Cuba plane crash: 100 killed after Boeing 737 crashes in Havana

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Forensic investigators and Ministry of Interior officers strain through remains of a Boeing 737 that fall down into a yuca field with more than 100 passengers on board, in Havana, Cuba, Friday, May 18, 2018. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
Forensic investigators and Ministry of Interior officers strain through remains of a Boeing 737 that fall down into a yuca field with more than 100 passengers on board, in Havana, Cuba, Friday, May 18, 2018. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

New Delhi : Boeing 737 crashes in Havana, Cuba killing 100 people including children, adults and crew members.  As per the local media, the domestic passenger plane was flying from Havana to Holguin carrying 104 passengers on board. The plan burst out soon after the takeoff.

Cuban president Miguel Diaz-Canel said there are three survivors, all women, who are in critical condition, reported news agency Reuters. Rescue operations are under process at the site and the fire has been put out. Authorities have identified the crew on the flight and trying to identify the bodies of the passengers.

The crew members identified are Captain Jorge Luis Nunez Santos, first officer Miguel Angel Arreola Ramirez and flight attendants Maria Daniela Rios, Abigail Hernandez Garcia and Beatriz Limon. None of them were native of Cuba.

Boeing, in a statement, said that the plane crash is shocking and is closely monitoring the situation. According to flight tracker, the aircraft was CU972, which departed from Havana at 11 am local time.

Concerned authorities are probing the situation and are trying to find out the cause of the crash.

The government has confirmed that majority of the passengers on board were Cuban. There were five passengers from other nationalities. In a statement, it says, "#Cuba The majority of passengers on the plane were Cuban, with the exception of five travelers from abroad and the crew #FuerzaCuba."

While the reason for the crash is yet to disclose, it is being reported that the aircraft was slightly older than the other ones in service. The Boeing 737-201 aircraft was built in 1979, reports Reuters, and leased by Cuban airline Cubana from a small Mexican firm called Damojh.

The Cuban Embassy in the United States has released the following statement: "At 12:08 pm today, a Boeing 737-200, leased by Cubana de Aviación, with a contracted foreign crew and 104 passengers aboard, traveling from Havana to Holguín on flight DMJ 0972, fell to the ground as it was taking off, in an area between José Martí International Airport and the town of Santiago de Las Vegas. Search and rescue teams are at the site.”