Suriname authorities search for crashed plane
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| Published on Saturday, August 9, 2008 |
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By Ivan Cairo
Caribbean Net News Suriname Correspondent
Email: ivan@caribbeannetnews.com
PARAMARIBO, Suriname: Authorities in Suriname on Thursday launched a search and rescue mission to find a small aircraft which reportedly crashed in a swamp area near the Amerindian village Galibi in east Suriname close to the border with French Guiana.
According to villagers who reported the incident to local authorities, a small two-engine aircraft coming from French Guiana went down in the area after it flew over the village. Reports indicate that air traffic controllers in the capital Paramaribo received a distress signal from an unidentified plane.
Meanwhile John Veira, head of the Aviation Department, and army spokesman Captain Romeo Wesenhagen, disclosed that the reportedly ill-fated plane is not a local aircraft.
“All local aircrafts are accounted for. They are either in the air or on the ground while being prepared for their next flight,” said Veira in an interview.
French authorities meanwhile have indicated that there are no French aircraft missing, which leads to suspicion that it could be an illegal plane.
District Commissioner Theo Sondrejoe confirmed that police officers and other personnel are still in the area searching for the plane, while authorities were said to have sent in a helicopter to conduct a mission from the air.
According to the district commissioner, a villager apparently saw the aircraft going down and subsequently heard an explosion. However a search party has not yet located the wreckage due to the rough and inaccessible nature of the terrain.
“I was informed by the chief of the village that one of the villagers saw a small white aircraft going down followed by an explosion,” said Sondrejoe.
Chief Kajoeramarie of the neigbouring village Langamankondre noted that he saw the airplane fly over his village and several individuals who were in the woods related to him that they had also seen the aircraft before the engines abruptly stopped.
“It seems like it went down and we are waiting for two hunters who were close to that area to return with possibly more details,” said the chief.
He further disclosed that a police team accompanied by several guides from the village went into the swamp to locate the plane.
“It is a very inaccessible area and my guess is that a search operation with a helicopter would have better results,” said Kajoeramarie.
“At this moment the only thing that I can confirm is that we have received information about an object that went down, possibly an aircraft,” said John Veira from the Aviation Department.
He further noted that neither the Surinamese nor the French authorities have reported a plane missing.
“Currently we are assisting the judicial authorities with their investigations into this reported incident,” the aviation official said.
“We are verifying all incoming reports and information and assisting the police which are already in the area,” he added.
On April 3 a two-engine Antonov aircraft of Blue Wing Airline crashed near Benzdorp close to the border with French Guiana during a botched attempt to land, killing all 19 people on board, including a French family of six.
Authorities expect that the investigation into this incident could take up to 18 months. Parts of the wreckage will be sent to Russia later this year for examination. | | | | Reads : 146 |
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