BENIN Plane crash kills at least 96; watery search continues

The craft hit a building at the end of the runway during takeoff.
COTONOU, Benin (AP) -- Rescue teams using spotlights searched waters off the West African nation of Benin today in a desperate hunt for survivors of a plane crash that killed at least 111 people, authorities said.
Ten bodies were pulled from the wreckage off the Atlantic Ocean coast overnight. Most of the casualties were Lebanese headed home for Christmas. Thousands of Lebanese immigrants work in West African countries.
At least 20 people survived the accident, said Transport Minister Ahmed Akobi said. But four of them later died at hospitals in the commercial capital, Cotonou, state radio said.
The scene
With spotlights perched on the beach and flashlights in hand, divers and fishermen searched for survivors through the night, swimming through scattered pieces of luggage, clothes and gift-wrapped presents. Tractors tied chains to parts of the Boeing 727's wreckage, including an engine, in an effort to clear away the wreckage.
At dawn, the bulk of the destroyed aircraft still lay in the water about 100 yards from the beach. About 20 Benin navy patrol boats were positioned offshore to help in the rescue effort.
It was unclear exactly how many people were aboard the chartered aircraft. Akobi said the plane's manifest listed 156 passengers and an unknown number of crew.
Before dawn, about 50 Lebanese nationals gathered along the shore, crowding around bodies -- pulled from the water one by one -- to identify friends or relatives.
"This is all too much for me to handle," said Akim Toufik.
The death toll could rise as rescue work continued. An Associated Press reporter saw at least 15 bodies and the plane's severed cockpit lay on the beach after midnight.
There was no word on what caused the tragedy. Akobi said rescue teams were searching for the aircraft's black box.
What happened
The Boeing lifted off on a sunny Thursday at 2:55 p.m. from the airport in Cotonou, and troubles began right away, said Jerome Dandjinou, a senior airport security official.
"The back of the plane hit a building at the end of the runway. There was a fire and an explosion was heard," Dandjinou told The Associated Press. "The plane exploded and the debris fell into the water." The Atlantic Ocean is about 500 yards from airport tarmac.
The flight originated in the Guinean capital, Conakry, and stopped in Freetown, Sierra Leone, picking up Lebanese along the way. It was bound for Beirut, Lebanese Transportation Minister Najib Mikati said.
Authorities shut down Cotonou airport for 24 hours after the crash as a security precaution, Akobi said. Lebanese Foreign Minister Jean Obeid said it closed because the plane apparently damaged part of the airport's guidance system.
Obeid arrived today in Cotonou on a flight from Beirut that was given special permission to land despite the airport's closure.
"This is a catastrophe that touches every house in Lebanon and every Lebanese," Obeid said earlier at Beirut airport.