Lebanese Delegation in Mali Trying to Transfer AH5017 Victims' Bodies despite 'Difficulties'
A Lebanese delegation currently present in Mali to follow up on the doomed Air Algerie passenger plane's case is trying to transfer the bodies of the Lebanese victims who were on board despite the “difficulty” of the process.
A statement released by the media office of Higher Defense Council chief General Mohammed Kheir said on Wednesday that investigation is ongoing to reveal the details surrounding flight AH5017's crash, elaborating on the work of the Lebanese delegation in Mali.
"We are trying to bring as much bodies as we can with us to Lebanon, but this is very difficult because of the bodies' conditions due to the accident and to weather conditions” in the region, the statement said.
France had asked for Lebanon's permission to transfer the Lebanese passengers' bodies to Paris to conduct the necessary DNA tests, and compare them with samples taken from their families.
At least 19 Lebanese passengers were on board the ill-fated Air Algerie plane, which had taken off on July 24 from Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso bound for Algiers.
The wreckage of the McDonnell Douglas 83 plane, operated by Spanish charter firm Swiftair on behalf of Air Algerie, was located 50 kilometers (31 miles) north of the Burkina Faso border in Mali's Gossi region.
France bore the brunt of the disaster, with some 54 French citizens among the overall death toll of between 116 and 118, according to unexplained conflicting figures given by the carrier and French authorities.
Travelers from Burkina Faso, Algeria, Spain, Canada, Germany and Luxembourg also died in the crash.
The two black box flight recorders of the jet arrived in Paris from Mali on Monday to help investigators identify the causes of the crash.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius revealed also on Monday that the pilots of the Air Algerie had been asked to change route then to turn back before all contact was lost.
"What we know for sure is that the weather was bad that night,” he said.
S.D.B.
Y.R.
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