Government admits to mistakes in handling of air disaster


Moritz Leuenberger (left) attended the service along with the new Swiss ambassador, Werner Baumann [Keystone]


The transport minister, Moritz Leuenberger, has admitted that mistakes were made in the Swiss response to last week’s fatal air crash.

Audio / Video / Links


Leuenberger was speaking on Friday at a memorial service in �berlingen, Germany, where he said Switzerland would do all it could to help the investigation into what caused the crash and who bore responsibility for it.

His comments came as the Swiss government announced that the president, Kaspar Villiger, would not attend a memorial service in Russia on Saturday, because the authorities could not guarantee his safety.

Seventy-one people – most of them children - died when a Russian passenger plane collided with a cargo plane over southern Germany more than a week ago. Swiss air traffic controllers were responsible for guiding traffic in the area where the crash occurred.

Leuenberger also promised that Switzerland would provide financial support to the families of the mainly Russian victims.

http://www2.swissinfo.org/sen/Swissinfo.html?siteSect=111&sid=1229129