At least thirteen people were killed when a Russian plane exploded into flames mid-air as it made an emergency landing at Moscow’s main international airport, local media reports claim.
A female flight attendant was reportedly among those who died as she helped people from the stricken Sukhoi Superjet at Sheremetyevo airport on Sunday.
Terrified passengers were seen fleeing the Russian national carrier Aeroflot plane as flames flared from the rear of the aircraft with a reported 78 on board Dailymail reported.
The Russian-built aircraft made an emergency landing soon after take-off from Russia’s capital to the Arctic city of Murmansk.
Initial indications suggest an electrical fault might have caused the fire while the plane was in the air.
Interfax agency reported that the plane, a Russian-made Superjet-100, had just taken off from Sheremetyevo airport on a domestic route when the crew issued a distress signal.
‘It attempted an emergency landing but did not succeed the first time, and on the second time the landing gear hit (the ground), then the nose did, and it caught fire,’ a source said.
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It reported that the tail was completely burned and said a rescue team was trying to find survivors in that part of the plane.
A female flight attendant died while rescuing some of the 78 passengers on board, according to one local media account. It was unclear how many crews had been on the flight.
Ambulances were sent to the scene of the landing and the passengers were evacuated, with the airport now closed for arrivals and departures.
The airline said the number of victims was ‘being specified’ and that emergency medical care was being provided to the injured.
Footage showed a column of smoke towering over the plane. Other images showed the aircraft on fire as it attempted to land, then distraught passengers leaving by a forward door.
Video captured passengers leaping from the plane onto an inflatable slide from the front of the aircraft and staggering across tarmac and grass of the airport.
The stricken plane was clearly visible from the main terminals at the airport in the north of Moscow and a British Airways plane could be seen on the tarmac alongside it.
A passenger called Mackintosh posted on social media: ‘Guys I am all right, I am alive and in one piece.
and then