January 31, 2000
Web posted at: 12:42 a.m. EST (0542 GMT)

In this story: Emergency workers comb beach Plane was to be replaced RELATED STORIES, SITES

From staff and wire reports

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast -- At least eight people have survived a Kenya Airways jet's plunge into the Atlantic Ocean, airline officials said early Monday, as rescuers searched for more survivors off the West African coast.

The survivors were taken to local hospitals, airline officials in Abidjan told CNN. There was no immediate word on their conditions.

Kenya Airways flight 431 crashed a short distance offshore after taking off from Ivory Coast's Abidjan airport Sunday en route to Lagos, Nigeria. The Airbus 310-300 carried 169 passengers and a crew of 10, Kenya Airways officials said.

Though the number reported to have survived the crash grew in the early-morning hours Monday, rescuers said numerous bodies were floating in the sea around the crash site. Families of passengers reportedly aboard the flight were gathering at airports in Ivory Coast and Nigeria.

MESSAGE BOARD Air safety     Hotlines Kenya Airways crisis center in Nairobi: 254-2-823-489

Emergency workers comb beach

Ambulances were said to be waiting on the beach. Emergency officials including firefighters, police officers, soldiers and divers were combing the beach near the crash scene about two kilometers (1.2 miles) east of the airport, but had found no other survivors or corpses.

The French Embassy in Abidjan said one of its military helicopters was aiding in the rescue effort.

According to Alistair Thomson, a Reuters correspondent, witnesses said "they thought the sound of the plane taking off wasn't normal. Also, at least one person has told me of hearing bangs, one possibly in the air, before the plane hit the water."

Kenya Airways flies from Abidjan to Lagos three times a week.

A Kenya Airways spokesman confirmed an earlier report that two crew members on board were employees of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, a Kenya Airways partner.

Kenya Airways has opened a crisis center at its Nairobi headquarters, and company officials have scheduled a news conference for Monday at 0300 GMT.

Plane was to be replaced

The aircraft was one of four Kenya Airways Airbus 310s scheduled to be replaced by within the next two years.

"It's too early to make any statements on the cause," said Hugo Baas, a KLM spokesman. "The airway has a good name in safety standards."

Nairobi Bureau Chief Alphonso Van Marsh, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.