Forty-one people killed in Russian passenger plane fire
(CNN)Forty-one
people were killed when a Russian passenger plane made a fiery
crash-landing Sunday at a Moscow airport, said Elena Markovskaya, a
member of the country's Investigative Committee.
Two children are among the dead, according to the committee.
The
Russian Superjet 100 was flying from Moscow to Murmansk when a fire
broke out on board. Aeroflot Flight SU1492 returned to Moscow's
Sheremetyevo Airport, making a hard landing, news agency Interfax
reported.
Thirty-seven people survived, Markovskaya told reporters at Sheremetyevo Airport. Five survivors are hospitalized, she said.
The plane had 73 passengers and five crew members on board. Russian state news agency TASS reported.
Russian President Vladimir Putin orders 'thorough investigation'
Videos on social media show the plane engulfed in flames on the tarmac and people evacuating through emergency slides.
A passenger in a plane waiting to depart Moscow posted this video on Instagram.
Russian
President Vladimir Putin has been informed of the fiery emergency
landing of the Aeroflot jet in Moscow and has ordered a "thorough
investigation," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told TASS.
"All
instructions have been given to conduct the most thorough
investigation, [to carry out] the necessary orders to find out the cause
of this accident," said Peskov, according to TASS.
Aeroflot, the unofficial national airline of Russia, confirmed that the fire occurred but hasn't commented yet on casualties.
Russia's
Investigative Committee has launched a criminal probe into the
incident, it said on its website. The committee routinely conducts
investigations into major incidents with loss of life.
