A large portion of the wreckage of the plane which crashed off the
coast of Dalian port, northeast China's Liaoning Province has been
salvaged.
The portion, somewhere from 14 to 15 meters (15.3 to 16.4 yards) in
length, is a section linking the nose of the crashed plane and a
part behind it. According to experts, this will probably be the
largest wreckage piece found so far to survive the crash.
Song Jiahui, director of the Salvage Bureau under the Ministry of
Communications, said that the piece will provide important clues
for the investigation into the cause of the crash.
The China Northern Airlines MD-82 plane carrying 103 passengers and
a nine-member crew plunged into the sea Tuesday night after a fire
broke out in the cabin.
All 112 people aboard are confirmed dead and 69 bodies have been
retrieved.
(Xinhua News
Agency May 10, 2002)