24 killed in two air crashes in Switzerland

GENEVA, Aug 6 (Bernama) -- All 20 people aboard a vintage aircraft which crashed in the Swiss Alps on Saturday were killed, Xinhua news agency reported, quoting local police on Sunday.

In another crash on Saturday, a light aircraft went down near the town of Hergiswil, bursting into flames on impact and killing a family of four onboard, Nidwalden canton police said.

The vintage aircraft went down on the western side of Piz Segnas mountain at an altitude of 2,540 metres with 17 passengers, two pilots, and a flight attendant onboard.

"There is no  hope of finding anyone alive," Graubuenden  canton police chief  Andreas Tobler told journalists in Flims municapality, the Swiss News Agency SDA-ATS, reported.

All the passengers were Swiss, except for a couple from Austria and their son, Swissinfo, the website of the national broadcaster reported.

The Junker Ju-52, which was built in 1939, was owned and operated by local airline JU-AIR, which specialises in sightseeing flights.

 "The aircraft crashed almost vertically and at a relatively high speed. The cause of the crash is not known,'’ said Daniel Knecht of the Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board.

The ill fated flight was fully booked for the journey from Ticino canton in southern Switzerland over the Alps to Duebendorf in Zurich canton.

Knecht said the vintage aircraft may not have had crash-resistant cockpit voice and data recorders that more modern aircraft, adding the age of the aircraft might not have a bearing on the crash.

"Even older aircraft, if they are well maintained, can be safely operated," he said, noting the aircraft which crashed was serviced every 35 hours, most recently in July.

Officials have ruled out a collision with another aircraft or hitting an obstacle such as a wire.

The two air crashes come just a week after a light aircraft crashed in Valais canton, killing four people.

--BERNAMA