Moscow: The Russian passenger plane carrying 71 persons outside Moscow was crashed on Sunday after leaving the capital’s Domodedovo airport, officials and local media said.
The Antonov An-148 aircraft manage by the domestic Saratov Airlines flew to Orsk, a city in Urals and crashed in Ramensky district on the outskirts of Moscow. The Russian news agencies reported that 65 passengers and 6 crew were on board and everyone was feared dead. The News agencies said witnesses in the Argunovo village saw the plane falling from a burning sky.
A source from Russia’s emergency services told the Interfax that there was “no chance” of survival of 71 people on the board.
President Vladimir Putin expressed his condolences to the families of those people of the board. Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Pescov said, “The president offered his deepest condolences to those people to those who lost his relatives in the Crash.
The State television broadcast a video of a crash site, showing parts of the debris in the snow. The Russia has seen record high snowflakes in recent times and visibility was reportedly poor. The Russian-built aircraft was 7 years old and was purchased by Saratov Airlines from another Russian airline a year ago.
The Russian media reported that emergency services were unable to reach the crash site on the road and the rescue workers went on foot. The Emergency services said in a statement that over 150 rescue workers were deployed on the site. A source from Domodedovo of Moscow’s second largest airport told the agencies that the plane disappeared within two minutes after takeoff from the radar.
The Ministry of Transportation said that several reasons are being considered for the Crash, including weather conditions and human error. The prosecution had started investigating Saratov Airlines after the Crash.
