Two hundred feared dead in plane crash
Sunday Jul 9 12:51 AEST
AP - A plane carrying 200 people has crashed in Siberia with most of those on board feared dead.
The plane crashed on landing at 2.50am (0850 AEST), veering off the runway and bursting into flames, Russian emergency ministry spokeswoman Irina Andrianova said.
Andrianova said 43 people had been taken to a hospital, nine of them suffering from burns, and another 10 managed to escape.
But most of the other passengers were feared dead, she said.
The plane carried 192 passengers a crew of eight, she said.
"The aircraft veered off the runway on landing. It was travelling at a terrific speed," Andrianova said.
The plane hit a concrete barrier, collapsing the front section of the aircraft, she said. It then burst into flames.
The aircraft was on a flight from Moscow to Irkutsk, near Lake Baikal.
It took five emergency services more than two hours to extinguish the flames, Andrianova said.
©AAP 2006