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Yemen/Comoros/France – plane crash
Survivor of Yemenia crash arrives back home in France
Article published on the 2009-07-02 Latest update 2009-07-02 12:27 TU
An ambulance carrying Bahia Bakari arrival her arrival back in France on 2 July 2009
(Photo: Reuters)
A 12-year-old girl who survived the crash of Yemenia flight IY 626 has been flown back to Paris to receive hospital treatment. Bahia Bakari suffered a fractured collarbone and some burns.
Bakari is thought to be the only survivor from the crash of the Airbus A310 which crashed into the sea early on Tuesday morning.
She arrived at Paris's Le Bourget airport on Thursday morning after spending around 13 hours in the water before being rescued.
The flight was carrying 153 people, and the young girl’s mother is presumed to be among the victims of the crash.
"She really needs a few days rest. She will be recovering with her family," her father Kassim Bakari told reporters.
Bakari, who lives in Marseille, told her father that she did not know what happened but found herself in the water in darkness. She could hear voices, but could not see anything. She managed to hold onto something before being rescued. It is thought that she is unable to swim.
Rescuers explained that after clinging to debris in the sea she was so weak that she found it difficult to grab the lifebuoy thrown to her.
Meanwhile, Comoros President Ahmed Abdallah Sambi cut short a visit to Libya for the African Union summit and returned home on Thursday to visit the families of victims.
And Yemenia has made its first public statement since the crash of flight IY 626.
“Yemenia has operated the Sanaa-Moroni route for more than ten years. If it is a problem of maintenance this accident could have occurred yesterday, a year ago or two years ago,” said Abdul Khaleq al-Kadi, Director General of Yemenia.
Authorities say that the flight’s black box has in fact not been recovered, because there had been earlier claims that the black box was discovered by search teams.
Around 200 Comorans continued with their second day of protest at Marseilles airport on Thursday. They are demanding that a plane is chartered to take victims' families to Moroni, and blocked Yemenia's check-in counters.
There has been some criticism of Yemenia's use of the older Airbus A310 for the final leg of the journey to Paris. French authorities were forced to ban the jet from travelling over European airspace two years ago.
 Young survivor of Yemenia plane crash heads to Paris |
