Alive … the girl who survived air crash, sharks and high seas

Published on Wednesday 1 July 2009 21:59

LYING peacefully in a hospital bed, Bahia Bakari showed little sign of her traumatic ordeal, surviving a plane crash in the shark-infested waters of the Indian Ocean.

Bahia, 14, clung to wreckage for more than 13 hours before rescuers found her. She is the only survivor found so far.

The only visible injuries she had were a fractured collarbone, cuts and bruises to her face and an injury to her right arm.

Last night Bahia's father, Kassim Bakari, revealed details of a telephone conversation with his daughter about the immediate aftermath of the crash.

Mr Bakari said she was thrown from the plane as it crashed and that she clearly recalled the chaos of her time in the water.

"She said 'Papa, we saw the plane going down in the water. I was in the dark, I couldn't see a thing. '(And] on top of that daddy, I can't swim well and I held on to something, but don't really know what'.

"She couldn't feel anything and found herself in the water. She heard people speaking around her but she couldn't see anyone in the darkness."

Mr Bakari added: "She's a very timid girl, I never thought she would escape like that". He described his daughter as "fragile" and barely able to swim.

The Yemenia Airbus A310-300, from France, carrying 153 people plunged into the sea in howling winds on Tuesday after twice attempting to land in Moroni, capital of Grande Comore, a former French colony off Africa's south-east coast.

Sergeant Said Abdilai, one of the rescue team, said he had spotted Bahia in the water at about 4am. He said she was too weak to grasp the life ring thrown to her, so he jumped into the sea to get her.

Once on board the rescue boat she was wrapped in blankets and given warm sugar water.

Bahia's uncle, Joseph Yousouf, who visited his niece in hospital, said she asked for her mother, who is still missing. He said Bahia has been told her mother was in the hospital room next door to avoid upsetting her.

The ageing Airbus 310 was flying the last leg of a Yemenia airlines flight from France to the Comoros, with a stop in Yemen to change planes. Most of the passengers were from the Comoros. Sixty-six on board were French nationals.

Speaking at the El Maanauf Hospital in Moroni where Bahia is being cared for, Alain Joyandet, France's minister for international co-operation, said: "It is a true miracle. She is a courageous young girl. She really showed an absolutely incredible physical and moral strength."

Mr Joyandet added that "France now wants Bahia home" and said it was hoped she would be flown back.

French officials said one of the plane's black boxes had been found, which could provide clues on the cause of the crash in deep water nine miles north of the Comoran coast and 21 miles from Moroni airport.

"The search is continuing," Mr Joyandet said. "No other survivors have been found for the moment."

French aviation inspectors found a "number of faults" in the aircraft's equipment during a 2007 inspection, French transport minister Dominique Bussereau said.

European Union transport commissioner Antonio Tajani said the airline had previously met EU safety checks, but would now face a full investigation amid questions over why passengers were put on another jet in the Yemeni capital of San'a.