The number of Dutch nationals killed in Wednesday’s Tripoli air disaster has risen to 70, the foreign affairs ministry said on Thursday afternoon.

In addition to the 62 people who were travelling with two holiday companies, nine Dutch nationals had booked flights on the Airbus 330 from South Africa independently.
According to the Telegraaf, they include a family of five which boarded the plane just moments before it took off. It is likely that a large number of the dead are children, given that there were half-term holidays in many places last week.
The ministry said it based its estimates of the Dutch death toll on information from the two holiday companies, the passenger list and Johannesburg customs officials.
Survivor
The only survivor of the flight, which killed 103 people, is a nine-year-old boy from Tilburg. His aunt and uncle are at his bedsite, the Telegraaf reported. His parents and older brother were killed in the crash.
Foreign affairs minister Maxime Verhagen is holding a press conference on the disaster at 17.15 hours.
In towns and villages where the dead lived, flags have been put at half-mast. One village sports club has cancelled a local football match because three members of the club – a woman and two children – were killed.
Worst

The death of 61 Dutch nationals in Wednesday’s Tripoli plane crash is one of the worst air disasters to hit the Netherlands.
The highest death toll was recorded in 1977 when two planes collided on the holiday island of Tenerife, killing 583 people including 248 Dutch nationals.
In 1989, 179 people were killed in plane crash in Suriname and in 1958, 99 Dutch nationals died when a plane plunged into the Atlantic ocean near Ireland.