THE WHITE HOUSE

                     Office of the Press Secretary
                      (Armagh, Northern Ireland)
________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release                                  September 3, 1998

STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

Crash of Swissair Flight 111

Hillary and I were deeply saddened to learn of the fatal crash of Swissair Flight 111 off Halifax, Nova Scotia last night. We join the American people in extending our deepest sympathies to the families of the passengers and crewmembers aboard the aircraft.

I want to thank the Canadian government and people for the extraordinary way in which they responded to this tragedy. Hundreds of people, including many volunteers, searched through the night. The United States will continue to do everything we can to assist the Canadian and Swiss authorities in the search for survivors and to determine the cause of this accident. Members of the National Transportation Safety Board are on the scene of the crash and we have offered support from our Navy, the Coast Guard and other Federal agencies.

I ask that the American people remember in their prayers the families who lost loved ones on that flight.

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