviation officials and witnesses said the pilot received permission at the last moment to abort, but the plane smashed onto the runway. Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont, meeting with grieving relatives as they waited in Bangkok to fly to Phuket, insisted Thailand's air safety standards met international norms. "We will wait for the result of investigations," he said. "I can confirm that our aviation standards meet international standards in every aspect." The director of Phuket airport, Pornchai Eua-aree, said the death toll had risen to 89, and all but four bodies had been recovered. Foreign embassies scrambled for information about their citizens. The US embassy in Bangkok confirmed four American tourists were killed and one survived, Australia and France reported one dead each, while the British embassy said several Britons were dead without giving a specific figure. As many as 15 of the 21 Iranians on board may have died, consular officer Safdar Shafiee said. Israel's ambassador Yael Rubinstein told AFP that 10 Israelis were aboard, of whom only two had since been located in hospital. But there was some confusion over the number of foreigners, with officials putting the number on board at anywhere between 31 and 55. Bangkok Hospital Phuket, which is treating the worst injured, said that 29 people remained in their care including seven Thais, six Iranians, two Irish, four Germans, three British, two Israelis and one each from Australia, Canada, Austria and France. One person was of unknown nationality. Among the dead was one of the pilots, a 56-year-old Indonesian. General Sereepisut Taemeeyaves, the acting national police chief, said the identification process should be completed soon. "Most of the dead suffocated and their bodies have not changed much nor are they beyond recognition, unlike during the tsunami," he said, referring to the December 2004 disaster which killed 5,400 in Thailand. "Some bodies may be badly burned, but we can check the DNA and all will be finished soon," he added. Officials said they expected the airport to reopen later Monday. |
