Russia jet carrying 71 people crashes after Moscow take-off
A Russian airliner has crashed after leaving Moscow’s Domodedovo airport, killing all 65 passengers and six crew on board.
The Saratov Airlines jet vanished minutes after take-off and crashed near the village of Argunovo, about 80km (50 miles) south-east of Moscow.
The cause of crash is unclear. Investigators and emergency crews are working at the snow-covered site.
The Antonov An-148 was en route to the city of Orsk in the Ural mountains.
Flight-tracking site Flightradar24 said the aircraft was descending at the rate of 1,000m (3,300ft) per minute shortly after taking off early on Sunday afternoon.
Pieces of wreckage and bodies were found spread over a large area.
President Vladimir Putin has expressed his condolences to the victims’ families and announced an inquiry into the cause of the crash.
Russia’s gazeta.ru website quotes unnamed investigators as saying the pilot had reported a malfunction and requested clearance for an emergency landing.
All 65 passengers were from Orenburg, the Russian region to which the plane was flying, a spokesman for the regional governor told Interfax news agency.
How good is Russia’s flight safety record?
Russian airlines have suffered two major plane crashes in recent years:
What do we know about Saratov Airlines?
Saratov Airlines is based in Saratov, 840km south-east of Moscow.
In 2015 it was banned from operating international flights when surprise inspectors found someone other than the flight crew was in the cockpit.
The airline appealed against the ban and changed its policy before resuming international charter flights in 2016.
It flies mainly between Russian cities but also has destinations in Armenia and Georgia.
Courtesy : BBC