VOA标准英语2010年-Libyan Plane Crash Kills 103, Child Su

Rescue teams search the site of the Libyan Afriqiyah Airways¹ plane crash in Tripoli, Libya, 12 May 2010

A Libyan airliner² with 104 people on board has crashed during landing at Tripoli's airport.  At least 103 people have been confirmed killed, with a young Dutch boy the only known survivor³.  More than half the passengers are believed to have been from the Netherlands.

 

The Afriqiyah Airways plane was arriving from Johannesburg, South Africa, and is believed to have crashed just short of the runway.

The Libyan-owned airline says 93 passengers and 11 crewmembers were on board flight 771 as it attempted to land.

A Libyan official says a young Dutch boy who was the lone⁴ survivor did not have life threatening injuries. 

Libyan media showed wreckage⁵ of the plane spread over a wide field, with rescue and emergency workers on the scene.

Officials say they have already recovered the flight's voice recorder, which may give information on the cause of the crash.  Weather is not believed to be a factor.   Witnesses say they did not see any fire before the plane broke apart.  Authorities announced an investigation⁶ is under way, but initially⁷ ruled out a terrorist attack.

In Johannesburg, a spokeswoman for the Airports Company South Africa, Unathi Batyashe-Fillis, said the company had no confirmation⁸ on what caused the crash.

"What we do know is that the airline left last night at 2137 [1937 GMT] for Tripoli. It was scheduled to arrive in Tripoli at 6 o'clock [0400 GMT]," she said.  "We don't know where the communication failure happened, but what we can confirm is that 104 passengers and crew were on board at the time."

Afriqiyah said its crewmembers were Libyan.  Officials in South Africa reported most aboard the flight had planned to make a connection in Tripoli and fly on to various destinations in Europe.   Crisis centers have been set up in both Johannesburg and Tripoli.  

The airline maintains an Airbus fleet and had previously⁹ maintained a good safety record.
 

1 AIRWAYS   

航空公司

参考例句：

• The giant jets that increasingly dominate the world's airways. 越来越称雄于世界航线的巨型喷气机。
• At one point the company bought from Nippon Airways a 727 jet. 有一次公司从日本航空公司买了一架727型喷气机。

2 airliner   

n.客机，班机

参考例句：

• The pilot landed the airliner safely.驾驶员使客机安全着陆。
• The passengers were shepherded across the tarmac to the airliner.旅客们被引导走过跑道去上飞机。

3 survivor   

n.生存者，残存者，幸存者

参考例句：

• The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
• There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。

4 lone   

adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的

参考例句：

• A lone sea gull flew across the sky.一只孤独的海鸥在空中飞过。
• She could see a lone figure on the deserted beach.她在空旷的海滩上能看到一个孤独的身影。

5 wreckage   

n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏

参考例句：

• They hauled him clear of the wreckage.他们把他从形骸中拖出来。
• New states were born out of the wreckage of old colonial empires.新生国家从老殖民帝国的废墟中诞生。

6 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

7 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

8 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

9 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。