Spain crash: probe begins

As investigators began trying to piece the plane’s final moments together, relatives of the victims began the grim job of identification at a makeshift morgue at a Madrid convention centre.

Wednesday’s crash of a Spanair MD-82 flight to the Canary Islands — the nation’s worst air disaster in 25 years — killed 153 people. Only 19 people survived, among them three of the 22 children and infants listed as passengers. All three were listed in stable condition, mostly with minor injuries, and were expected to survive.

Amid the horror, there was also a story of amazing luck. One Spanish couple was three minutes late checking in and missed the flight. Ertoma Bolanos said he found out about the crash when the family of his girlfriend Almudena called to say they had seen TV footage of it, the newspaper La Vanguardia said.

“We had no idea what had happened,” he was quoted as saying. “My mouth dropped open.”