Tweet
Passenger plane crashes in Cuba Americas
State media says aircraft carrying 68 people has gone down on its way to the capital Havana.
Last Modified: 05 Nov 2010 06:35 GMT
Email Article
Print Article
Share Article
Send Feedback
A passenger aircraft carrying 68 people has crashed in Cuba, on its way from the eastern city of Santiago de Cuba to Havana, the capital.
Cuban state media said that 38 of the passengers were foreigners, but did not give a breakdown of nationalities. There were 23 Cubans on board the flight and a crew of seven.
Cuba's Civil Aviation Authority issued a statement early on Friday saying there were no survivors.
AeroCaribbean plane went down at 0942 GMT on Thursday near the town of Guasimal in the province of Sancti Spiritus after calling out an emergency to air traffic controllers.
The aircraft "fell to the ground in the region of Guacimal", according to state television.
First bodies recovered
Rescue workers were at the scene and had recovered the first bodies, according to the local state-run newspaper Escambray.
A photo posted on the paper's web site showed a large piece of the plane in flames, with rescue workers in olive-green military uniforms standing around it. It said the local Communist Party chief as well as interior ministry and other officials were at the scene helping with the rescue effort.
The twice-a-week flight goes from Port-au-Prince, Haiti, to Santiago de Cuba to Havana. It had been due to land in the Cuban capital at 7:50pm, but reported an emergency at 5:42pm and subsequently lost contact with air traffic controllers.
Source:
Agencies
Email Article
Print Article
Share Article
Send Feedback
Topics in this article Country
City
Featured on Al Jazeera
US-trained cartel terrorises Mexico
Founders of the Zetas drug gang learned special forces techniques at Ft. Bragg before waging a campaign of carnage.
Following Mexico's drug money trail
After a student protester is shot by police on campus, critics demand an end to militarisation and money laundering.
US: myth of the two party system
Would America look much different if Republican John McCain had beaten Democrat Barack Obama to become president?
US and Israel: Blinded by the Right
Similarities exist in the political landscapes' of both the US and Israel, which left unaltered, could be of grave harm.
Comment