Malaysia plane crash kills 34, 16 survive

Malaysia plane crash kills 34, 16 survive

KOTA KINABALU (Reuter): Thirty-four passengers died and 16
survived a Malaysian Airline System (MAS) plane crash yesterday
in the Borneo island state of Sabah, the national carrier's worst
disaster in nearly two decades, police said.

Police in the Sabah town of Tawau said the charred remains of
34 passengers had been found, while two people were still
missing.

Earlier officials had said 40 bodies had been recovered, while
initial estimates had put the death toll as high as 47.

The ill-fated flight MH2133 from the Sabah state capital Kota
Kinabalu was carrying 49 passengers and four crew members. It was
attempting to land at Tawau airport when it overshot the runway
and plunged into neighboring squatter houses.

Police said nine people were injured on the ground, two
critically. They said most of the people living in the squatter
houses were Indonesians and Filipinos.

Eyewitnesses and MAS ground staff at Tawau said they heard a
big explosion and saw the Fokker 50 engulfed in flames after it
ploughed into 20 wooden squatter houses near the airport, the
national Bernama news agency reported.

One of the survivors, MAS steward Kamarul Bahrin, told Reuters
the plane had suddenly slowed and then picked up speed again just
before the crash.

"About 19 minutes before the landing at about 12.22 pm (0422
GMT), the plane suddenly slowed down and then picked up speed
again. I made my routine checks to see if the passengers were
buckled safely before I went back to my seat near the cockpit,"
he said.

Kamarul, who was admitted to a hospital with injuries, said:"
I felt the landing gear come out as we were landing", adding that
he felt the left side of the plane hit the ground before he heard
explosions.

Malaysia's Meteorological Department reported that the weather
around Tawau airport close to the time of the accident had been
cloudy but visibility on the runway was normal.

A spokesperson said visibility at the time of the crash was
more than 10 kilometers.

MAS chairman Tajudin Ramli said a team of experts from the
aircraft's Dutch manufacturers was flying in to investigate the
crash.

He told reporters in Kuala Lumpur that the Fokker 50 which
crashed had just had its engines checked two days ago and been
given a clean bill of health.

MAS shares fell to their year-low on news of the crash,
traders said.

They closed at 7.15 ringgit, down 30 cents. The previous low
for 1995 was 7.20 ringgit.