Comoros crash survivor home, hopes end for others

By Ahmed Ali Amir

MORONI (Reuters) - The sole survivor of a Yemeni jet that plunged into the Indian Ocean off the Comoros islands was reunited with her father in France on Thursday, but rescuers said hopes of another miracle find were all but over.

Fourteen-year-old Bahia Bakari, who can barely swim, clung to floating debris for more than 12 hours before search teams spotted her in rough seas.

But rescuers have been unable to find any of the remaining 152 passengers and crew since the Yemenia Airbus A310-300 crashed in strong winds in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

"We have nothing. We have no plane, no more survivors, no bodies," Vice President Idi Nadhoim told Reuters by telephone.

American and French military aircraft scoured the crash site for a third day but failed to locate any wreckage, thought to be in waters up to 500 metres (1,600 ft) deep.

"With the time that has elapsed we have no hope of finding anyone who is still alive," Red Cross Coordinator Abdulahim Bakari said.

Local doctors, who marvelled at Bahia's escape with little more than cuts, bruises and a fractured collar bone, said she was discharged at her father's request.

Reporters said the teenager, who lost her mother in the crash, appeared groggy as she stepped off the French government jet and did not say much at the airport.