Mourning relatives watched Friday as divers retrieved bodies from a jetliner that crashed off this West African nation with 161 people on board.
More than 20 people, including the pilot, survived the crash. Dozens of others were missing and feared dead, officials said.
“I can’t bear to think what has become of them,” said Karim Jumblat, a Lebanese waiting for news of three brothers who were heading home to spend the holidays with their parents.
Another man fainted as authorities brought his wife’s body to shore Friday. A day earlier, they recovered his 3-year-old daughter.
The Boeing 727, carrying mostly Lebanese, clipped a building during takeoff and plunged into the water, scattering bodies and debris along the beach and Atlantic Ocean.
Lebanese Foreign Minister Jean Obeid, who flew to Cotonou on Friday, said 113 bodies had been recovered. He said some of the initial survivors later succumbed to their wounds.
Obeid said 151 passengers and 10 crew members were aboard the Union des Transports Africains plane, which was owned by Lebanese businessmen.
French and Lebanese divers are expected to help in the recovery effort as the crash remains under investigation.
