A government spokesman in Cyprus says police have raided the Nicosia offices of Helios Airways, owners of the Boeing 737 that crashed in Greece yesterday killing all 121 people on board.
The spokesman said the raid followed allegations brought by the Communication and Works Minister and the Chief of Police.
Attorney General Petros Clerides issued search warrants for the central offices of Helios to collect documents and other evidence that might be useful in a possible criminal investigation, the spokesman added.
Meanwhile, Greece's Chief Coroner Philippos Koutsaftis has revealed that at least six of the 121 people aboard the Cypriot airliner that crashed near Athens were alive when the plane smashed into the ground.
The coroner has so far conducted six post mortem examinations and said, while there was no evidence the six were conscious, they had circulation in their heart and lungs.
Aviation experts have said the most likely cause of the crash was a sudden and catastrophic loss of oxygen.
Earlier, the authorities in Greece said the majority of the victims were probably dead before the plane went down. A separate, unconfirmed, report said many of the bodies found in the wreckage were frozen.
Helios Airways, the low-budget company which owned the aircraft, earlier denied a statement by Cyprus' Transport Ministry that it had grounded all its fleet.
It was reported that Helios pilots and flight attendants had refused to board a flight from Larnaca to Sofia, although it was unclear if the refusal was over safety concerns.
The plane, a Boeing 737, was the same model as the aircraft that crashed.
Emergency workers have found the plane's cockpit voice recorder, which could give some clues to the cause of the accident, but officials said it had been badly damaged.
Helios Airways had a fleet of four Boeing 737s before yesterday's crash flying to a number of destinations, including Dublin and London.
