Friday, August 29, 2008

unerals held for Madrid victims

The first funerals have been taking place for victims of Wednesday's plane crash in Madrid, which killed 153.

One of the first to be buried was 21-year-old Isaac Dominguez from Salamanca, who survived the crash but died later in hospital.

Hundreds of people attended the funeral of Amalia Filloy and her 14-year-old daughter, also named Amalia.

Investigators are now assessing whether a loss of power on take-off caused the crash of the Spanair MD-80 plane.

Amalia Filloy made headlines in Spain after a firefighter who was one of the first to arrive at the crash scene told reporters that she had begged him to save her 11-year-old daughter Maria first.

A funeral was also held in Spain's Canary Islands, the destination of the flight and home to about half of its passengers and crew, for a soldier named David Caballero.

Caballero was based in Madrid and was returning to the Canaries for a holiday with his family.

"I lost my 27-year-old son, I am devastated," his mother told Spanish television channel TVE.

"We expect that throughout the day two or three more coffins will arrive," the head of the islands' regional government, Paulino Rivero, told a news conference in Madrid after holding talks with Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.

The archbishop of Madrid, Cardinal Antonio Maria Rouco, will preside over a memorial service for all of the victims of the crash on 1 September in the Almudena Cathedral, Madrid's mayor Alberto Ruiz-Gallardon has announced.

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