Flydubai Flight 981 crashes on landing at Rostov-on-Don, Russia

Kuwait Upto Date • March 19, 2016 • 0 Comments

A passenger jet run by Flydubai under the code FZ981 has crash-landed at Rostov-on-Don airport in southern Russia, with 55 passengers and up to six crew members on board.

Flydubai told CNBC that “fatalities have been confirmed as a result of this tragic accident.” Russian-language state news agency RIA Novosti cited an emergency ministry official as saying that all people on board had been killed, Reuters reported.

“We are doing all we can to gather information as quickly as possible. At this moment our thoughts and prayers are with our passengers and our crew who were on board the aircraft,” a spokesman for the carrier said in a statement issued to CNBC. “We will do everything we can to help those who have been affected by this accident.”

NBC cited a spokesperson from the Southern Regional Center of the Emergency Situations Ministry as saying that the plane was “broken, debris strewn over the landing strip.”

The Boeing 737-800 was en route from Dubai to Rostov-on-Don when it missed the runway in poor visibility possibly caused by heavy rain, English-language state news agency Sputnik reported, citing RIA Novosti.

The passenger group, which included four children, were all Russian citizens, Sputnik reported, while the six crew were foreigners. Other reports put the number of crew at four or five, and said that there may have been fewer foreigners on board; all reports are based on preliminary information.

All on board were killed, according to the Sputnik report, which cited a Emergency Ministry source. Russian news agency Tass also said there were no survivors, according to reports.

Flydubai Flight 981 crashes on landing at Rostov-on-Don, Russia was last modified: March 19th, 2016 by Kuwait Upto Date