Child survives as more than 100 killed in Libya plane crash

[niazikhan2]

TRIPOLI: An eight-year-old Dutch boy was the sole survivor when a Libyan plane arriving from South Africa exploded on landing at Tripoli airport on Wednesday, killing more than 100 people, officials said.

Afriqiyah Airways listed 93 passengers and 11 crewmembers on board its flight 8U771 from Johannesburg.

"I can confirm the crash but not the number of the dead," said Bongani Sithole, an official of the airline at Johannesburg airport. "We hear that it happened one metre (yard) away from the runway."

A Libyan security official earlier told foreign media that all those on board the Airbus A330 had died but an airport official said in fact a Dutch boy had survived and been rushed to hospital near Tripoli. There was no immediate indication of the cause of the crash, which occurred as the Afriqiyah Airways plane was landing after a flight from Johannesburg at around 6 am (0400 GMT).

"It exploded on landing and totally disintegrated," the security official told said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The crewmembers were all Libyan nationals, the official added.