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103 die in plane crash, boy survives

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A Libyan Airbus plane crashed early on Wednesday on landing at Tripoli airport, killing 103 people on board, most of them Dutch, while a ten-year-old boy was the sole survivor, officials said.

Until now 96 bodies of victims of different nationalities have been found in the air crash in the Libyan capital of Tripoli, the state-run Jana news agency reported.

Rescue workers examine the debris of the crashed plane at the spot in Libyan capital of Tripoli, May 12, 2010. Afriqiyah Airways said in a statement there were 93 passengers and 11 crews aboard the plane, which crashed at Tripoli airport early Wednesday morning. [Xinhua photo]

A ten-year-old Dutch boy survived the crash, and he is now under treatment and in good condition in a Libyan hospital, Libya's Transport Minister Mohammed Ali Zidan was quoted by Jana as telling a press conference.

Libya Air Crash

The Doha-based al-Jazeera news channel aired a footage showing the sole survivor receiving medical treatment at a Tripoli hospital with his face covered by an oxygen mask. A doctor at the hospital was quoted by the network as saying that the child is suffering several bone fractures in his legs but he is in a stable condition.

An Airbus A330 plane of Libya's Afriqiyah Airways, flying from Johannesburg to Tripoli and carrying 104 people including 11 crew members on board, crashed during the process of landing at about 6: 00 a.m. (0400 GMT), according to airport authorities.

The minister said that while the nationalities of the victims of the Flight 8U771 reportedly bound for London's Gatwick airport had yet to be assessed, "I can say that there are Libyans, Africans and Europeans." Yet, al-Jazeera said the passengers list included 62 Dutch nationals and citizens from Finland, South Africa, Germany, Britain, France and Zimbabwe, as well as two Libyan nationals.

The minister added that the ministry will form a special committee to investigate the cause of the crash, the report added. According to the Doha-based network, the Libyan authorities demanded three France-based experts from Airbus and four French investigators to travel to the country and help in a probe into the crash. The two black boxes of the plane have already been recovered.

Backgrounder

• Major air accidents in recent years

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