‘Most bodies are in pieces’

MORE than 30 charred bodies were retrieved from the wreckage of an aeroplane carrying Spanish peacekeepers that crashed into a mountain in northeastern Turkey yesterday.

All 74 people aboard were killed, officials said.

The charred bodies were strewn across a steep hillside near the town of Macka, 22 miles from Trabzon airport. Rescue workers said they were taking the remains to Trabzon.

The plane was split into two large pieces, with the nose facing the top of the hill and the tail further down.

Bits of smouldering wreckage were scattered across the wooded area. Fire fighters were at the scene.

Deputy Governor Nihat Nalbant of Trabzon said: “It will be very difficult to identify them. Most bodies are in pieces or dismembered.”

Television footage showed a huge pile of twisted and burned metal covering a wide area.

Reporters at the scene said soldiers’ diaries, family pictures, music CDs and a half-burned camera were scattered among the debris.

One witness, Sait Topcu, told CNN-Turk the plane was exploding in flames when he reached the site.

“I had to wait 15-20 minutes for the explosions to end before I could get near to it,” he said.

The army troops were from an engineering regiment and had just finished a four-month tour of duty, the Spanish newspaper El Mundo reported.

Until now, there had been no deaths among Spanish troops in the 17 months they had been involved in the Afghan peacekeeping mission, the newspaper reported.

“Our thoughts are with our comrades who were travelling to Spain, and our hearts go out to their families and friends,” acting peacekeeper commander Brigadier General Robert Bertholee said.

Aviation and medical experts from Spain’s Defence Ministry were heading to Turkey to help in the investigation and to co-ordinate the repatriation of the bodies.

They were scheduled to arrive later yesterdaywith Defence Minister Federico Trillo, a spokesman said.

The engineers recently worked on a road to Kabul’s airport that would give heavy fuel trucks easier access to the terminals, a spokesman said.

Spain’s King Juan Carlos was being briefed on the accident by top military officials and sent telegrams of condolences to victims’ relatives.

Pope John Paul II expressed his sorrow yesterday for the crash victims, and said he was praying for the “spiritual serenity” of those who lost loved ones.

The Afghan Foreign Ministry expressed its “deep sympathy” to the victims’ families, saying: “The Afghan people and government appreciated their hard work and sacrifices, and the positive contributions made by their governments.”