Yemen airline cancels route after Comoros crash

Bahia Bakari holds her father's hand as she lies on a stretcher in a plane after landing in France.
Yemenia Airways is canceling all its flights between Yemen and the Comoros Islands after this week’s crash on the same route, the airline said Saturday.

One more flight between Sanaa and Moroni is scheduled for Sunday, but all flights on the route are canceled after that, Yemenia said. A Yemenia Airways Airbus 310 went down early Tuesday, carrying 142 passengers and 11 crew members. It originated in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, and went down just miles from Comoros’ capital, Moroni. One person, 13-year-old French girl Bahia Basari, survived for hours in the Indian Ocean clinging to the debris of the downed plane. She arrived home in France on Thursday, where she was reunited with her father. Watch teen survivor from crash ยป She is the only known survivor from the crash, which killed her mother.

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The Airbus 310 plane tried to land at the airport in Moroni, then made a U-turn before it crashed, Comoros Vice President Idi Nadhoim said. The Comoros Islands are between the east African country of Tanzania and the island nation of Madagascar. French and U.S. divers are helping to search for debris and bodies. The French military has detected a rescue beacon, but rescue workers say the wreckage is difficult to reach in deep waters. The plane’s data recorders have yet to be found, said Capt. Mohammed Abdel Rahman Abdel Qadir, a spokesman for Yemen’s civil aviation department.

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