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CNN Saturday Morning News
148 People Aboard Plane Crash Bound for Cairo
Aired January 03, 2004 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN ANCHOR: Getting to our top story, there was no distress call before that Egyptian charter jetliner plunged into the Red Sea today. The plane crashed shortly after takeoff from Sharm el- Sheik, Egypt, bound for Cairo, then Paris.
One hundred and forty-eight people were aboard, 135 of them French citizens.
CNN's Sandy Petrykowsky now joins us by phone from Sharm el- Sheik. Sandy, what can you tell us at this hour? The last information I saw just before I came down here said that initial reports say it was technical problems that led to this crash.
SANDY PETRYKOWSKY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on phone): Well, at this point, they are still trying to determine exactly what happened. Rescue crews are at the site. There's a helicopter and around 10 to 15 boats. Investigators and crews are pulling debris out of the water, looking for survivors, but none have been reported so far.
There's been no comment from the charter company, Flash Air (ph). They were the owner and operators of this Boeing 737, which, as you said, disappeared from the radar two to three minutes after takeoff.
The aviation ministry here has called it an accident, but there has been no cause determined at this time. It took off at 4:45 local time in the morning, before dawn. Other planes were taking off at the same time and reported no problems. The weather is warm and sunny, so it's a mystery at this point, one which they hope to unravel shortly.
Witnesses told Egyptian television that they heard a loud noise, a boom, and then people ran to the -- in the direction of the noise, trying to figure out what had happened.
The wreckage was found eight miles, or 12 kilometers, off shore, and it's clearly visible from the coast.
There were 135 passengers and 13 crew. They were French tourists here in Egypt for a vacation. The weather is warm, it's a beach resort. It's a very popular place to come to from Western Europe. It's a short flight, only about four hours, and it's a place where people come to do diving. It has some of the best coral reefs in the world, desert safaris, and a great place to come at a warm time of year here.
Back to you, Sean. CALLEBS: Well, Sandy, tell us, certainly, given the concerns in the world right now, no one at this point talking about terrorism or anything of that nature. But set the scene for us there. It must be unsettling to see all this activity right off the coast as we look at the pictures.
PETRYKOWSKY: It certainly is. This is, as I said, this is one of the most popular sites, and it's filled with tourists from Western Europe and from other places in the world. And right in downtown, and it's spread along the coast. It's a beautiful coastline, where the desert runs into the beautiful bright blue sea.
And people are down there, they're on vacation, they're swimming, and they can see a plane crash. So obviously that's something that's very disturbing, and it's going to put a very negative tone on their vacation at this time.
And on a side note, actually, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his family are vacationing in Sharm el-Sheik. And according to reports, we're -- Prime Minister Blair was to meet with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak later this afternoon. That remains to be seen whether that meeting happens, and what they say, Tom.
CALLEBS: OK, Sandy Petrykowsky, thank you very much. We'll continue to check in with you throughout the day, getting the latest information on this crash.
Now, as we have been reporting, there were 148 people aboard the Flash Airlines charter jet, 13 crew members and 135 French tourists. The Boeing 737 was to have stopped in Cairo to change planes, then fly on to Paris. There are emotional scenes near the airport in the French capital today, as relatives and friends gather to try and get the latest information.
We will have a live report from Paris at the half hour.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired January 3, 2004 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN ANCHOR: Getting to our top story, there was no distress call before that Egyptian charter jetliner plunged into the Red Sea today. The plane crashed shortly after takeoff from Sharm el- Sheik, Egypt, bound for Cairo, then Paris.
One hundred and forty-eight people were aboard, 135 of them French citizens.
CNN's Sandy Petrykowsky now joins us by phone from Sharm el- Sheik. Sandy, what can you tell us at this hour? The last information I saw just before I came down here said that initial reports say it was technical problems that led to this crash.
SANDY PETRYKOWSKY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on phone): Well, at this point, they are still trying to determine exactly what happened. Rescue crews are at the site. There's a helicopter and around 10 to 15 boats. Investigators and crews are pulling debris out of the water, looking for survivors, but none have been reported so far.
There's been no comment from the charter company, Flash Air (ph). They were the owner and operators of this Boeing 737, which, as you said, disappeared from the radar two to three minutes after takeoff.
The aviation ministry here has called it an accident, but there has been no cause determined at this time. It took off at 4:45 local time in the morning, before dawn. Other planes were taking off at the same time and reported no problems. The weather is warm and sunny, so it's a mystery at this point, one which they hope to unravel shortly.
Witnesses told Egyptian television that they heard a loud noise, a boom, and then people ran to the -- in the direction of the noise, trying to figure out what had happened.
The wreckage was found eight miles, or 12 kilometers, off shore, and it's clearly visible from the coast.
There were 135 passengers and 13 crew. They were French tourists here in Egypt for a vacation. The weather is warm, it's a beach resort. It's a very popular place to come to from Western Europe. It's a short flight, only about four hours, and it's a place where people come to do diving. It has some of the best coral reefs in the world, desert safaris, and a great place to come at a warm time of year here.
Back to you, Sean. CALLEBS: Well, Sandy, tell us, certainly, given the concerns in the world right now, no one at this point talking about terrorism or anything of that nature. But set the scene for us there. It must be unsettling to see all this activity right off the coast as we look at the pictures.
PETRYKOWSKY: It certainly is. This is, as I said, this is one of the most popular sites, and it's filled with tourists from Western Europe and from other places in the world. And right in downtown, and it's spread along the coast. It's a beautiful coastline, where the desert runs into the beautiful bright blue sea.
And people are down there, they're on vacation, they're swimming, and they can see a plane crash. So obviously that's something that's very disturbing, and it's going to put a very negative tone on their vacation at this time.
And on a side note, actually, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his family are vacationing in Sharm el-Sheik. And according to reports, we're -- Prime Minister Blair was to meet with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak later this afternoon. That remains to be seen whether that meeting happens, and what they say, Tom.
CALLEBS: OK, Sandy Petrykowsky, thank you very much. We'll continue to check in with you throughout the day, getting the latest information on this crash.
Now, as we have been reporting, there were 148 people aboard the Flash Airlines charter jet, 13 crew members and 135 French tourists. The Boeing 737 was to have stopped in Cairo to change planes, then fly on to Paris. There are emotional scenes near the airport in the French capital today, as relatives and friends gather to try and get the latest information.
We will have a live report from Paris at the half hour.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
