San Diego, CA: A disastrous plane crash near Tripoli International airport in Libya has killed 103 of 104 people on board the plane. In what is being hailed by some as a miracle, only one small boy survived the Afriqiyah Airways plane crash.
The Libyan Airbus A330-200 was en route from Johannesburg, South Africa, to Tripoli carrying 93 passengers and 11 crew. The crash, the cause of which is currently under investigation, left a massive debris field that contained the cockpit voice recorder.
Most of the passengers on board flight 771 are reported to be Dutch. Sixty-one had been on package holiday tours to South Africa.
The 10-year old Dutch boy who survived was taken to the hospital in Tripoli to undergo surgery for broken bones and other injuries. An unidentified doctor who spoke on Libya television said the child "has several breaks in both legs and is under intensive care but is stable." The boy's identity has yet to be confirmed or made public.
The plane was approaching the airport at around 6 am when it crashed (0400 GMT, 11 pm EDT Tuesday). While the crash is still under investigation, volcanic ash from Iceland has been ruled out as a potential cause. The plane had recently undergone safety inspections with no significant findings. It only had about 1,600 flight hours, or 420 flights, on it, having been delivered from production in September 2009.