Crash airline Dutch death toll uncertain: update
Libyan airline Afriqiyah Airways has confirmed at least 58 Dutch nationals were on board the Airbus 330 which crashed shortly before landing on Wednesday killing 103 people.
In total, 62 Dutch nationals were thought to have been on board the flight but the passenger list does not prove everyone actually got on the plane.
But according to the Telegraaf, an independent traveller and a family of five boarded the plane at the last moment, taking the Dutch death toll to 67. The paper bases its claims on travel agency insiders.
The company’s website reports 58 Dutch nationals and 19 people with unknown nationalities were on board.
‘We first have to know if someone thought to be among the victims actually got on the plane in South Africa,’ a Dutch foreign ministry spokesman said.
The formal identification of the victims expected to take weeks.
One child, thought to be Dutch, has survived the flight.
Flight
A Dutch foreign ministry flight is due to leave for Libya on Thursday morning after its Wednesday departure was delayed because of a sandstorm, news agency ANP said.
The flight is carrying foreign affairs ministry officials, forensic experts to help identify the bodies and two representatives from the Dutch safety council as well as journalists.
Afriqiyah Airways has offered to fly family members to Libya free of charge, but according to ANP foreign minister Maxime Verhagen has asked them to remain in the Netherlands to help with the identification process.
The plane was on its way to Tripoli from South Africa and crashed shortly before landing. The cause is not yet known but Libyan officials have ruled out terrorism.
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