Cameroon Plane Crash

The Saturday crash of a Kenyan Airways plane killed 114 people, mostly African. However, passengers from 27 nations including China, India and Europe also perished. Using chain saws and machetes to make a path, rescuers reached the crash scene today and reported no survivors.

"The plane crashed into mangrove swamp surrounded by forest and the explosion made a crater, creating a mini lake filled with water, mud and kerosene, full of clothes and debris," said medical doctor Patricia Ngamga, on her way back from the site.

"The nose of the plane plunged into the mud and the tail had blown off and there isn't any more," she said before being whisked away by soldiers who kept journalists behind a police cordon marked with yellow tape.

Red Cross workers laid down white plastic sheets while some of their colleagues went towards the crash site carrying stretchers, and helicopters and planes buzzed overhead.

"There are no chances that there will be any survivors because almost the entire body of the plane was buried inside the swamp," Jean-Pierre Nana, director of Cameroon's civil protection department told Reuters.

The cause of the crash has not been determined. In my estimation, the possibility of terrorism has to be considered, especially in light of the fact that the plane was virtually brand-new. In terms of usable aircraft life, the Boeing 737-800 was in its infancy at six months old.