ID :
197969
Fri, 07/29/2011 - 06:16
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https://oananews.org//node/197969
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Overnight search fails to locate 2 missing Asiana pilots
JEJU, South Korea, July 29 (Yonhap) -- Local maritime police said Friday they have yet to locate two pilots who went missing when their cargo plane crashed into the sea off the southern resort island of Jeju a day earlier.
The Boeing-747 aircraft, operated by South Korea's second-largest air carrier Asiana Airlines, crashed into waters about 107 kilometers west of the island early Thursday while trying to make an emergency landing due to mechanical problems.
Departing from Incheon International Airport bound for Pudong, China, the plane veered toward Jeju's airport before it crashed into the sea at around 4:28 a.m. The plane's two pilots have been missing ever since.
Rescue workers launched their overnight search near areas where the debris of the crashed plane was found, but failed to locate the two crew members, the Jeju Coast Guard said.
About 10 police and Navy vessels were dispatched for the search but they found no traces of the missing pilots, the maritime police said.
The police and Navy will send out three helicopters and two patrol planes on Friday in addition to the 10 search vessels as rescue efforts continue, they said.
"Although there are some swells in the offing, the overall weather is not unfavorable for the search operations," a Coast Guard official said.
The crash was presumably caused when some inflammable materials in the 58-ton cargo hold caught fire, the airline and maritime police said. But the exact cause will remain unknown until the aircraft's voice recorder and black box are secured and analyzed, the Coast Guard said on Thursday.
The Boeing-747 aircraft, operated by South Korea's second-largest air carrier Asiana Airlines, crashed into waters about 107 kilometers west of the island early Thursday while trying to make an emergency landing due to mechanical problems.
Departing from Incheon International Airport bound for Pudong, China, the plane veered toward Jeju's airport before it crashed into the sea at around 4:28 a.m. The plane's two pilots have been missing ever since.
Rescue workers launched their overnight search near areas where the debris of the crashed plane was found, but failed to locate the two crew members, the Jeju Coast Guard said.
About 10 police and Navy vessels were dispatched for the search but they found no traces of the missing pilots, the maritime police said.
The police and Navy will send out three helicopters and two patrol planes on Friday in addition to the 10 search vessels as rescue efforts continue, they said.
"Although there are some swells in the offing, the overall weather is not unfavorable for the search operations," a Coast Guard official said.
The crash was presumably caused when some inflammable materials in the 58-ton cargo hold caught fire, the airline and maritime police said. But the exact cause will remain unknown until the aircraft's voice recorder and black box are secured and analyzed, the Coast Guard said on Thursday.
