Black boxes from crashed Ethiopian plane found

Now Lebanon ^ | February 6, 2010

[NCjim]

Searchers have located the black boxes from the crashed Ethiopian plane, Public Works and Transportation Minister Ghazi Aridi told AFP on Saturday.

"The boxes have been found under the rear part of the fuselage," which was found on Saturday morning, the minister said.

"Lebanese army divers have gone down to retrieve them, but this operation will take time," he added.

Aridi spoke during a press conference on Saturday, saying that Syrian Public and Transportation Minister Makram Obeid informed him that additional parts of the plane were found off the coast of Latakia in Syria.

According to Aridi, the parts would be delivered to the Lebanese authorities on Monday.

The Ocean Alert vessel has pinpointed the location of the rear section of the plane to a spot off the coast of Naameh, he said, adding that the wreckage is 45 meters under water.

He also said a search team dived under water to take pictures in the area where the parts where located, adding that the pictures would help reveal the situation.

“We reached an advance phase. It could be the last phase of the search to locate the victims’ bodies,” Aridi added.

He added that he hopes the other sections of the plane would be found soon, along with the bodies of the remaining victims.

He also said that all the teams involved in the search operation held a meeting after the parts of the plane were located.

The stage is divided into stages, with the main task being to find the victims’ bodies, Aridi added.

He also said that the search teams are working carefully to avoid contaminating evidence and affecting the outcome of the investigation.

According to Aridi, the Ocean Alert vessel is being instructed on where to move by the commission in charge of the search.

[happinesswithoutpeace]

/mark

[alexander_busek]

I here I had been bracing myself to learn that the black box had been found - in the window case of a pawn shop in Dar-Es-Salaam.

Regards,