KENYA: Officials say search for a Kenya Airways plane which went missing near a densely forested area of southern Cameroon with 115 people on board is proving difficult

Kenya Airways says search is proving difficult as relative of missing flight passengers and crew leave Nairobi to find out more information. The search is on for a Kenya Airways passenger plane with 115 people on board, which went off the radar near a densely forested area of southern Cameroon on Saturday (May 5) shortly after takeoff. Search parties made up of military and aviation experts are scouring the area but Kenya Airways, Managing Director, Titus Naikuni said heavy rainfall, which has been hitting the area since yesterday is making the search difficult. "The area being searched is very dense equatorial forest. We have been told that there has been very heavy rainfall from yesterday and that heavy rainfall is still continuing and is affecting the search exercise, we have a helicopter which is there now and one fixed wing aircraft. So far we have not spotted, or they have not spotted the aircraft as yet. The dense equatorial forest, the heavy rainfall is not assisting in the search," Naikuni said at his third press briefing of the day. Cameroon state radio had earlier reported the plane crashed near Nieté, north of the border with Equatorial Guinea, after taking off from Cameroon's second city of Douala. Kenyan officials have not officially confirmed that the plane has crashed and say the plane is still missing. "A helicopter took off to comb the area. The area has now been identified as an area between Eseka to Ebolowa South east of Duala. And I have brought in a senior captain here called Paul Mwangi and he is going to take you through a map showing the flight path of the aircraft itself," said Naikuni. Aviation experts showed the flight map to journalists at the press conference on Saturday evening, highlighting the area where the search was concentrated. A report from the airline said there were Cameroonians, Indians, South Africans, Chinese, Nigerians, Ivorians, Britons and an Americans among the passengers, with nine Kenyan crew members.

ITN Source | May 6, 2007

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