All news

Boeing 737 jet crashes at Russian airport during landing, 50 reported dead

Russia’s Investigations committee was considering the opening of a criminal case over the crash

MOSCOW, November 17, 20:43 /ITAR-TASS/. A Boeing 737 jet of the Tatarstan airline has crashed in the airport of Kazan, the capital of Russia’s constituent region of Tatarstan in the middle reach of the Volga River, while completing a flight from Moscow.

It had 50 people of aboard and early reports indicate that all of them died, Irina Rossius, a spokeswoman for the Ministry for Emergency Situations and Civil Defense /EMERCOM/, told Itar-Tass.

“All the forces of EMERCOM’s regional center in the Volga area have been put on high alert and experts of the Centrospas salvation center are ready to leave for Kazan immediately,” she said.

Sources at the Russian Federal Service for Civil Aviation told Itar-Tass that it that the jet had 44 passengers and a six-strong crew aboard. All of them were reported dead.

The Boeing lost altitude, collapsed on the runway and its fuel tanks exploded, producing a fire that was fully extinguished fairly soon, a source said.

Russia’s Investigations committee was considering the opening of a criminal case over the crash.

“A Boeing 737 performing flight 363 from Moscow’s Domdedovo airport crashed at 19:26 while landing in the airport of Kazan,” a spokesman for the committee said.

“Verification measures are being taken at the moment and the operatives and investigators are inspecting the site of the crash,” he said.