The death toll from the crash of a Singapore Airlines jet at Taiwan's international airport rose to 79 Wednesday, aviation officials said.
Seventy-six people were killed instantly when the Boeing 747-400 plunged to the ground and burst into flames shortly after takeoff for Los Angeles Tuesday night.
Three others died in hospital Wednesday from their injuries, including a pregnant woman, they said.
Of the other 102 passengers and crew on board, 56 were still in hospital Wednesday, said Chang Kuo-cheng, deputy director of Civil Aeronautics Administration.
Doctors at a local hospital were reported by local television to have described some of the survivors of Flight SQ006 as being very seriously injured; suffering from severe burns and smoke inhalation.
The cause of the accident, which happened amid driving typhoon winds and rains, remained unclear, although there was speculation the plane might have hit an object on the runway, and that even the wrong runway was used.
Singapore Airlines said earlier Wednesday 80 passengers and crew had been killed, but the three cockpit crew all survived.
The airlines public affairs vice president Rick Clements said the passengers classified as dead or missing were from the United States (24), Taiwan (24), India (10), Singapore (7), Malaysia (4), Britain (2), and one each from the Philippines, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico and Vietnam.
Of the 20 crew, the fate of four Singaporeans was unknown -- TAIPEI (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
