Yemen jet crashes in Indian Ocean

A Yemeni airliner with more than 150 people on board has crashed in the Indian Ocean near the Comoros islands.

Some bodies have been found and a child rescued alive, officials from the carrier, Yemenia, said.

The Airbus 310 flight IY626 was flying from the Yemeni capital Sanaa, but many passengers on the plane began their journey in France.

The cause of the crash is not clear. A French minister said faults were found on the plane during a check in 2007.

"The A310 in question was inspected in 2007 by the DGAC [French transport authorities] and they noticed a certain number of faults. Since then the plane had not returned to France," Transport Minister Dominique Bussereau was quoted as telling French TV.

"The company was not on the black list but was subject to stricter checks on our part, and was due to be interviewed shortly by the European Union's safety committee."

An EU official told Reuters news agency there were concerns about the airline's "incomplete reporting procedure and incomplete follow-up" following the 2007 tests but that its record was now improving.

Yemeni Transport Minister Khaled Ibrahim al-Wazeer told Reutersthat the plane had undergone a thorough inspection and conformed to international standards.