Skip to main content

Not Again! Medevac plane with seven on board disappears off Senegal


(Reuters) - A medical evacuation plane with seven people on board, including a French patient, disappeared off the coast of Senegal on Saturday night during a flight from Burkina Faso to Dakar, the Senegalese civil aviation authority said on Sunday.

The private Senegal air plane flying from Ouagadougou dropped off radar screens at 7:08 p.m. (1908 GMT), 118 km (74 miles) west of the Senegalese capital, the aviation authority said in a statement.
"The search is still going on but it hasn't been fruitful so far and we will probably continue it tomorrow," said Magueye Marame Ndao, head of the authority.
ADVERTISEMENT
"We reckon the last point at which contact with radar was lost was 60 nautical miles (111 km) off the coast of Dakar," Ndao said, adding that three planes and a naval ship were involved in the search.
The plane was carrying three crew members, a doctor and two nurses as well as the patient. Those on board included two Algerians and a citizen of Congo, the aviation authority said, without specifying if that meant Democratic Republic of Congo or Republic of Congo.
The plane, chartered by ambulance service SOS Medecin Senegal, left Ouagadougou at 4:30 p.m. (1630 GMT), Burkina Faso's minister of transport, Daouda Traore, told Reuters. Ouagadougou is around 1,700 km (1,100 miles) southeast of Dakar.

Comments

Popular Posts

Dangote acquires 16,000 hectares for commercial farming in Jigawa

The Dangote Group on Thursday said it had concluded arrangements to develop 16,000 hectares of land for commercial farming in Kafin-Hausa Local Government Area of Jigawa State. The representative of the company, Femi Afolabi, said this during a community sensitisation exercise in Kafin-Hausa. Afolabi said the company would develop 15,000 hectares for rice cultivation, while 1,000 hectares had been earmarked for construction of a modern rice mill. He said another 10,000 hectares of land would also be developed for seed out-grower farm, adding that the measure was to encourage production of quality seed. According to him, the company will spend about $250 million on the project, which will generate about 50,000 jobs among rural dwellers. Breaking down the figures, Afolabi explained that $150 million was earmarked for rice cultivation in Kafin-Hausa, while $100 million was for industrial sugarcane production in Kaugama. He said the company had made adequate arrangements to ens...

Check out how Uc Graphic photo came to be

These are the people behind the amazing designs you see on UC Browser. Say hi and let them know your suggestions!

Besiktas to move for Mikel

Besiktas have turned their attention to Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel after a move for Liverpool's Lucas Leiva stalled on loan with the Reds now keen to keep the Brazilian.