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Russia Plane Crash: Two Indians Among 62 Killed On Board

Two Indians Among 62 Killed In Russia Plane Crash
SEREGA NAZAROW/YouTube

Two Indians are among the sixty-two people killed after a Dubai airliner crashed and caught fire early on Saturday while landing in strong winds in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don.

All 62 people aboard a passenger jet flying from Dubai to southern Russia were killed when their plane crashed on its second attempt to land at Rostov-on-Don airport on Saturday, Russian officials said.

According to Dubai Media Office, two Indians are among those killed in the flight.

Nationalities of victims from the passengers of Fly Dubai plane in Russia include:

44 Russians

8 from Ukraine

2 from India

1 from Uzbekistan

— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) March 19, 2016

The deceased have been identified as Anju Kathirvel Aiyappan and Mohan Shyam.

Russia's emergencies ministry said the aircraft, a Boeing 737-800 operated by Dubai-based budget carrier Flydubai, crashed at 0340 (0040 GMT). Most of those on board were Russian.

"The aircraft hit the ground and broke into pieces," the Investigative Committee of Russia said in a statement on its website. "According to preliminary data there were 55 passengers aboard and seven crew members. They all died."

One of the flight recorders had been recovered, the committee said in a statement.

"Different versions of what happened are being looked into, including crew error, a technical failure and bad weather conditions," the committee said.

The plane came down inside the airport's perimeter, about 250 metres (yards) short of the start of the runway.

The plane's wing hit the ground on its second attempt to land and burst into flames, the Rostov region's emergency ministry said in a statement.

Grainy pictures from a security camera pointing towards the airport, which were broadcast on Russian television, showed a large explosion at ground level, with flames and sparks leaping high into the air.

The crash occurred more than two hours after the plane, flight number FZ981, was scheduled to land.

(With inputs from Reuters and PTI)

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.