Death toll from Madrid plane crash reaches 154

Death toll from Madrid plane crash reaches 154
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By h.b. - Aug 24, 2008 - 4:35 PM

The Minister for the Interior, Alfredo Pérez-Rubalcaba (left), speaking outside the Niño Jesús Hospital in Madrid - Photo EFE

The identification of the victims' bodies is proving more difficult than at first thought.

The number of fatalities from the Madrid plane crash at Barajas last Wednesday has now risen to 154 following the death last night of one of those critically injured in the tragedy, María L. Estévez González.

Of the 18 others who remain in different Madrid hospitals, a further two are reported to be in a very serious condition.
Meanwhile the judge who is investigating the tragedy has said that he found about the existence of a video of the accident through the media. The video is considered to be of vital importance to the investigation and shows how the pilot used almost all of the 4.5 km long runway before attempting his take-off. There is no evidence of a fire or explosion in the left hand engine of the plane as had been speculated. Instead the craft fails to gain height, veers first to the left and then to the right, and bounces against the ground several times before bursting into flames. The video belongs to the Spanish Airport Authority AENA.

The airline involved, Spanair, has told a meeting of family members of the victims that there is no evidence as yet of any human error in the accident. Experts now consider that the plane suffered from a lack of power during the take-off, for one or a combination of reasons.

The identification of the victims’ bodies is proving more difficult than expected. Interior Minister, Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, said that he was no longer optimistic that all the bodies could be correctly identified by DNA. He said however that they would scrupulously respect the identification of the victims and that the process would be completed as quickly as possible. 62 bodies have so far been named, leaving 91 still to be identified.

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