Plane with 14 people on board crashes in Comoros
Moroni, Comoros:
Rescuers in the Comoros were trying to find any survivors after a plane carrying 14 people crashed in the Indian Ocean archipelago on Saturday.
AB Aviation said its small Cessna plane disappeared from radar about 2.5 kilometers (1.6 miles) from its destination during a flight between the capital Moroni and the city of Fomboni on the island of Moheli.
“Search operations … have begun to find aircraft debris in the coastal area of Djoiezi confirming the crash,” the Comorian transport ministry said in a statement.
The Comorian government said the 12 passengers were Comorian and the two pilots were Tanzanian.
Senior police officer Abdel-Kader Mohamed said three speedboats were dispatched to the estimated crash site “allowing us to collect debris from the plane and items belonging to the passengers”.
“Tomorrow, we will continue the search. As long as the body is not found, there is hope,” he added.
Assistance is being provided to affected families on Moheli and the Grande Comore island of Moroni.
“I have no hope. From tomorrow we will start mourning my sister,” Idi Boina, 55, whose sister was one of the passengers, told AFP in Moroni.
Authorities said they had asked for help from the neighboring French territory of Mayotte.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and was automatically generated from the feed provided.)