AP News, June 5th, 2007
Sierra Leone's president grounded all commercial helicopters and suspended the country's transport minister Tuesday following a weekend crash that killed 22 people, officials said.
The helicopter was ferrying Togolese soccer fans and sports officials _ including Togolese Minister for Youth and Sports Richard Attipoe _ to the country's main airport when it exploded into flames Sunday night. Most of those aboard were Togolese returning home after cheering their team's 1-0 victory over Sierra Leone at an African Cup of Nations qualifying match.
Sierra Leone President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah declared three days of national mourning for the dead, his office said in a statement.
Kabbah suspended both the transport minister and his deputy of civil aviation pending an investigation into the accident.
The government also grounded all commercial helicopters operating in the country, including those that transport people from the airport across a bay to the capital, Freetown, on the Atlantic Ocean. The only other way to get to the airport from Freetown is via sea ferry.
The administrative head of the transport ministry, Ahmed Wurie, told the Associated Press that Sierra Leone had grounded the Russian-made helicopters operated by Paramount, the owner of the craft that crashed, between January and March because of concerns over engine malfunctioning..
The grounding was lifted after a thorough air worthiness survey conducted by the International Civil Aviation Organization, Wurie said.
The government of Togo has sent a six-person delegation to help with the investigation into the crash. The charred remains of the deceased have been transported to the state mortuary, where autopsies will be conducted once a pathologist from Togo's government arrives, said Sierra Leone's State Pathologist Owiss Kamara.
News of the accident sent the tiny West African country of Togo into mourning. Togolese radio stations broadcast solemn funeral songs every 30 minutes, and President Faure Gnassingbe called for flags to fly at half-staff.
Many Togolese called for an investigation into the crash after a Togolese soccer official in Lome reported receiving a text message from one of the crash victims saying he and other fans had been threatened in Freetown.
Winnie Dogbatse, president of a Togo soccer club, told a Lome radio station the message described Sierra Leoneans angry over their team's loss, allegedly making death threats against the Togolese soccer fans.
The accident in Sierra Leone was the second over the weekend involving an African Cup of Nations qualifier match. On Saturday, at least 12 soccer fans were crushed to death in Zambia as they tried to leave Konkola Stadium after Zambia's victory over Republic of Congo.
FIFA President Sepp Blatter said he was "deeply saddened" by the tragedies.
"Our pain at these losses is all the greater given that they both occurred only a few days after we had come together for the 57th FIFA Congress in Zurich," said Blatter, who was re-elected unopposed as the body's president at last week's congress.
