Air crash investigators check Madrid black boxes
Thursday, 21 Aug 2008 18:40
Three days of national mourning declared in Spain after 153 people die in Madrid airport crash
Investigators have begun examining data from two black boxes recovered from the wreckage of Spain's worst air disaster in a generation.
A three-day period of mourning has been declared by Spanish prime minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero following yesterday's plane crash at Madrid's Barajas airport, which killed 153 people.
On Thursday air investigators began examining the scene and data to determine what caused the Spanair MD82 to slide off the runway and catch fire.
Initial reports said the plane's left engine failed and ignited, causing the plane to career off the runway during takeoff.
Last night the airline confirmed 172 people – 162 passengers and ten crew members – were onboard Gran Canaris-bound flight JK 5002.
Nineteen people survived the crash, which took place on Wednesday afternoon, with four people said to be in a serious condition.
Miraculously, two babies are among the survivors, but 17 other children are believed to have died.
Last night Spanair released the names of the passengers involved but not their nationalities.
Spanish media claim there are a number of foreigners among the survivors, including German, Swedish, Chilean and Colombian nationals.
One survivor, Spanish national Ligia Palomino, told El Pais of the devastation she surveyed after regaining consciousness following the crash.
"I lifted my head and all I saw were scattered bodies," the doctor said ahead of a minute's silence in Madrid for the crash victims.
"I heard a horrible noise and I fled."
Rescue workers meanwhile have likened the crash-site to "hell", with the emergency service employees burning their hands removing victims' bodies.
At a press conference at Barajas airport on Thursday, Spanair's Scandinavian parent company SAS offered its deepest condolences for those involved and said compensation for victims would be arranged.
Yesterday's crash is the worst to hit Spain for decades. Fifteen years ago 180 people died in Madrid when an Avianca Boeing 747 went down, while in 1977 two 747s crashed at Tenerife airport, killing 583.