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FRENCH PRESIDENT FRANCOIS Hollande has said there were no survivors among the 116 people on board the Air Algerie flight that crashed over Mali.
Bad weather is the likely cause of the disaster.
“Sadly, there are no survivors,” Hollande said on television, a day after flight AH017, carrying 51 French nationals, went down shortly after take-off from Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso.
The wreckage of the McDonnell Douglas 83 plane, operated by Spanish charter firm Swiftair on behalf of Air Algerie, was located 50km north of the Burkina Faso border in Mali’s Gossi region.
In addition to the French victims, passengers and crew hailed from Burkina Faso, Lebanon, Algeria, Spain, Canada, Germany and Luxembourg.
It was unclear exactly how many people were on board, as Swiftair put the number at 116 while the French presidency said 118 passengers and crew were on the jet.
It was on its way to Algiers when it crashed amid reports of heavy storms in the area, shortly after the pilots radioed in that they were diverting course due to difficult weather conditions.
A witness reported seeing the plane “falling” in the difficult-to-access Gossi region.
Conditions
French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said meteorological conditions appeared to be the most likely cause of the accident — the worst air tragedy for French nationals since the crash of the Air France A330 linking Rio de Janeiro to Paris in June 2009.
Transport Minister Frederic Cuvillier added that the possibility of a strike from the ground had been ruled out “from the start”, quashing speculation that rebels in Mali’s restive north could have shot the plane down.
But Hollande insisted that no potential cause for the accident was being left out.
Swiftair has a good safety record and the head of France’s DGAC civil aviation authority said Thursday that the MD-83 had passed through France this week and been given the all-clear.
The plane disaster is the third in the space of just eight days, capping a disastrous week for the aviation industry.
On July 17, a Malaysia Airlines plane crashed in eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board.
And a Taiwanese aircraft crashed in torrential rain in Taiwan on Wednesday, killing 48.
Mali, Algeria, Niger, Burkina Faso and France were all coordinating their search efforts, and the plane wreckage was located by a French drone thanks to information provided by Burkinabe authorities.
France has a strong military presence in the area after it launched an offensive in Mali last year to stop Islamist extremists and Tuareg rebels who had seized the north of the country from marching onto Bamako.
As such, around 100 French soldiers stationed in the northern city of Gao were able to travel overnight to the site of the crash on board some 30 vehicles.
In the meantime, French drones, fighter jets and helicopters had taken part in the rush-against-time to locate the plane.
The black box flight recorder of the plane had been recovered by French military forces on site and was being taken to Gao, Hollande said.
Entire families in plane
Whatever the cause of the crash, the human face of the tragedy was becoming ever-more poignant as the hours went by.
In France, two crisis units were set up at the DGAC and at the foreign ministry, in addition to other emergency centres in airports around the country as many of the French passengers were transiting through Algiers on their way to France.
One French family had seven people on the plane, a brother of one passenger told AFP.
“There was my brother, his wife and their four children, plus my nephew,” Amadou Ouedraogo said via telephone.
The small town of Menet in central France, meanwhile, was left devastated when residents found out an entire family that lived there was on board flight AH5017.
Bruno Cailleret and Caroline Boisnard “were coming back from a trip to Burkina Faso with their two children, Elno, 14 and Chloe, 10,” said Denise Labbe of the local town hall, adding Boisnard’s mother was also on the plane.
“Everyone is devastated in the town. We all know the family, who live in front of the town hall. No one can quite believe it, it’s like having a bad dream,” she said.
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The bigger issue is that the teachers are not being adequately trained to work with these populations, while the sna’s have virtually no traing at all. This along with the complete refusal of the state to utilise behaviour analyst in these units means that many of the kids going into these classes will be worse off than they are now
Wondering where these places are opening up , it doesn’t say
Are too many children being put in this ‘special needs’ category ?
No, to put it simply.
No would not think so but understand what you mean about labelling people with names that weren’t around when I was growing up
@Laurie, labels that will travel with them forever when all they may have is a temporary hitch in their development.
@morticia
It’s not a label it’s part of them whether its a big part or not and only by “labelling” it will you help it
Yes thats for sure
That’s a very sweeping statement Morticia. The methods and incidences of diagnoses have come a long way in the last 20 years. That’s why we are seeing more children being diagnosed with ASDs, GDD, ADD, dyslexia etc. A label and the required interventions at the right time certainly trumps a child not being able to realise the full of their potential and function well in this world as an adult. Everyone remembers at least one child in their class who was always on the margins and not included because they were ‘odd’ or didn’t learn in the way the curriculum demanded. These children never had a chance and usually left school early, with no qualifications at best. At worst, I know one exceptionally intelligent boy who has spent most of his adult life involved with psychiatric services. Wasted talents.
Anyway, labels can be peeled off.
A temporary hitch? Do you think a temporary hitch would be given such tailored treatment? It’s so hard for many parents to get a diagnosis for their which will open doors to interventions that most gladly welcome labels. It’s mostly people who don’t have a clue that make statements about having labels and that being a bad thing. These children no matter what their special need are not suited to mainstream learning and are entitled to be educated in the way they learn best. Some children transition to mainstream and many more never do. Please don’t talk about things you know little about
And how will we find out about this new ideology if we follow your advice to “Please don’t talk about things you know little about” ?
Well you could try Informing yourself before making sweeping statements . Lots of literature out there on the subject. Ill informed comments from those who feel the need to chime in regardless without any knowledge on the subject especially in relation to ones children will no doubt provoke a reaction.
OK lets start again. Are too many children being put in this ‘special needs’ category ? What is the criteria for claiming that a child has special needs
A special need is based on the diagnosis of a team of professionals usually. Psychologist speech and language therapist physio and so on depending on the child’s needs. It’s not something you claim . It’s something that you have to do for the benefit of your child so they can the resources they need to enable them to learn in the way they do best. There are a wide range of special needs out there and the diagnostic criteria is different for each. No parent in The world wants there child to have a special need or a disability . For most its a hard road to get a diagnosis and /or services for their child. It’s never something embarked upon lightly. So if your child has a difficulty in learning or development that needs addressing you just push ahead and get them everything you can in your power to help them. So no there are not too many kids in this category in fact due to red tape staff shortages and reduced funding there are very many more kids out there without their official diagnosis . Which likely means they can’t access the educational supports they need. It’s a big subject and there is lots of Info out there on the web
Good explanation Catherine.
Very well said but there are some people out there who have mild development issues and need some extra help in school say but you all know well how labels stay with that person for ever even if they don’t need help any more I think that is what she means about it
You even asked it yourself did we all remember someone falling through the cracks in school. So just proves that we all knew someone cause they stood out they were different in someway
Thank you ladies for your comments, I asked the thorny question because so many of our efforts to improve the lives of people in this tin-pot country are abused. I have very little faith in the ‘experts’ who meddle so much in folks lives and tend to question the methods and motivations especially when you dig down and find that the expert has done a six week course somewhere or other. Laurie has hit on the point I raised regarding mild development issues because I knew some familes who had children whose ‘problems’ vanished in a matter of months and I wonder if they had gone into the system would they have been stigmatised down the line because of this? It is astonishing to see the amount of information stored on people and how easy it is to gain access to it.
Well put
With the greatest of respect I sense you have never been down this path with a child of your own? If you have you would understand it is a very long process full of red tape and even longer waiting lists. No child is diagnosed who display only temporary issues / problematic behaviour etc. However early intervention DOES hugely help with these behaviours as well as the child’s development and potential. Every parent (whether their child has special needs or not) wants their child to reach their own potential and be an accepted and happy person, be it in school or later in life in the workplace etc. These services are vital for children with special needs. Often it is a relief when they are diagnosed as finally some help and resources are available after a long hard battle to get to that point.
“Often it is a relief when they are diagnosed as finally some help and resources are available after a long hard battle to get to that point.”
That long hard battle excludes the temporary difficulties that children often experience. I fought a short sharp one many years ago when I realised that I was dealing with [less said the better] and paid for a visit to a consultant who sorted things out in jig time
Morticia, the only person confusing ‘temporary glitches’ and longterm, permanent special needs is you. I’m sure there are many parents out there who wish their child’s challenges could be sorted out with a quick visit to a consultant. The truth is staring them in the face every day and keeping them from their sleep every night. It has them fighting like dogs for every measly scrap they can get to improve their childrens’ lives. It has raised their stress levels and alienated them from friends and family.
Do not come here and make little of the lives of others and question the diagnoses they have had to fight tooth and nail for. Not because it was ‘cool’ or they needed the attention or someone who had done a six-week course told them to. Because there was something wrong with their child and it wasn’t going away and it still hasn’t gone away. Ok?
You have high jacked this article for your own kicks and upset people by belittling the decisions they have made for their precious children. You must have little to do.
Thank you Denise for failing to see the point I am making. I have not come here to ‘make little of the lives of others and question the diagnoses they have had to fight tooth and nail for” Your attack on me is unwarrented.Calm down and look outside of your own problem
Morticia, are you for real?
You have made your point. Over and over again. We get it.
You however, don’t seem to get anyone else’s even after detailed explanations.
You continue to apply your own limited experience and cynicism to the experiences of parents with genuine problems. Go troll somewhere else.
Well said Denise
Once again, Limerick very poorly catered for. Up until now, Limerick was the only county in Ireland without a dedicated autism unit / classroom. Two schools in the whole county, both in NCW. Delighted for NCW but what about the rest of the county?
Red hill is not in NCW and its a dedicated Autism School its just beyond Raheen but nothing for secondary students though in the city.
It’s also been around for a few years
I know that Catherine but this article is about dedicated classes in mainstream schools.
See http://www.specialneedsparents.ie/the-facts/education/asd-units/#.Ui2xJ8Z02So for a list of existing and newly announced special classes.
There’s a list of all special classes on ncse.ie
There is no mention of increasing numbers of clinical supports offered to the children in these units. Whilst education can set up new units the hse is precluded from increasing the number of clinicians to support the units so most these units will have no slt or ot psychology etc
Just that Catherine x
This is good news but all I see is complaining from people that they are not getting services and moaning about labels. You lot are so lucky to have these services now for your children.
There were no support services 20 years ago. That is a fact of life. Early intervention is good and the best way to go.
I was commenting on the comment by Catherine sims which I thought was well put spent a lot of my pre retirement years working with special young people
There wasn’t no services even 14 years ago when my son was born . They did come on line but by bit. The parents of today should not be grateful for the bits of services they get. They should fight for everything their children needs and not settle for less and this is what they are doing. Our kids deserve the same chances in life as every other child. We are vocal about this and we are going away.
Was commenting on Catherine sims comment
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