Post by ۞Quaalude™۞ on Aug 20, 2008 14:46:17 GMT -5
Sadness More than 140 people are feared dead after a passenger plane swerved off the runway at Madrid's Barajas airport.
A spokesman for the Spanish emergency services, Herbigio Corral, said only 28 people survived the crash.
The Spanair flight had just taken off for the Canary Islands, at about 1430 local time (1230 GMT). It is thought that the left engine caught fire.
Helicopters were called in to dump water onto the plane. More than 70 ambulances were seen leaving the scene.
TV footage showed several people being carried away on stretchers.
The BBC's Steve Kingstone, in Madrid, said a grim line of emergency vehicles obscured the view of the crash scene.
See satellite image of airport
Spanish journalist Manuel Moleno, who was near the area when the accident happened, said the plane appeared to have "crashed into pieces".
"We heard a big crash. So we stopped and we saw a lot of smoke," he said.
Mr Moleno said he had seen as many as 20 people walking away from the wreckage.
Spanair flight JK 5022, bound for Las Palmas in the Canary Islands, came down during or shortly after take-off from Terminal Four at Barajas.
TV footage showed the plane had come to rest in a field.
Safety record
Spanair's parent company, Scandinavian firm SAS, said the accident happened at 1423 According to Spain's airport authority, Aena, the plane had been due to take off at 1300 local time.
No details of the nationalities of the passengers on board have yet been released.
A local emergency service official, Ervigio Corral, told Efe news agency that there were many children among the victims.
The plane was a codeshare flight with German airline Lufthansa, which said it was investigating whether German passengers were on board.
Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero was on his way to the scene after cutting short his holiday, his office said.
The aircraft was a MD82, a plane commonly used on short trips around Europe, aviation expert Chris Yates told the BBC.
He said Spanair had a very good safety record.
Reports say it was the first crash at Barajas airport, some 13km (8 miles) from central Madrid, since 1983 We Need More Safety Checks QC
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7572643.stm
A spokesman for the Spanish emergency services, Herbigio Corral, said only 28 people survived the crash.
The Spanair flight had just taken off for the Canary Islands, at about 1430 local time (1230 GMT). It is thought that the left engine caught fire.
Helicopters were called in to dump water onto the plane. More than 70 ambulances were seen leaving the scene.
TV footage showed several people being carried away on stretchers.
The BBC's Steve Kingstone, in Madrid, said a grim line of emergency vehicles obscured the view of the crash scene.
See satellite image of airport
Spanish journalist Manuel Moleno, who was near the area when the accident happened, said the plane appeared to have "crashed into pieces".
"We heard a big crash. So we stopped and we saw a lot of smoke," he said.
Mr Moleno said he had seen as many as 20 people walking away from the wreckage.
Spanair flight JK 5022, bound for Las Palmas in the Canary Islands, came down during or shortly after take-off from Terminal Four at Barajas.
TV footage showed the plane had come to rest in a field.
Safety record
Spanair's parent company, Scandinavian firm SAS, said the accident happened at 1423 According to Spain's airport authority, Aena, the plane had been due to take off at 1300 local time.
No details of the nationalities of the passengers on board have yet been released.
A local emergency service official, Ervigio Corral, told Efe news agency that there were many children among the victims.
The plane was a codeshare flight with German airline Lufthansa, which said it was investigating whether German passengers were on board.
Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero was on his way to the scene after cutting short his holiday, his office said.
The aircraft was a MD82, a plane commonly used on short trips around Europe, aviation expert Chris Yates told the BBC.
He said Spanair had a very good safety record.
Reports say it was the first crash at Barajas airport, some 13km (8 miles) from central Madrid, since 1983 We Need More Safety Checks QC
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7572643.stm