MANILA - The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Wednesday morning it is checking reports that the Yemenia airline that crashed into the Indian Ocean had a Filipino crew on board.

"The Philippine Embassy in Riyadh, which has jurisdiction over Filipino nationals in Yemen, is trying to confirm reports that a Filipino crew of Yemenia is one of the casualties in the Yemeni plane crash Tuesday," the DFA said in a statement.

The DFA said it is closely monitoring developments of the tragic plane crash.

Reports said authorities in Yemen fear that only a 14-year-old girl passenger of the Yemeni Airbus jet survived the crash. The plane had 153 passengers.

"The girl, aged 14, has arrived at the El Maarouf hospital. We were told that her condition is not worrisome," Red Cross spokeswoman Ramulati Ben Ali said.

Ben Ali said only one survivor had been found so far after the Yemeni Airbus jet crashed into the Indian Ocean as it came in to land in the Comoros islands.

A policeman identified as one of the girl's rescuers told France's Europe 1 radio that the teenager was seen swimming in choppy waters in the middle of bodies and plane debris around 4:00 am (0100 GMT).

"We tried to throw a life buoy. She could not grab it. I had to jump in the water to get her," the rescuer said. "She was shaking, shaking. We put four covers on her. We gave her hot, sugary water. We simply asked her name, village."

The French army has arrived from Reunion with zodiacs and other equipment, and a French helicopter will take part Wednesday in the search operations at sea, said Comoran government spokesman Kamaleddin Afraitane.

"Technicians from Yemen arrived in Moroni this afternoon with investigators to determine the cause of the accident," he added. -- With Agence France-Presse