Peacekeeping plane crash in Egypt, 9 dead
A plane belonging to the multinational observer force that monitors the Egyptian-Israeli border crashed today in the Sinai peninsula, killing nine people, most of them French, security sources said. The sources said the aircraft crashed on a road and hit a truck, which exploded. They said four burned bodies were found in the wreckage, and that authorities were searching for the remains of five other passengers from the plane.
Security sources said they believed the crash was caused by mechanical problems, saying the plane went down while trying to make an emergency landing. Foul play was not suspected.
Eight French nationals were on board the plane, a twin engine propeller plane that was on a training and orientation mission at the time of the crash, Normand St. Pierre, the director-general of the multinational force, said. Pierre said he was checking into reports that a ninth person of a different nationality was also on board. Egyptian security sources said a ninth person was on the plane, and said he was a Canadian soldier.
Truck driver survives
The security sources said the driver of the truck had jumped from his vehicle and was believed to have survived. The sources said they were convinced all on board had died, but that due to the location and condition of the wreckage, all the bodies had not yet been recovered.
A French defence ministry spokesperson said the aircraft, a small plane called a Twin Otter, was "very likely" French.
Security sources said the plane had been heading from El-Gorah in northern Sinai to Saint Catherine in the south when it crashed near al-Nakhel in central Sinai after losing contact with air traffic control.
The Multinational Force and Observers mission was set up to supervise security provisions in the 1979 peace treaty between Egypt and Israel. The force has contingents from 11 countries: Australia, Canada, Colombia, Fiji, France, Hungary, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, the United States and Uruguay. - Reuters
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