Travelers Aghast Over Bodies at Thai Airport

Passengers awaiting flights at Thailand’s Surat Thani airport watched in horror Saturday as corpses from a Thai Airways plane crash were loaded into body bags.

Several bodies removed from the wreckage of the Friday evening crash that killed 101 people were brought to the baggage claim area next to the main airport lobby for transportation to the Thai capital, Bangkok.

They were opened for identification in full view of passengers in the airport’s main lobby.

The area is separated from the main hall by a glass partition. Dozens of people watched the grim operation.

“This is unbelievable,” said an international aviation expert who had flown in to help investigate the crash, which occurred near Surat Thani airport.

“I’ve never seen anything like this--everything is out on display in front of everyone.”

Using bare hands and bulldozers to sift through the waters of a flooded rubber plantation, rescue workers recovered the bodies of 101 people before ending their search today.

Twelve foreigners--none American--survived the crash.

A U.S. Embassy spokesman in Bangkok said that two Americans had been confirmed dead. He identified them as Ken Houseman, whose next of kin was in Montana, and Helen Gromme of Wyoming.

Police said five U.S. citizens were among the dead. Thai Airways had not yet provided a breakdown of nationalities of the victims.

Forty-five survivors of Flight TG261 were sent to hospitals in Surat Thani, a fishing port and travel hub for vacation resorts 330 miles southwest of Bangkok.

The Airbus A310-200 with 146 people aboard plunged into the swamp about 6:45 p.m., about 760 yards from the runway, then burst into flames.

Many of the dead were believed to have drowned in the frigid waist-high swamp water while trapped in the wreckage.

Police said many of the bodies were burned beyond recognition and could not be identified.

Bad weather appears a likely cause of the crash, said a senior international aviation investigator who declined to be identified. However, the investigator said pilot error could not be ruled out.