Rescue workers had recovered a total of 83 dead bodies at the crash site of a China Airlines passenger plane by late Sunday night, and were busy continuing with their rescue operations.
It's also reported that positions of the two black boxes have been determined, shedding light on the cause of the accident. But the boxes are unlikely to be recovered soon.
Passenger Flight CI-611 undertaken by a Boeing 747-200 of China Airlines, bound for Hong Kong, took off from the international airport in Taoyuan Saturday afternoon. It crashed less than half an hour later into the sea off the island county of Penghu. Some 225 people were on board, including 206 passengers and 19 crew.
External assistance for the air crash
Taiwan aviation officials said Sunday that the ill-fated plane experienced "in flight breakup" and broke into four large pieces at an altitude over 30,000 feet. Causes of the crash are not known at present.
An aviation safety official in Taiwan said Sunday that no possibilities could be ruled out in locating the cause of the plane crash. A senior executive from the airlines said it was urgent to find the black boxes before their power run out.
The ARATS has provided to China Airlines a list of 35 family members of the nine mainland victims in the accident who would go to Taiwan. The SEF pledged to "provide full support within its capacity" to those family members going to Taiwan.
The Taiwan authorities for flight safety required China Airlines to suspend operations of all its Boeing 747-200 planes until they pass safety tests. Historical data show the airlines has suffered 10-odd air disasters since 1969.
Boeing has sent a team of experts to Taiwan to help find out the cause of the crash.
According to local aviation authorities, flights on the island flights remained normal Sunday.
( May 27, 2002)
