SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (4 Jan 2004) -- Hundreds of tourists pressed on with their diving holidays in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh today, undeterred they might run into the remains of people who died in a plane crash nearby. An Egyptian Boeing 737 operated by Flash Airlines plummeted into the Red Sea yesterday, killing all 148 on board, mostly French tourists returning from New Year holidays. Search and rescue teams have been retrieving pieces of debris and body parts from the sea. But diving centres said the tragedy did not put off tourists who came to see the plethora of tropical fish in the coral reefs around the Sinai peninsula. "We are fully booked today," said Jusienka Leligdowicz, manager of one of the diving centres in Sharm el-Sheikh. Egyptian authorities closed Na'ama Bay, the busy hub of the resort, to all diving boats today as operations recovered debris from the crash site about one km off shore. A team of French diving experts is expected to visit the site today and the office of French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin said a French frigate with sophisticated sonar equipment would arrive by the end tomorrow. One aim is to retrieve the flight recorders, which could lie up to 1,000 metres (3,300 feet) under the surface. But the tourists were determined not to waste time. "This could happen anywhere. We're not put off. You have to carry on with life," said Kevin Woodcraft, 21, from Tunbridge Wells in England. But he added that he hoped he would not see any body parts floating around. Leligdowicz, who has worked for 15 years in Egypt, said she picked up human organs and parts of children's bodies at the crash site yesterday. "I'm glad they shut Na'ama Bay. I don't want my clients to see anything like that. I hope they close it for six months," she added. | | Search and rescue teams retrieve wreckage and body parts A doctor at Sharm el-Sheikh international hospital said a number of bodies had been taken there yesterday but none of them was intact. After the damage from the impact of the plane hitting the water, some of the bodies may have been mauled by carnivorous fish, including sharks. "It's not just sharks. All the little fish here eat meat," Leligdowicz said. One diver who declined to be named said the sharks and other fish could become more aggressive towards divers after tasting human flesh. The fish, corals and other sea creatures are the big attraction at Sharm, which has boomed in the two decades since Egypt recovered the area from Israeli occupation. But divers from the nearby diving resort of Dahab, which is further to the north, said pollution from the plane wreckage could damage the fragile coral reefs and fish there. SOURCE - Reuters |
