Washington -- The U.S. State Department issued a fact sheet September 8 outlining U.S. Government efforts to assist families of victims of Swissair/Delta Flight 111, which crashed late September 2 off Nova Scotia, and to assist the Canadian government in crash investigation and recovery efforts.

Following is the text of the fact sheet:

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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESMAN For Immediate Release September 8, 1998

FACT SHEET SWISSAIR/DELTA 111 CRASH

The Department of State as well as our missions in Canada and Switzerland have been assisting the families of American crash victims since being informed of the accident late on Wednesday. As many as 112 U.S. citizens may have been on board Swissair/Delta flight 111. As of 10:30 this morning, the State Department had confirmed that at least 92 U.S. citizens had perished in this tragedy. A State Department monitoring group continues its work to confirm officially the citizenship of several passengers whom we believe may be U.S. citizens.

The U.S. Consulate in Halifax is assisting the families by facilitating contact with local authorities in obtaining vital documents, and assisting with other issues as they arise. The State Department team in Halifax is being led by Consular Minister-Counselor Michael Bellows from the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa and our Consul General in Halifax, Ms. Elo-kai Ojamaa. They are being assisted by staff at the Consulate General in Halifax as well as four State Department personnel from Toronto and Washington. U.S. officials in Halifax are making themselves available virtually around the clock and are attending memorial services to provide comfort and support. U.S. Ambassador to Switzerland, Madeleine Kunin, flew on Thursday to Geneva to provide assistance and comfort to family members. U.S. Ambassador to Canada, Gordon Giffin, will represent the United States at an official memorial service for the victims on Wednesday, September 9.

In Washington, the State Department has established a monitoring group in its Operations Center to work with our team in Halifax, the Canadian Government, and other U.S. Government agencies to assist the families and aid in the recovery and investigation phases of the air crash. Other U.S. Government assistance provided includes:

-- The USS Grapple, which departed Philadelphia on Sunday, September 6 and will arrive in Nova Scotia on Wednesday, September 9. This ship has heavy lift cranes and 40 divers among its crew.

-- Laser line scanner and side sonar equipment for use in locating wreckage on the ocean floor. Two C-17 transport aircraft flew 54,000 pounds of laser line scanner equipment on Monday, September 7 from Eglin Air Force Base in Panama City, Florida to Shearwater, Nova Scotia. This equipment will be used on a Canadian Coast Guard vessel. Additional side scan sonar equipment was flown Monday from Norfolk, Virginia on a C-20 aircraft for use on the USS Grapple.

-- A team of eight investigators from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is assisting the Canadian Transportation Safety Board, which is leading the investigation into the causes of the crash. Two employees of NTSB's Family Affairs Office are in Halifax to assist family members.

-- One Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) crash investigator accompanied the NTSB team to Halifax. Two systems and structural engineers and a test pilot familiar with the MD-11 aircraft will fly to Halifax on Wednesday, September 9 along with an FAA fire specialist.

-- A U.S. Coast Guard officer who was a veteran of recovery operations following the crash of flight TWA 800 arrived in Halifax on Monday evening, September 7 to assist the Canadian Coast Guard.

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