Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

World

Identifying Mali air crash victims ‘could take years’

-

Identifying the victims from last week's Air Algerie crash in Mali "could take weeks, months and maybe years", Algeria's chief of police said on Thursday.

An Air Algerie McDonnell Douglas 83 flying from Burkina Faso to Algiers crashed in northern Mali last Thursday, killing all 118 people on board.

"It is too early to talk about identification, it is an operation that could take weeks, months and maybe years. The important thing is to find the truth," Abdelkader Kara Bouhadba told reporters.

He added that identifying the victims' bodies was a "human priority".

Algeria's Chief of Police and head of national security Abdelkader Kara Bouhadba speaks during ...
Algeria's Chief of Police and head of national security Abdelkader Kara Bouhadba speaks during a press conference in the capital Algiers on July 31, 2014
Farouk Batiche, AFP

Thirteen Algerian forensic police specialists have travelled to the site of the crash in the Gossi region, around 150 kilometres (95 miles) from Gao in northeastern Mali, along with counterparts from France, Mali and Spain.

Among the 118 dead were 54 French nationals, eight Lebanese, 23 Burkinabe, six Algerians and six Spaniards.

Bouhadba said it had not been possible to analyse several samples collected at the crash site because conditions there were "inhospitable" to forensic work and conservation of the bodies.

But Ali Feragui, deputy head of the forensic police, said "all the passengers on board the aircraft will be identified (thanks to) the techniques and experience of the different experts".

A man lays flowers in tribute to a relative he lost in the crash of the Air Algerie flight AH5017  a...
A man lays flowers in tribute to a relative he lost in the crash of the Air Algerie flight AH5017, at the crash site in Mali's Gossi region, on July 29, 2014
Sia Kambou, AFP

Forensic experts have resorted to using DNA samples to identify the dead, mostly because of the state the bodies were found in. The extreme heat at the crash site has further complicated their work.

President Francois Hollande has said the remains of all passengers on the plane -- not just the French -- would be flown to France.

Identifying the victims from last week’s Air Algerie crash in Mali “could take weeks, months and maybe years”, Algeria’s chief of police said on Thursday.

An Air Algerie McDonnell Douglas 83 flying from Burkina Faso to Algiers crashed in northern Mali last Thursday, killing all 118 people on board.

“It is too early to talk about identification, it is an operation that could take weeks, months and maybe years. The important thing is to find the truth,” Abdelkader Kara Bouhadba told reporters.

He added that identifying the victims’ bodies was a “human priority”.

Algeria's Chief of Police and head of national security Abdelkader Kara Bouhadba speaks during ...

Algeria's Chief of Police and head of national security Abdelkader Kara Bouhadba speaks during a press conference in the capital Algiers on July 31, 2014
Farouk Batiche, AFP

Thirteen Algerian forensic police specialists have travelled to the site of the crash in the Gossi region, around 150 kilometres (95 miles) from Gao in northeastern Mali, along with counterparts from France, Mali and Spain.

Among the 118 dead were 54 French nationals, eight Lebanese, 23 Burkinabe, six Algerians and six Spaniards.

Bouhadba said it had not been possible to analyse several samples collected at the crash site because conditions there were “inhospitable” to forensic work and conservation of the bodies.

But Ali Feragui, deputy head of the forensic police, said “all the passengers on board the aircraft will be identified (thanks to) the techniques and experience of the different experts”.

A man lays flowers in tribute to a relative he lost in the crash of the Air Algerie flight AH5017  a...

A man lays flowers in tribute to a relative he lost in the crash of the Air Algerie flight AH5017, at the crash site in Mali's Gossi region, on July 29, 2014
Sia Kambou, AFP

Forensic experts have resorted to using DNA samples to identify the dead, mostly because of the state the bodies were found in. The extreme heat at the crash site has further complicated their work.

President Francois Hollande has said the remains of all passengers on the plane — not just the French — would be flown to France.

AFP
Written By

With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.

You may also like:

Business

South Korean ministries and police said Thursday they were blocking DeepSeek's access to work computers.

Business

Asian markets rose tracking gains on Wall Street and following the US Postal Service's U-turn on a ban on parcels from China and Hong...

World

M23 called its first public meeting after capturing the eastern city of Goma - Copyright AFP TED ALJIBERwandan-backed M23 called its first public meeting...

Tech & Science

Britain's Labour government said changes to planning laws will speed up the country's rollout of mini-nuclear reactors.