International

Cuba Plane Crash: Over 100 Dead After Boeing 737 Crashes In Havana

Darpan News Desk, 18 May, 2018 05:21 PM

A Boeing 737 domestic passenger plane, with 104 passengers including five children and nine crew members from Havana to Holguin, came down shortly after takeoff.

Cuban president Miguel Diaz-Canel said there are three survivors, all women, who are in critical condition, reported news agency Reuters. Rescue operations are underway at the site; the fire has been put out and authorities are trying to identify the bodies.

Boeing, in a statement, said it was apprised of the crash and was closely monitoring the situation. According to flight tracker, the aircraft was CU972, which departed from Havana at 11 am local time.

Firefighters were trying to extinguish its smoldering remains. 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.

A military officer who declined to provide his name to reporters said that there appeared to have been only three survivors in critical condition, but other officials declined to confirm that figure.

The plane was rented by Cubana, which has taken many of its aging planes out of service in recent months due to mechanical problems. Cuba’s First Vice-President, Salvador Valdes Mesa, met Thursday with Cubana officials to discuss improvements in its heavily criticized service.

Harrowing video captures moments after passenger jet carrying 104 passengers hit the ground in Cuba, exploding into a massive fireball. https://t.co/AheZpJc6CO pic.twitter.com/XiFsGagjtC
— ABC News (@ABC) May 18, 2018

MORE: Eyewitness video shows the aftermath of a passenger jet carrying 104 passengers crashing shortly after takeoff in Cuba. So far, three survivors have been found among the wreckage. https://t.co/IAUjBl6fUe pic.twitter.com/CbIT0sXdII
— ABC News (@ABC) May 18, 2018

#Boeing737 crash in #Cuba:
- Plane ‘struck power line’
- Over 100 killed
- 3 survivors in hospitalhttps://t.co/CiTSFqEiED pic.twitter.com/WfXPGPSuNc
— RT (@RT_com) May 18, 2018

UPDATE: At least 100 people were killed in a plane crash near Havana, according to Cuban authorities. https://t.co/f5Beb4aIzn
— Twitter Moments (@TwitterMoments) May 18, 2018

#UPDATE More than 100 killed after Boeing 737 crashes in #Cuba https://t.co/mFwrmKscri pic.twitter.com/mqhC6Ehoyo
— CGTN (@CGTNOfficial) May 18, 2018

Prev Next

MORE International ARTICLES

200 Killed In Tunnel Collapse At North Korea's Nuclear Test Site: Report

More than 200 people were killed when a tunnel collapsed at North Korea’s nuclear test site this month, a Japanese TV channel has reported citing North Korean sources.

200 Killed In Tunnel Collapse At North Korea's Nuclear Test Site: Report

Indian Students Attacked In Italy

The Indian consulate in Milan said it had taken up the incident of attacks with the “highest level of law and order authorities” in the city and urged students not to panic.

Indian Students Attacked In Italy

In Sherin Mathews Case, Indian-Origin Woman With Similar Name Harassed

Ash's wife Sini Mathew has received huge unwanted attention after being falsely identified as the mother of Sherin.

In Sherin Mathews Case, Indian-Origin Woman With Similar Name Harassed

Top US Magazine Pitches For Raghuram Rajan To Head Federal Reserve

Former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan will be an apt pick to head the US Federal Reserve, global financial magazine Barron's has said.

Top US Magazine Pitches For Raghuram Rajan To Head Federal Reserve

Indian-Origin Surgeon Dr Hector Chawla Saved Me From Blindness, Says Former UK PM Gordon Brown

The Labour Party leader, who was the Prime Minister of Britain from 2007 to 2010, credited Dr Hector Chawla with rescuing him from complete blindness in his book 'My Life, Our Time'.