Oct. 23--SHARJAH -- Forensic analysis is under way to identify the bodies of the six people on board the Sudanese cargo plane that crashed in Sharjah on Wednesday amid pressure from relatives and friends of the deceased in Sudan.

Forensic experts of Sharjah police said vital tests remained before they could all be correctly identified and hoped to be ready for a handover by Friday or Saturday. So far two have been correctly tagged.

Azza Air Transport, operators of the ill-fated aircraft, has kept a plane ready to ship the immediate family members of the six dead, Azza representative Ahmed Gasam Al Seed said.

Speaking at a condolence meeting in Dubai on Thursday, Al Seed said the crashed plane had been gifted by the late Shaikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan to the late Sudanese leader Jaafar Nimeiri in the 1970s. "It came from the UAE and ended here," he added ruefully.

The technical committee of the Sharjah civil aviation has collected evidence, including DNA of the victims, from the crash site. Two representatives of Sudan's Civil Aviation Authority reached the UAE late on Thursday to assist in investigations.

Abdulwahab Mohammed Al Roomi, Director-General of Civil Aviation, Sharjah, said the technical committee proposed to send the crucial black box overseas for follow-up. It is a device that retains last-minute details of the flight.

He said the aviation tower of Sharjah had video footage of the flight, showing the take-off, effort to abort, and eventual crash in a sandy patch 200 metres from the runway.

The flight took off at 3.29pm and crashed soon after. It was carrying payload of 31 tonnes, in addition to 30 tonnes of fuel, which was within the prescribed limit, Al Roomi said.

The home country of the aircraft was responsible for maintenance, he said, and Sharjah airport would not allow any plane that was not air-worthy. "The crashed flight had all certificates to prove its validity for operation internationally," he said.

He maintained both UAE and Sudan were members of the International Civil Aviation Organisation and had, in the past, stopped an aircraft of a certain make with a poor safety record.

Confirming the payload, Ahmed Jasim, deputy director of Azza Air Transport, said work was on to account for material losses in the accident.

"Stop old planes from flying and prevent the death of innocent people," Dubai-based Sudanese legal advisor Murtada Majed said while condoling the death of six persons on board the ageing cargo plane.

An Azza employee said all administrative and technical procedures had been duly followed and the plane was in good condition. "We should not jump to conclusions," he said, "and wait for the investigations to be complete."

news@khaleejtimes.com

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