Fifty-two people died as a passenger Boeing crashed while landing in the city of Kazan in central Russia on Saturday, according to the Emergencies Ministry.
The passenger aircraft Boeing 737-500 operated by the regional
Tatarstan airline exploded after crash-landing in the airport of
Kazan at 15:25 GMT, according to Interfax. The jet’s nose
reportedly hit the ground during touchdown. Flight U363 was
coming from Moscow Domodedovo airport.
Reports of casualties vary. According to a spokeswoman from the
Emergencies Ministry, 52 people were on board the plane and all
are feared dead. Another report from the Federal Air Transport
Agency said that 50 people - including six crew members - were on
board, all of whom were killed.
No children were reported to be on board the plane.
The plane caught on fire after the crash landing in Kazan, the
capital of the largely-muslim region of Tatarstan. The flames
were extinguished less than one hour into the disaster, ITAR-TASS
reported.
So far, rescuers have recovered the bodies of all 50 people from
the crash site, according to Tatarstan's Disaster Medicine
Center.
An emergency services source told Interfax that the pilots made a
mistake when entering the second lap, causing the plane to crash.
However, the source added that there is a possibility that it was
a technical failure.
“The plane attempted to land several times. One of the [fuel]
tanks detonated while the plane was landing,” said
Emergencies Ministry spokeswoman Irina Rossius.
A witness traveling from Kazan to Moscow, who happened to be on
the airfield at the moment of the crash, reported hearing a loud
bang and feeling some trembling. The shuttle bus he was on was
then diverted back to the terminal. The young man did not report
any panic and said that he and other passengers were allowed to
pick up their luggage within about 15 minutes after the crash.
All the forces of the Volga Regional Emergency Center are on high
alert. The Investigation Committee has launched a probe into
the crash. A criminal case into the violation of flight rules has
been initiated. The Interstate Aviation Committee is dispatching
its experts to look into the accident.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has instructed the government to
form a commission to investigate the cause of the plane crash in
Kazan, said presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
The Boeing 737-500 is a make of a popular short- to medium-range
twin-engine jet airliner, which was introduced in 1987. The
series is also known as “Classic,” along with the 300 and the 400
models. The 737-500 can seat from 108 to 132 passengers and has
two cockpit crew members.
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