Russian plane bursts into flames, making emergency landing; 41 passengers feared dead

MOSCOW, May 6: Forty-one people including 2 children have died in the Sukhoi Superjet 100 plane crash at Sheremetyevo Airport, Yelena Markovskaya, spokesperson for the Moscow interregional transport investigation department of the Russian Investigative Committee, told reporters. This plane made an emergency landing on the airport, flames pouring from its fuselage. The plane had 73 passengers and five crew members on board. Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a thorough investigation.

"Forty-one people died," she said. In total 78 people were on board, 37 of them survived, including four crew members. According to Markovskaya, 28 passengers are now in the airport terminal, five have been taken to hospital. In place of emergency, investigators of the Russian Investigative Committee are working at the scene of the accident.

 

"At the moment, a state commission on investigation of the emergency situation, headed by the Transport Minister of the Russian Federation (Evgeny Dietrich - TASS), is working at Sheremetyevo Airport," Markovskaya said.

She added that a center on providing psychological assistance to the relatives of the passengers on the flight has been deployed at the airport. "Psychologists and investigators are working with the surviving passengers. Medical assistance was immediately provided to all the victims," Markovskaya said.

She also stressed that all the services of the Sheremetyevo airport acted quickly and promptly fighting the plane fire.