Rescuers searching the Indian Ocean for survivors of the Comoros plane crash have picked up a 14-year old girl, alive, from the water.

153 people were on board the Yemeni Airbus which came down in bad weather while trying to land on a flight from Sanaa. 66 of them were French nationals. A handful of bodies have also been recovered. The jet, operated by Yemenia Airways, was a 19- year old Airbus A310-300 – a model no longer in production. Flight IY 626 to Moroni had begun in Paris and Marseille – the same airline, but a newer airliner. It headed to the Yemeni capital where passengers changed onto the doomed aircraft for the second leg to the Comoros. The French government said the plane that crashed had been banned from France after several faults were found in 2007. A minister is investigating if it is allowed to pick up passengers in an aircraft that meets European standards, before transferring them to one which might not, in another territory. French military vessels have been sent from Mayotte and Reunion and specialist rescue teams have left from France. Airbus investigators are also heading for the crash site.More about: Air France, Comoros, Plane crash

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