Mystery air crash

15 April 2004

PARIS-  Investigators were trying to discover Thursday how two small planes – one Spanish and one French – collided near the French Mediterranean coast, the port authority of Toulon said.

The identities and nationalities of the two victims have not been released, the spokesman said.

It appears that there were three people in the Spanish plane and two in the French one, but it is not clear which countries they were from.

Search and rescue operations were to continue throughout Wednesday night.

“Time is running out” because the water temperature is cold right now, maritime sources said.

The two bodies were recovered by a fisherman and were taken to one of the search boats, the spokesman said.

Only a small part of the planes’ wreckage can be seen in the area where the accident occurred, according to information from the port authority.

The two Cessna aircraft, which had taken off from the Montpellier airport, collided some 90 kilometres (56 miles) south of the port of Sete.

Police were working to identify those who were travelling in the planes, which, according to initial reports, had been contracted by fishing companies, which were looking for areas to work in.

[Copyright EFE with Expatica]

                                      Subject: Spanish news