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3rd LD: Plane crash kills all 62 on board in Russia

Xinhua, March 19, 2016 Adjust font size:

A Boeing 737-800 passenger plane from Dubai crashed at the destination airport in southwestern Russia early Saturday, killing all the 62 people on board, authorities said.

The Flydubai Flight 981 fell near the left of the runway at the Rostov-on-Don airport at about 03:50 Moscow time (0050 GMT) while making a second attempt to land amid poor visibility conditions caused by heavy rain, the emergencies ministry of Rostov region said in an online statement.

The short- to medium-range aircraft broke into several pieces and caught on fire, which has been put out, according to the statement.

According to the latest information from the ministry and Russia's Investigative Committee, the ill-fated plane carried 55 passengers and seven crew members on board and all of them were killed. Reports said that four children were among the dead.

Most of the victims were Russian nationals, authorities said. The nationalities of those foreigners are yet to be determined. The Chinese embassy said initial information showed that no Chinese was on the plane.

The Investigative Committee has launched an investigation into the accident. An emergencies source told the RIA Novosti news agency that a tailstrike could have been the cause.

In the wake of the crash, the Rostov-on-Don airport has been closed, and inbound flights are being redirected to other destinations.

Flydubai, or the Dubai Aviation Corporation, has confirmed the crash, but has not offered any preliminary cause. It has opened two hotlines -- +442034508853 or +97142934100 -- for those worried to call for information.

"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. We will do everything we can to help those who have been affected by this accident," the budget carrier said in a statement.

Founded in 2008 by the Dubai government, Flydubai is the city's first low-cost airline, according to its website.

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

On its Twitter account, the plane manufacturer said, "We're aware of reports coming out of Russia and our team is currently gathering more details." Endi