Wreckage of jetliner found in mangrove forest

THE wreckage of a Kenya Airways jetliner that crashed with 114 people aboard was found Sunday in a mangrove forest, an aviation official said, more than 40 hours after the plane disappeared outside Cameroon’s commercial capital.

There was no information on survivors.

The wreckage was found about six miles outside Douala, said Thomas Sobakam, chief of meteorology for the city’s airport. He said there was no word yet on those on board or the condition of the jetliner, which lost contact with the radio tower between 11 and 13 minutes after takeoff shortly after midnight on Saturday. He said fishermen led searchers to the site.

“It’s close enough that we could have seen it from the airport — but apparently there was no smoke or fire.”

The search had initially focused on the thickly forested mountains near the town of Lolodorf, about 90 miles southeast of this coastal city, a nearly five hour’s drive away on badly maintained roads.

The search was hampered by heavy rains. At the same time, aviation authorities sent out a ground crew to investigate claims by fishermen living in the swampy mangroves near the Douala airport. Several reported hearing a loud sound at the time of the suspected crash.

The Nairobi-bound plane, carrying 105 passengers and nine crew members from 27 different countries, took off an hour late due to a heavy rainstorm.

Among the passengers of the Boeing 737-800 was a Nairobi-based Associated Press correspondent, Anthony Mitchell, one of five Britons on a passenger list.