Divers search waters for more Gulf jet crash clues

Rescue workers remove a piece of the wreckage from the Gulf Air Airbus A320 crash on Monday

MANAMA, Bahrain (Reuters) -- More than 70 divers searched waters off Bahrain on Tuesday to salvage wreckage that might give clues to why a Gulf Air plane crashed in the area killing all 143 people aboard.

Almost a week after the Airbus A320 plunged into the shallow water as it approached Bahrain airport last Wednesday, divers were still recovering huge parts of the plane's fuselage as well as personal belongings.

Colonel James Windsor, who is coordinating the Bahraini side of the search and rescue operation, told Reuters at the site that some 70 divers were currently working in a two sq km area to salvage more wreckage.

He said efforts had been made on Monday to lift one of the plane's wings and further attempts would be made on Tuesday.

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Divers on Tuesday recovered tires and part of a wing as well as small pieces of the fuselage and an engine.

The men took turns to rest in air-conditioned tents near the site to escape temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) and high humidity as trucks carried the recovered wreckage to a warehouse at Bahrain airport.

Windsor said a vessel with specialized equipment sent by Saudi Arabia to assist in the recovery operation had arrived at the site, "but it is too shallow for it to take part in the operation. We are using a Bahrain Defense Force crane at the moment."

"After that, we will use a helicopter to spot anything left," he added.

Investigators from Bahrain, Oman, France, the United States and planemaker Airbus Industrie have held several meetings since Sunday and visited the site to try to determine the cause of the crash of flight GF072 from Cairo.

Gulf Air has said the Bahraini pilot aborted one landing and went around for a second attempt, but reported no technical problems and gave no indication of concern.

Bahraini officials said there were no indications of an explosion.

Most of the victims of the crash, including 30 children under the age of 12 and many families, have been flown home or buried in Bahrain, but some bodies are still in Bahrain due to identification problems.

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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