France's civil aviation authority announced yesterday that all
153 passengers killed in a Colombian jetliner crash in western
Venezuela earlier in the day were French citizens.
"According to our information, the 153 passengers were from
Martinique," said a spokesperson of the French authorities in
Martinique and the General Directorate for Civil Aviation (DGAC) in
Paris.
Colombian officials had said earlier that the West Caribbean
Airways plane, flying from Panama to Martinique, had been carrying
152 passengers and an eight-person Colombian crew.
According to the Martinique tour company that had chartered the
MD-82 aircraft, Globe Trotters, the victims were returning home
after a weeklong vacation in Panama.
France's air accident investigation office is reportedly sending
three people to Venezuela and two to Martinique to investigate the
cause of the crash.
In a statement, French President Jacques Chirac expressed his
condolences to the families of the victims and to those close to
them.
Colonized in 1635 and officially annexed in 1674, Martinique is
now an overseas department of France, electing representatives
directly to the country's legislature.
(Xinhua News Agency August 17, 2005)