Accident Scene
Johannesburg Crash Site Mauritius Map of the Indian Ocean, showing the origin of the flight in Taiwan, destination of Johannesburg and accident site near Mauritius.When the Helderberg last informed Mauritian air traffic control of its position, its report was incorrectly understood to be relative to the airport rather than its next waypoint, which caused the subsequent search to be concentrated too close to Mauritius. The United States Navy sent P-3 Orion aircraft from Diego Garcia, which were used to conduct immediate search and rescue operations in conjunction with the French Navy. By the time the first surface debris was located 12 hours after impact, it had drifted considerably from the impact location. Oil slicks and eight bodies showing signs of extreme trauma appeared in the water. All 140 passengers and 19 crew on the manifest were killed.
The South African Navy sent the SAS Tafelberg and the SAS Jim Fouche to assist in the recovery of debris and remains. The ocean tugs John Ross and Wolraad Woltemade also attended the scene, along with the Department of Environment Affairs vessels RS Africana and RS Sonne
Read more about this topic: South African Airways Flight 295
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