EGYPT: French military planes brought a submersible robot and 50 salvage experts to the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh yesterday to help retrieve bodies and flight recorders from an airliner that crashed into the Red Sea.
French Transport Minister Mr Gilles de Robien suggested the Egyptian Boeing 737, carrying 133 French tourists and 15 other people, probably went down because it lost power after take-off on Saturday. No one survived the impact.
An official of Egypt's Civil Aviation Ministry, responding to statements by Swiss aviation authorities that they had banned the operators of the Boeing 737 from Swiss airspace for safety reasons, said all planes belonging to private Egyptian companies had regular inspections.
Boats and planes scanned the Red Sea for bodies and wreckage. French Deputy Foreign Minister Mr Renaud Muselier scattered red and white flowers, decorated with the French and Egyptian flags, over the site.
- (Reuters)