The ill-fated Airbus A320 of the Gulf Air crashed into the Gulf near Bahrain International Airport Wednesday night after two attempted landings, killing all the 135 passengers and eight crew on board.

Bahraini Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Isa al-Khalifa has ordered investigation into the cause of the crash. A team from the US National Transportation Safety Board is also due to leave Thursday for Bahrain to help the investigation.

The airline officials have confirmed that the passengers include 63 Egyptians, 34 Bahrainis, 12 Saudis, two Britons, an Australian, nine Palestinians, six from the United Arab Emirates, three Chinese, one Korean, one Kuwaiti, one Sudanese, one Omani and an American.

The eight crew included two Bahrainis and one each from Oman, the Philippines, Poland, India, Morocco and Egypt.

Rescue workers have recovered all the bodies from the crash site over the night under the personal direction of Crown Prince Salman Ibn Hamad.

The two black boxes of the plane - flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder - have also been found.

Most relatives of the victims have arrived in Bahrain to identify and claim bodies. But so far there have been no words on the cause of the crash.

The doomed plane joined the Gulf Air fleet in 1994, and had accumulated 17,000 flying hours.

Gulf Air belongs in equal parts to Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and the government of Abu Dhabi, the largest of seven sheikdoms making up the United Arab Emirates. The Bahrain-based Gulf Air operates a fleet of 28 planes and flies to 53 international destinations.

There are altogether more than 1,100 Airbus A320s in service around the world and the Airbus A320 can seat up to 150 passengers.

(Xinhua)