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110 people killed in Boeing 737 crash in Cuba, three survived — minister

Among the victims are twenty pastors of a Protestant church

© AP Photo/Desmond Boylan

HAVANA, May 19. /TASS/. One hundred and ten people have been killed in the crash of a Boeing 737 in Cuba, Cuban Minister of Transportation Adel Yzquierdo Rodriguez said on Saturday.

According to Cuban website Cubadebate, the minister said that three people survived the crash. They are staying in a Havana hospital in critical condition.

Adel Yzquierdo confirmed that there were five foreigners among the passengers: two citizens of Argentina, one citizen of Mexico and two residents from Western Sahara. The plane was operated by a Mexican crew of six people.

Among the victims are twenty pastors of a Protestant church, Associated Press reported.

According to AP, the pastors were returning to the city of Holguin from Havana, where they had attended a theological seminar for several days. All of them were members of the Nazarene Church.

The Boeing 737 crashed on Friday right after departing from the Havana Jose Marti International Airport, with 111 people on board; 108 of them were killed in the crash. The plane was en route from Havana to Holguin. It crash-landed in an agricultural zone between the airport and the community of Santiago de las Vegas, about 20 km south of Havana. The cause of the crash is still unclear.

One of the two flight recorders was found, Adel Yzquierdo said. The Cuban Ministry of Transportation established a commission for investigation into the tragedy.

The minister reported that 10 bodies were identified. The identification procedure may take several weeks, he said.

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