Around the World

Singapore Airlines jet crashes, kills 70

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- A Singapore Airlines jumbo jet speeding down a runway in darkness and rain slammed into an object before takeoff for Los Angeles and burst into flames yesterday, scattering fiery wreckage across the tarmac, witnesses said. At least 70 people were killed and dozens more were injured, a Taiwanese official said.

It wasn't immediately clear what Flight SQ006 hit, but the collision wreaked havoc on the plane: Video footage showed the Boeing 747-400 spewing flames and thick black smoke despite the heavy rain.

Afterward, parts of the blue-and-white fuselage were badly charred, with a gaping hole in the roof of the forward section.

Airline spokesman Rick Clements said in Singapore that 47 U.S. citizens and 55 Taiwanese were among the passengers.

"It felt like we bumped into something huge," said Doug Villermin, 33, of New Iberia, La., who was standing outside the Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, wrapped in a hospital gown and smoking a cigarette.

"It looked like the front end just fell off," he said. "From there, it just started to fall apart. I ran to the escape hatch with the stewardess but we couldn't get it open. Two feet away from me, I saw flames."

"Everyone was just panicking," he said. "I tried to open the escape hatch on the top just a slit and saw a lot of smoke. The fumes were just incredible. But eventually we got it open...We were just all so scared it was going to blow up."

It was Singapore Airlines' first major accident in 28 years of operation, and it came in nasty weather: A typhoon packing 90 mph winds was whirling off Taiwan's southern coast Tuesday, lashing the island with rain and prompting officials to set up disaster relief centers.

Taiwanese aviation official Billy K.C. Chang said 68 people died. Earlier, Singapore Airlines Chairman Michael Fam said 66 people were killed.

Speaking in Singapore, Fam said the plane "crashed on the runway during the takeoff."

"We wish to express our sincere regret to all concerned," he said. "This is a tragic day for all of us."

Clements said Singapore Airlines would provide all families of victims with $25,000 immediate compensation.

Suspects in Cole attack tied to others

LAHEJ, Yemen - Two Yemenis detained in the bombing of the USS Cole are believed to have taken part in attacks on Yemeni hotels in 1993 blamed on Islamic militants, sources said yesterday.

The Yemenis were among nine men detained last week for questioning in connection with the Oct. 12 attack on the U.S. destroyer in Aden harbor that killed 17 U.S. sailors and injured 39 others.

The sources said the two were believed to have taken part in bombing attacks in December 1993 on Aden's two main hotels that killed an Austrian and a local janitor.

At that time, officials and diplomats said Muslim fundamentalists angered by Yemen's support for the U.S.-led relief operation in Somalia were behind the attacks. About 100 U.S. servicemen were in Aden then as part of the relief operation.

The investigation, the sources said, was increasingly centering on Lahej, an area 20 miles north of Aden and a stronghold of veterans of the war in Afganistan against the Soviets. It said all the nine detained men were from Lahej.

The sources - who spoke on condition they not be named - also said the investigation is focusing on four men believed to be the main plotters in the attack on the Cole. None of the four has been seen since the blast. Paperwork relating to four identification cards issued between 1996 and 1997 has disappeared from government files, the sources said.