Passenger plane crash-lands in Russia, 6 die
Source: Reuters
(Updates death toll, adds survivors quotes) MOSCOW, March 17 (Reuters) - At least six people died and around 20 were injured when a plane crash-landed in Russia on Saturday in heavy fog, officials and the carrier said. The Tu-134 with 57 people on board was flying from the Siberian city of Surgut to Samara on the Volga river, where it crashed as it was trying to land at the airport. "The fog was very heavy and the plane's wing touched the ground," said an Emergency Ministry spokeswoman. "Its fuselage then collapsed and it crash-landed." Reuters pictures showed the wrecked plane lying in two pieces, one upside down, off the runway. Crash survivors said it took 15 to 20 minutes before rescuers and ambulances started the operation. "The fog was very heavy and we could barely see the ground. Then we felt we hit the ground... The broken wing hit the fuselage and cut the plane into two pieces - right where I sat," crash survivor Vadim Titlov told RIA Novosti news agency. "Chairs were falling on me, the window was underneath me, there were dead around and I started to help the others get out," Titlov said. Russian news agencies quoted the general prosecutors office as saying it was probing whether the crash-landing could have been caused by a pilot error as the plane first touched the ground some 400 metres (yards) off the landing field. But the aircraft's owner, Russian carrier Utair, blamed the fog. "We are inclined to think that the accident occurred because of very difficult weather -- the fog was very thick," said a spokesman. He said seven people died and around 20 were taken to hospital. Utair said 50 passengers and seven crew were on board, some 30 of whom escaped unhurt. The emergency ministry said there were six dead. The airport of Samara, which earlier cancelled all flights and evacuated people from the airport building, said normal operations resumed on Saturday afternoon. Utair, which has over 130 aircraft, was among nine carriers that Russia banned last month from operating charter flights to the European Union, citing safety reasons. The short-haul Tu-134 is one of the oldest passenger aircraft in service in Russia and some experts have called for it to be withdrawn as soon as possible.
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