ATR-72 ditches into sea; most survive
08-06-2005, 09:30 AM
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ATR-72 ditches into sea; most survive
At Least 5 Confirmed Dead As Passenger Jet Flying to Tunisia Crash-Lands in Sea Off Sicily
By FRANCES D'EMILIO Associated Press Writer
The Associated Press
Aug. 6, 2005 - A Tunisian passenger plane carrying 39 people crash-landed in the Mediterranean Sea off Sicily on Saturday while trying to make an emergency landing because of engine trouble, and at least five people were killed, officials said.
The Italian news agency ANSA quoted the Palermo prosecutor as saying 14 people were killed, but Palermo fire official Francesco Burchieri could only confirm five deaths to The Associated Press. Burchieri also said at least nine people were missing, and fire department divers were searching the wreckage.
Fire officials said at least 25 people survived, and SKY TG24 TV said some were seen clinging to the plane's wings. The rescued people were in shock, fire official Giovanni Sacconi said.
SKY TG24 TV also said divers spotted six people in the wreckage of the ATR-72 jet, but it was unknown whether they were alive.
The plane left Bari, Italy, on its way to Djerba, Tunisia. It was operated by Tuninter, an affiliate of Tunisair, the national airline of Tunisia. Tuninter said it had no immediate word on victims.
"The plane had engine problems and was trying to (emergency) land in Palermo and had to land in the sea," Nicoletta Tommessile, a spokeswoman for Italy's air safety agency, ENAV, told the AP.
The plane contacted the Rome airport tower officials at 3:24 p.m. to report engine trouble and say it would have to land at Palermo's airport. Sixteen minutes later, the plane's crew told tower officials: "We're ditching in the sea," Tommessile said.
The ATR-72 is a twin-propeller plane built in France. It has a two-person crew and seats up to 74 passengers. Its maiden flight was in 1988.
By FRANCES D'EMILIO Associated Press Writer
The Associated Press
Aug. 6, 2005 - A Tunisian passenger plane carrying 39 people crash-landed in the Mediterranean Sea off Sicily on Saturday while trying to make an emergency landing because of engine trouble, and at least five people were killed, officials said.
The Italian news agency ANSA quoted the Palermo prosecutor as saying 14 people were killed, but Palermo fire official Francesco Burchieri could only confirm five deaths to The Associated Press. Burchieri also said at least nine people were missing, and fire department divers were searching the wreckage.
Fire officials said at least 25 people survived, and SKY TG24 TV said some were seen clinging to the plane's wings. The rescued people were in shock, fire official Giovanni Sacconi said.
SKY TG24 TV also said divers spotted six people in the wreckage of the ATR-72 jet, but it was unknown whether they were alive.
The plane left Bari, Italy, on its way to Djerba, Tunisia. It was operated by Tuninter, an affiliate of Tunisair, the national airline of Tunisia. Tuninter said it had no immediate word on victims.
"The plane had engine problems and was trying to (emergency) land in Palermo and had to land in the sea," Nicoletta Tommessile, a spokeswoman for Italy's air safety agency, ENAV, told the AP.
The plane contacted the Rome airport tower officials at 3:24 p.m. to report engine trouble and say it would have to land at Palermo's airport. Sixteen minutes later, the plane's crew told tower officials: "We're ditching in the sea," Tommessile said.
The ATR-72 is a twin-propeller plane built in France. It has a two-person crew and seats up to 74 passengers. Its maiden flight was in 1988.
