Plane with at least 104 on board crashes in Cuba

A Boeing 737 plane crashed on Friday shortly after taking off from Havana’s main airport, carrying 104 passengers plus crew on a domestic flight, Cuban state-run media reported.

The number of casualties was not immediately known, but Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel, visiting the site of the crash, told Agence France Presse: “It appears there is a high number of victims.”

The ruling Communist Party newspaper, Granma, said three people had survived.

Wreckage was strewn over the area and ambulances and firefighters were at the scene, said a Reuters witness. The fire had been put out, and blackened parts of the fuselage could be seen.

A worker at Havana’s Calixto Garcia hospital told Reuters three victims of the accident had arrived so far. One had died from burns and other trauma and the other two were in a serious state.

The plane crashed in the agricultural area in Boyeros, some 12 miles south of Havana. The flight was destined for Holguin and operated by national airline Cubana, state-run TV reported.

REUTERS

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