Posted on 01/03/2004 7:40:10 AM PST by Pikamax
France asks that manslaughter inquiry be opened into crash
PARIS : French Justice Minister Dominique Perben asked prosecutors to open a preliminary inquiry for manslaughter following the crash of a plane in the Red Sea that killed 148 people, most of them French, his ministry said.
The ministry said the request "does not prejudge in any way the causes of the catastrophe", but simply provides a legal framework for French and Egyptian investigators as they conduct their probe.
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The request allows France to send investigators to the scene to work with their Egyptian counterparts to determine the cause of the crash, judicial sources said.
A chartered Boeing 737 crashed into the Red Sea early Saturday shortly after takeoff from the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, killing 148 people -- 135 French tourists and 13 crew members.
Perben also asked prosecutors in the Paris suburb of Bobigny, who have jurisdiction over Charles de Gaulle airport outside Paris, to mobilize support groups in order to provide psychological counseling to the victims' relatives.
In recent years, when French nationals have been involved in such accidents, it has become standard practice to open an inquiry in both France and the country where the incident takes place, court sources said.
France's junior transport minister Dominique Bussereau said "entire families" from various parts of the country had been killed in the crash.
- AFP
Without the U.N.'s permission? How unilateral of them.
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From BBC article Egyptian airliner crashes in sea: (last paragraph)
"The Flash Airlines aircraft was only 10 years old, was regularly serviced in Norway, and captained by a pilot with more than 5,000 hours of flying experience."
And then after 5-10 years of French investigation the U.S. will get involved an wrap it up in a day!
Just simply opening an investigation as to why this tragic mishap came about would be so un-French.
No they must open an inquiry for manslaughter. After all any other types of inquiries may wind up biting them.
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