Havana: A 40-year-old Boeing 737-200 Cuban state airway plane with 100 passengers and crew on board crashed after taking off from Havana Jose Marti International Airport.
According to the state media reports, more than 100 people are believed to dead while three female passengers are in a critical condition after surviving the crash. Operated by the Cubana de Aviacion the plane crashed into a field close to a wooded area near Jose Marti airport, sending a thick column of acrid smoke into the air. The plane carrying 104 passengers was completely destroyed in the crash and subsequent fire.
According to the state media, 2 victims were Argentine while the other were of Cuban nationality.
Cuba’s President Miguel Diaz-Canel said an investigation has been opened into the disaster, and that its findings would be made public as soon as possible. He has also sent condolences to families of the victims of the “catastrophic accident.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Latin American leaders also expressed sympathy over the incident.
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