Plane crash video released

A video has been released showing a plane's final moments before it crashed at Brazil's busiest airport, killing around 200 people.Bodies are still being pulled from the smoking wreckage of the Airbus A320 that was carrying 186 passengers and crew when it slid off the short runway at Sao Paulo's Congonhas airport in heavy rain.The plane hurdled a busy road before it slammed into a gas station and cargo terminal.Firefighters have found 176 bodies so far. Three severely injured victims had been rushed to hospitals but then died, raising the official toll to 179.One firefighter said the death toll could reach 200, counting casualties on the ground. Dental records and jewellery are being used to identify victims.State officials said they did not expect any survivors from the flight operated by Brazil's biggest carrier, TAM Linhas Aereas.At the TAM cargo building hit by the plane, five workers were missing. Eleven were hospitalised.TAM Chief Executive Marco Antonio Bologna said the plane was in perfect condition and flown by experienced pilots. But he avoided explicitly blaming the recently repaved runway, which critics say was not ready for use in the rain.The airfield has now reopened using an alternate runway. The mood was sombre, with families of victims weeping and some traveller reluctant to fly."A plane just crashed, it's hard not to be scared," said Jose Lenza, who opted to drive to Brasilia instead of flying.Rescue teams have found the black box flight recorder in the wreckage, which is still spewing black smoke. Large yellow cranes helped lift rubble from ruined buildings.The crash highlighted long-standing safety concerns about Sao Paulo's airport, which is known for its slippery runways. It followed months of chaos in the country's air transport system.In September, 154 people were killed when a Brazilian Boeing 737 clipped wings at 37,000ft with a private jet and crashed in the Amazon jungle.© Independent Television News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.

ITN | July 19, 2007

Tags:. .far. .box. .alternate. .operated. .executive