Dr Jonathan Mann, one of the world's leading experts on AIDS, and several senior United Nations personnel were among the 229 people who died yesterday when a Swissair jet, apparently in flames, crashed into the Atlantic off Nova Scotia, Canada.
Dr Mann (51), was the first director of the World Health Organisation's Special Programme on Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome from its inception in June 1986 until March 1990. He died with his wife, Mary Lou Clements, who was a vaccine expert.
Mrs Gro Harlem Brundtland, the former Norwegian prime minister who took over as WHO director-general in July, told 200 staff that Dr Mann "was the kind of person who changed the course of events by his dedication, conviction and commitment".
The plane, a McDonnell Douglas MD-11 went down in the Atlantic near Nova Scotia at 1.30 a.m. GMT, an hour and 40 minutes after take-off from New York's Kennedy Airport on its way to Geneva.
Swissair said there were no survivors in the worst disaster in the country's 70-year-long aviation history. A spokesman for the airline said that there were 137 American victims, 30 French, 41 Swiss, six British, three Germans, three Italians and two Greeks. All 14 of the crew members who died were Swiss. No full casualty list was expected to be released until today. Last night only 44 bodies had been recovered.
President Bill Clinton said he was "deeply saddened" to learn of the crash and asked Americans to pray for the families of the victims.
Among the dead was Mr Pierce Gerety, an Irish-American who was director of the Great Lakes operation for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. Other high-profile UN personnel included Kathryn Calvert-Mazy, a French woman who was the UN High Commissioner for Refugees' senior social welfare officer.
The MD11 three-engined jet, flight number 111, crashed in the early hours yesterday en route from Kennedy Airport in New York to Geneva. It was used regularly by many UN staff - to the extent that it was nicknamed the UN Airbus.
Among the other UN personnel to die were Mr Joachim Bilger, a German national who was controller of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), and WIPO senior director for international and operational affairs, Mr Ludwig Beaumler, also a German; Mr Yves de Roussan, a Geneva-based regional adviser for the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), responsible for central and eastern Europe; Ms Ingrid Acevedo, director of public relations for UNICEF's US Committee.
A staff member of the Romebased Food and Agriculture Organisation also perished in the crash, but was not immediately identified.
UN staff in Geneva were deeply shocked at the news of the crash and as names of the victims began to emerge. All UN staff are expected to gather this morning in the General Assembly room in Geneva for a period of silent reflection and remembrance.
Last night the cause of the crash remained a mystery though early indications suggested mechanical failure rather than a terrorist incident. The pilot had told air traffic control there was a problem with smoke in the cockpit and was directed to make an emergency landing at Halifax, Nova Scotia.
He descended from over 30,000 feet to between 8,000 and 10,000 feet and was apparently dumping fuel just off the coast when the plane vanished from radar screens. He had given controllers a "pan, pan, pan" message - the ultimate distress signal.
The disaster, the worst in Swissair's history, will be investigated by Boeing, which took over McDonnell Douglas, manufacturers of the MD11, and the FBI, as well as Canadian and US aviation authorities.
Aircraft crew reported problems after takeoff; Grieving relatives fill airport lounge; Crash ranks among aviation's worst; MD-11 aircraft had good safety record: page 11