Fifty-five people died in last Sunday's plane crash in Baotou,
Inner
Mongolia, one more than was originally announced, Chinese
investigators said Wednesday.
In addition to 53 people on board the plane and an elderly man
who was killed on the ground by fragments from the wreck,
investigators have identified the remains of a woman, Gong Xilian,
who was doing morning exercises when the plane crashed in the
city's Nanhai Park.
Meanwhile, although the two black boxes from the plane were
found on Wednesday, the cockpit voice recorder had been damaged. It
is being taken to Beijing for further study, said experts at the
site of the crash.
Following the accident, the General Administration of Civil
Aviation of China urged airlines to intensify safety checks and
ensure safer flights. It dispatched task forces nationwide to check
all CRJ-200 commuter planes in service. All planes of this model
have been grounded pending inspection.
On Wednesday afternoon Wang Xianzheng, head of the State
Administration of Work Safety, visited some of the victims'
families to convey condolences from the Party and central
government.
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Wang, who is leading the team the State Council organized on Monday
to investigate the tragedy, met three victims' relatives at the
Baoli Building in Baotou City, where he briefed them on the latest
developments in the investigation and government policies to deal
with the aftermath.
Elsewhere, the crash has raised concerns of some passenger over
the safety of regional planes, with more people indicating
preferences for certain types of aircraft.
Some passengers believe that regional planes, which usually have
fewer than 100 seats, are less safe than large ones since they are
more affected by turbulence. But aviation experts say that regional
planes have the same safety standards as the larger planes.
Meanwhile, industry experts believe the crash will do little to
slow strong growth in the nation's regional flight market.
(China Daily November 25, 2004)