Paris - No bodies have yet been recovered from the sea in the wake of the Yemenia Airways crash, a senior Comoros Islands official said Wednesday - contrary to earlier reports. On Tuesday, Comoran officials had said five bodies had been pulled from the waters off Grande Comore island where the Airbus A310 went down with 153 people on board. Only one survivor- a 14-year-old girl of Comoran origin living in France - has been found so far.
Abdillah Moigni, secretary-general of the transport ministry, said Wednesday that while five bodies were spotted in the water Tuesday and attempts made to reach them, stormy seas had prevented rescue workers from doing so.
"Until now, contrary to what we said yesterday, no body has been recovered," he told the German Press Agency dpa. The search resumed Wednesday in better weather with the help of French divers.
Mougni also said he had received no information confirming that the black boxes of the Airbus A310 had been found.
The junior minister for development of France, which had a number of nationals aboard and is helping in the rescue, Alain Joyandet told French television: "It seems as if they have been located.
Joyandet flew to the Comoros islands overnight to assist in the search for survivors.
