At least 41 people on board a Russian Aeroflot passenger plane were killed when it caught fire while making an emergency landing at a Moscow airport on Sunday. Dozens of people, including at least two children, were killed when a Russian passenger jet crash-landed at a Moscow airport, bursting into flames on impact and bouncing down the runway.
Videos on social media show passengers using emergency exit slides to escape the burning Aeroflot aircraft. Two children and a flight attendant were among the dead, Russian media reports. One witness said it was a "miracle" anyone escaped the jet, which was carrying 73 passengers and five crew.
Жесть конечно, ПИЛОТЫ МОЛОДЦЫ РЕСПЕКТ МУЖИКАМ. 78 пассажиров все живы pic.twitter.com/8HkhjwtrxP
— Артем Парсанов (@ArtemPetrovich) May 5, 2019
Initial reports said the Aeroflot Superjet 100 was flying from Moscow to Murmansk, a Russian city in the Arctic circle, when an emergency on board forced it to turn back. Two children and a flight attendant were among the dead, Russian media reported. Veronika Skvortsova, head of Russia's ministry of health, said in a statement that six patients are in hospital - three of whom are in a critical condition. Aeroflot, Russia's national carrier, said the plane was forced to return to the airport "for technical reasons", but did not elaborate.
Another 11 people were injured, said Dmitry Matveyev, the Moscow region's health minister. Three were hospitalized but they were not in a serious condition. "Investigators soon will begin interviewing victims, eyewitnesses, airport staff and the airline carrier, as well as other persons responsible for the operation of the aircraft," Investigative Committee spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko said. Of the 78 people aboard the plane, including five crew members, thirty-seven people survived, Markovskaya told reporters at Sheremetyevo Airport.
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