Series of EmergencyNet News Reports Concerning the Crash of GulfAir Flt. GF-072, off the coast of Bahrain, On 23 August, 2000
From: ERRI EMERGENCY SERVICES REPORT-EmergencyNet NEWS Service-Friday, August 25, 2000-Vol. 4 - 238
BAHRAIN: Divers scoured the sandy sea floor on Friday to recover pieces of a downed Gulf Air plane, and aviation experts from the U.S. and France gathered to investigate the crash that killed all 143 people on board. Dozens of U.S. and Bahraini divers searched for bits of wing and fuselage from the Airbus A320 that plunged into the Persian Gulf on Wednesday. At least 36 children were among those killed. Gulf Air was preparing to ship the flight data and voice cockpit recorders to London for analysis on Friday. It could take weeks for them to be analyzed.
From: ERRI EMERGENCY SERVICES REPORT-EmergencyNet NEWS Service-Thursday, August 24, 2000-Vol. 4 - 237
BAHRAIN
Airliner Crashes Killing All 143 Aboard
All 143 people aboard a Gulf Air jet died when it plunged into the sea off Bahrain on Wednesday. The Airbus A320 plunged into the Persian Gulf waters as it approached Bahrain airport after several attempts to land on a flight from Cairo Wednesday night.
All 143 bodies have been recovered. Rescue teams, including U.S. Navy units, worked through the night to retrieve the bodies from the calm Gulf waters. Both the black box flight recorder and the cockpit voice recorder have been recovered.
Cause of the crash is unknown. Bahrain television initially quoted unidentified officials as saying the plane plunged into the sea after an engine caught fire. Media reports in the region said the pilot did not indicate to air traffic controllers in Bahrain that he was facing any technical problems. There was no official confirmation of the reports.
A Gulf Air official said most of the plane's passengers were Arabs but there were also a few from other parts of the world. He listed the passengers as 63 Egyptians, 34 Bahrainis, 12 Saudis, nine Palestinians, six UAE citizens, three Chinese, two Britons, and one each from Australia, Kuwait, Oman, Sudan, Korea and Canada. In Washington, a State Department official also said an American working as a U.S. diplomatic courier was on the plane.
22:00CDT - 23 Aug 2000
More than 130 Bodies Recovered, No Survivors Found
Manama, Bahrain (EmergencyNet News) -- Rescue officials say that more than 130 bodies have been recovered from the Persian Gulf, following the crash of GulfAir GF-072. No survivors have been found. One of the black boxes (flight recorders) have also reportedly been retrieved from the wreckage of the Airbus 320, which went down in shallow waters about 3 miles off the Bahrain coast.
Speculation about the potential cause of the crash has already begun. Ibrahim Abdullah al-Hammar, Transport Ministry Undersecretary for Civil Aviation, said that the plane made at least two attempts to land before the fateful crash. "He could not land the plane in the first approach. He asked for a go-round, but did not succeed in landing and during the third approach the plane crashed in the sea,'' Hammar told the Reuters news service. Bahrain's Emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa has ordered an comprehensive investigation into the crash and also declared an official three-day mourning period.
EmergencyNet News continues to monitor events concerning the crash of GulfAir Flt. GF-072 and will provide additional details as circumstances warrant...
18:00CDT - 23 Aug 2000
More than Fifty-Five Bodies Recovered; No Survivors Found So Far
Manama, Bahrain (EmergencyNet News) -- More than fifty-five bodies, several of them children, have reportedly been recovered overnight off the coast of Bahrain. Bahraini authorities have been conducting a major rescue operation, assisted by helicopters and ships of the US Navy's Fifth Fleet. "There are more bodies in the sea," said Abdul-Rahman bin Rashed al-Khalifa, administration director of Bahrain's Civil Defence. "Up till now we have not found any survivors."
No additional details concerning the cause of the crash have been released. Bahraini authorities said that a search for the so-called "black-boxes," which might offer some clue to the disaster will begin at dawn.
13:00CDT - 23 Aug 2000
GulfAir Airbus 320 Reported Down Near Bahrain
Manama, Bahrain (EmergencyNet News) -- Early and yet fragmentary reports are coming in to EmergencyNet News that GulfAir Flt. GF-072 has crashed about three miles off the coast of Bahrain. Few circumstances surrounding the crash are currently known, but a Bahraini official said that the aircraft was inbound from Cairo, Egypt and attempting to land. An engine was reported to be on fire just prior to the crash. Unofficial details on casualties seem to suggest that 140 souls are on-board; it is currently not known if any survived the crash. U.S. Navy helicopters from the 5th Fleet, based in Bahrain, are said to be participating in the search and rescue operations.
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