More than 100 die as Cuban plane crashed in Havana

The plane crashed close to Havana’s Jose Marti airport. Credit/BBC

More than 100 die as Cuban plane crashed in Havana

Tragedy struck late Friday as more than 100 people  died after a Boeing 737 airliner crashed and exploded near Jose Marti International Airport in Havana, Cuban state media say.

Three people have survived but are in a critical condition in hospital, Cuban Communist Party newspaper Granma reported.

The plane came down shortly after take-off, crashing in a field.

It was carrying 104 passengers and nine foreign crew, according to local media.

“There has been an unfortunate aviation accident. The news is not very promising, it seems that there is a high number of victims,” Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said after visiting the crash site.

The airliner had been leased to state airline Cubana de Aviación by the Mexican company Damojh, Cuban news agency Prensa Latina said.

State TV said it was an internal flight from the Cuban capital to the city of Holguin, in the east of the island.

Images showed a thick column of smoke rising above the crash site as fire crews and ambulances attended the scene.

Radio Havana Cuba said on Twitter that the plane came down on the “highway” between Boyeros and Havana, near the airport.

According to industry research, last year was the safest in history for commercial airline travel with no passenger jet crashes.

But there have been several serious air disasters this year. Last month, a military plane crashed shortly after take-off in Algeria, killing more than 250 people, said BBC