Morocco condoles Spain on death of 38 passengers in plane crash

Moroccan prime minister, Abderrahmane Youssoufi, sent his Spanish peer, Jose Maria Aznar, a condolence message following the death of 38 passengers in a Spanish plane crash early on Friday morning.

A Spanish passenger plane slammed into a hillside near Morocco's Mediterranean coast on Friday, killing all 38 people on board.

The plane, a Pauknair flight from the southern Spanish city of Malaga, crashed near the village of Boumahfoud, 30 km from the town of Nador, as it was preparing to land in Melilia, a Moroccan northern town occupied by Spain.

Morocco's interior minister, Driss Basri, who was in contact with Spanish peer, Jaime Mayor Ortega, to coordinate the rescue operations, also expressed to Spain the Moroccan authorities' condolences.

"The bodies of the 38 victims of the crash were all recovered by rescuers and repatriated to Melilia on Friday evening," a Nador local authority spokesman said.

The cause of the crash was not known but an investigation will be opened this Saturday.

Moroccan security authorities put four helicopters and one plane at the disposal of Spain in addition to ground assistance to recover bodies, possessions and debris while Spain used two helicopters and other means of the army and red crescent.

Melilia's local tv channel said both the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder were recovered.

The plane, a BAe 146-100 aircraft carrying 34 passengers and four crew, was servicing a regular flight between malaga and Melilia.