Russian Plane Catches Fire Mid-Air: 41 Casualties Reported

The Russian news agencies reported that a Russian Aeroflot passenger plane caught fire, mid-air, on Sunday after which it made an emergency landing at the Moscow airport. When the plane landed, half of it was engulfed in fire and emanated thick black smoke.

After the plane halted, passengers gushed out from the plane’s emergency exit doors. Said to be carrying 73 passengers and 5 crewmembers, the plane was to fly from Moscow to Murmansk, a city in Russia. However, due to this unfortunate event, the plane had to turn back.

It is said that the plane was hit by lighting, which caused the loss of communication. As a result the pilots decided to make an emergency landing. The attempt to land the plane was made twice. The first time it failed, and the second time, the plane’s head, and nose hit the ground hard, which is said to be the reason behind the fire. However, a concrete reason for it is not yet clear.

To understand the cause of the mishap, the Russian investigators have opened an investigation by the orders of the Russian president Vladimir Putin, and are checking whether any breach of air safety rules had taken place.

The death toll of the accident rose to 41, which included two children as well. The video of Aeroflot’s Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft went viral on social media that showed the plane transforming into a huge ball of fire. 37 people have survived and 11 are injured and hospitalized, confirmed Dmitry Matveyev, the Moscow region’s health minister.

Soon the investigators will start questioning the survivors to find out the cause of the accident.