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Chinese plane crashes off W Africa, up to 8 dead

NOUAKCHOTT:A Chinese plane, in Mauritania as part of a cooperation agreement, has crashed into the sea off the town of Nouadhibou killing up to eight of the nine people on board, a Western diplomat said on Saturday.

Seven people were missing presumed dead after the Friday night crash. One of two Chinese military officers on board the plane was rescued but died of his injuries later, the diplomat said.

A Mauritanian army colonel was the only known survivor.

Apart from the two Chinese officers, who were in Mauritania as part of the cooperation programme, all the other people on board were Mauritanians. Earlier reports had suggested four Chinese were on board.

The plane, a Yanqi 7, was on a flight from Las Palmas in the Canary Islands to Mauritania's capital Nouakchott, carrying equipment for a newly completed conference centre.

It crashed on take-off when one engine failed after a stopover at Nouadhibou, the diplomat said.

China formally handed the conference centre, the Palais des Congres, to Mauritania on Saturday morning._Reuter