2nd LD: Plane carrying some 60 crashes in Russia, all feared dead

A Boeing 737 passenger plane from Dubai crashed early Saturday at the destination airport in southwestern Russia, with all the some 60 people on board feared to have been killed, emergencies authorities and local media reports said.

The Flydubai Flight 981, which was about to land in Rostov-on-Don, "fell amid poor visibility conditions 50-100 meters left of the runway," the RIA Novosti news agency quoted an unnamed emergencies source as saying.

The exact number of people aboard the ill-fated aircraft is yet to be determined. Some reports placed the total at 62 -- 55 passengers, including four children, and 7 crew members, while some others put the number at 61 or 59. Most passengers are Russian, according to the reports.

Some emergencies officials told Russian media that all of those on board were killed in the tragedy, while Marina Kostioukova, spokeswoman for the local emergencies ministry, said that they "do not have any information on victims" at the moment.

The poor visibility caused by heavy downpour could have been the likely cause, the unnamed emergency source told RIA Novosti.

Flydubai, or Dubai Aviation Corporation, has confirmed that a Boeing 737-800 passenger plane crashed in Russia's Rostov region, according to the Sputnik news agency.

Meanwhile, Boeing spokesman Doug Alder was quoted by Sputnik as saying that the company is gathering details of the crash. Endi