169 Die as Jetliner Crashes in Heavy Fog in Suriname

A Surinamese jetliner trying to land in dense fog clipped treetops and broke apart near the airport in this South American capital on Wednesday, killing 169 of those aboard, the government-run news agency said. Thirteen or 14 people were believed to have survived.

At least three Americans, the cockpit crew, were aboard the plane when it hit a treetop on its third attempt to land in “extremely bad” weather, an airline spokesman said.

Three of Suriname’s senior military leaders were aboard the plane, as were at least three top Dutch soccer players of Surinamese origin.

No immediate information was available on the condition or identities of the survivors, the Suriname News Agency said.

All-Night Flight

The Surinam Airways DC-8 was completing an all-night flight from Amsterdam to the capital of the former Dutch colony north of Brazil. Most of the passengers were reportedly Surinamese living in the Netherlands.

Airline spokesman Robbi Lachmising told reporters in Amsterdam that the Suriname airport has no radar. He said that of the 173 passengers and nine crew, 168 were killed and 14 survived. The news agency listed only 13 survivors, however.

Flight PY764 took off late Tuesday from Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport and crashed at 4:30 a.m. about two miles from Zanderij International Airport, about 15 miles south of the capital, the agency said.

Reporters at the crash site, an unpopulated tropical savannah, said it appeared that the plane struck two trees and split into four parts. Heavy rain had turned the area into a near-swamp, slowing rescue vehicles.

Hours after the crash, firefighters still sprayed foam on the smoldering and broken fuselage. Soldiers searched for bodies, belongings and documents.

Suriname radio reports quoted residents as saying they heard an explosion shortly before the plane hit the ground. The airline identified the American cockpit crew as Capt. Will Rogers, pilot Glyn Tobias and engineer Rose Warren, all employees of Surinam Airways, which leased the plane from a U.S-based company. Further information was not immediately available.

Listed as missing were Suriname’s army chief of staff, Maj. Raymond Lieuw Yen Tai; air force commander Maj. Eddy Djoe, and army chief of operations Capt. Armand Salomons.

Spokesman Nico Snijders of Inter Football, a Dutch organization for professional soccer players, identified three Dutch soccer players of Surinamese origin who he said were aboard--Orwin Linger, Lloyd Doesburg and Fred Patrick. They were bound for a national tournament in Suriname.

Suriname, a nation of about 300,000, gained independence from the Netherlands in 1975. About 200,000 Surinamese live in the Netherlands.

Guerrillas seeking independence have been fighting government troops for three years.