By IANS
New Delhi : Rescue teams Tuesday waded through a mangrove swamp to recover some badly mangled bodies of the 114 people, including 15 Indians, who died in the Kenyan Airways plane crash near Douala in Cameroon, with officials saying it was near impossible to identify the dead or their nationalities.
"Bodies are in very bad shape. It's not possible to identify them yet," India's acting high commissioner to Kenya Ketan Shukla told IANS from Nairobi.
"The area is so swampy. It will take some time before all the bodies are recovered," he added.
"There are no survivors. That's what we are told by Kenyan Airways," he said.
The Indian mission in Nigeria has deputed a senior official to help the families of the 15 Indian victims who were aboard the ill-fated Kenyan Airways plane that crashed near Douala Saturday killing all the 114 on board.
Kenya Airways CEO Titus Naikuni confirmed late Monday that the wreckage of flight KQ 507 from Douala to Nairobi was located 20 km southeast of Douala, the largest city in Cameroon.
There was no information about survivors or any possible casualties, he added.
"The search and rescue teams are still at the accident site. As the place is inaccessible to vehicles, the recovery of bodies and investigation is expected to be a difficult and slow process," external affairs ministry spokesperson Navtej Sarna said here.
He said the High Commission of India, Nigeria, has deputed a first secretary (consular) to Douala to coordinate and assist the families and authorities in identification of the deceased Indians as well as to transport the bodies that are recovered.
Kenya Airways has also announced that they would bear the cost of two return tickets per boarded passenger for the next of kin who wish to travel to Douala.
Accommodation would also be provided for a reasonable duration by the Kenya Airways.
Latest information on the probe into the crash is also being posted at Kenya Airways website at www.kenya-airways.com. A passenger information centre has been opened at the Intercontinental Hotel, Nairobi, to help relatives and friends of the victims.
The aircraft originally took off Friday from Abidjan in the Ivory Coast and made an interim stop at Douala. The final leg to Nairobi was delayed about an hour by heavy rain, finally taking off shortly after midnight.