The 14-year-old survivor of a Yemeni jet crash clung to debris for more than 13 hours before rescue crews finally found her floating in the Indian Ocean, officials said Wednesday.

The Yemeni Airbus 310 jet, carrying 153 people, crashed early Tuesday off the coast of the island nation of Comoros.

Just one day after the crash, Bahia Bakari was recovering in hospital with bruises on her face and a bandage on her elbow.

Despite her ordeal, Bakari was conscious and able to meet with government officials.

"It is a true miracle. She is a courageous young girl," Alain Joyandet, France's minister for international co-operation, said at the hospital. "She held onto a piece of the plane from 1:30 a.m to 3:00 p.m."

Joyandet said the teenager was strong enough to flag down a passing boat, which then rescued her.

"She really showed an absolutely incredible physical and moral strength," he said.

Bakari will be flown back to France later Wednesday, where she will be checked into a Paris hospital.

"She is physically out of danger, she is evidently very traumatized," he said.

In France, the girl's father, Kassim Bakari, said his daughter was "fragile" and could "barely swim."

His daughter left Paris Monday night with her mother to visit family in Comoros.

He said his daughter was ejected from the plane and then found herself in the water beside the jet.

"She heard people speaking around her but she couldn't see anyone in the darkness," Bakari said on France's RTL radio.

"She's a very timid girl, I never thought she would escape like that."

Most of the passengers were from the Comoros but 66 were French nationals.

A 32-year-old mother of three from Ottawa, Ensumata Abdoulghani, is also believed to have been on board the plane.

Meanwhile, officials now say reports that the plane's black boxes had been found were false. The French army said a signal was detected but it turned out to be a distress beacon, not one of the boxes.

The Comoros, located about 2,900 kilometres south of Yemen, is an archipelago of three main islands.

With files from The Associated Press