Rescuers are trying to free bodies from the wreckage of an airliner which crashed into the sea off the West African state of Benin , killing at least 111 people.
The Beirut-bound Boeing 727 was carrying many Lebanese passengers heading home for the holidays on Christmas Day. It clipped a building at the end of the runway, exploded and smashed into the Atlantic Ocean.
Lebanese Foreign Minister Jean Obeid flew into Benin
this morning on board a plane chartered to take home bodies and survivors. A Lebanese diving team was also on board.
"The death toll is 111 and there are 22 survivors," Benin 's Health Minister Celine Segnon said, speaking to Obeid as he visited Cotonou and met survivors.
Rescue efforts were halted temporarily after daylight because of high seas, which complicated the work of navy divers. Fishermen swimming in the sea brought two more adult bodies to shore after daybreak.
The beach was strewn with battered suitcases, pieces of twisted metal and other debris, including a baby's bottle. Rescuers gathered watches, wallets and other valuables.
Police began an inquiry into why the airliner belonging to the Lebanese-owned Union Transport Africaines, crashed.
Airport officials said the plane had difficulty retracting its undercarriage after takeoff.
It was not immediately known how many people were on flight UTA 141, which could carry 141 passengers and crew. Most of those on board were Lebanese but some were from Benin , Guinea and Sierra Leone.
The Lebanese guerrilla group Hizbollah said in a statement it had sent an envoy to Benin on board the government-chartered plane to "console the sons of the Lebanese community".