04 January 2004	Sunday	11 Ziqa'ad 1424

PARIS, Jan 3: Entire families, including many children, were among the 133 French tourists killed in Saturday's plane crash off the Egyptian coast while heading home from New Year holidays in the sun.

Numb with shock and their faces stained with tears, around 35 relatives of some of those aboard the Egyptian airliner that crashed into the Red Sea gathered at Paris's main airport.

"They are in shock," said Michel Clerel, in charge of counselling for relatives of the victims, told reporters at a hotel near the airport, where the plane had been due to land on Saturday morning.

"They were waiting for family members to come back from a holiday, then it was brutally announced to them that they had died," said Clerel, the head of medical services at Charles de Gaulle airport.

One man said his Moroccan aunt - a 47-year-old mother of five - had been on the flight.

"When I learned about the news I thought this cannot have happened," said Mohammed Hjiaj. "I want to go to Egypt as soon as possible to identify the body."

Mr Clerel told reporters many children, who had been holidaying with their families, were on board the plane and that entire families, including one of seven, were wiped out when the plane crashed shortly after takeoff from the beach resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

The French justice ministry said it had ordered French prosecutors to open a judicial inquiry for manslaughter, but had not referred the case to Paris's special terror unit. Transport Minister Gilles de Robien told LCI television the probe would also check whether Flash Airlines had met international aviation standards.

Most passengers had booked their holidays through Fram, one of France's biggest tour operators. The company said the victims came from all over France, but mostly from the Paris region.

At the airport, people scoured the list of passengers on the crashed plane for names of friends and relatives.

"I am very worried. I know my daughter is due to arrive from Egypt today where she is holidaying with her fiance," said Therese Dupont, her voice trembling.

"I came here after I saw the news, but I couldn't find her name on the list of victims. That reassured me a bit but I still don't know what's happening and where she is." -Reuters