A Boeing 737 operated by state airline Cubana crashed on takeoff from Jose Marti International Airport in Havana on Friday with 107 people on board. There was no immediate word on casualties.
The plane was headed to the eastern city of Holguin and crashed between the airport in southern Havana and the nearby town of Santiago de las Vegas, state television and websites said.
The plane was a domestic flight going to Holguin, carrying 107 passengers, state-run TV said.
Images on TV and social media showed a large plume of black smoke above the airport.
Government officials including President Miguel Diaz-Canel rushed to the site, along with a large number of emergency medical workers and ambulances. Residents of the rural area said they had seen some survivors being taken away in ambulances.
According to reports in media the crashed aircraft in Cuba is a 26 year old Boeing 737-400 (I-BPAC), operated by Blue Panorama Airlines for Cubana, as flight #CU972 from Havana to Holguin.
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) May 18, 2018
We didn't track this flight.https://t.co/Sp3uNLck2w pic.twitter.com/9uJQzOOUhy
#airplanecrash near #Havana #Cuba Jose Marti Airport right now 🛬 pic.twitter.com/VID2avgsbD
— Teacher From PR 🌞🌊 (@MaestroDEPR) May 18, 2018
Plane crash in Cuba, American flight crashed shortly after take off 😟 #cuba #planecrash pic.twitter.com/W4IuiIaF1K
— Matt Blakeley (@blakeley1990) May 18, 2018
#ÚltimaHora
— CubaTV (@CubaTVSITVC) May 18, 2018
Avión Boeing 737 de Cubana de Aviación cayó hace minutos, luego de partir del Aeropuerto Internacional José Martí de La Habana.