Russian plane crash kills 122, one Azeri survives

A Russian airliner veered off the runway after landing in Siberia on Sunday, ran into nearby buildings and burst into flames, killing at least 122 people, emergency officials said.

More than 50 others were injured, many suffering from burns, Reuters informs.

Survivors told Russia's NTV that passengers had applauded a smooth landing when the overnight long-haul flight from Moscow touched down in Irkutsk. But the plane did not slow down and crashed through a wall and into a garage.

Many of the 204 people on board were children, including 14 pre-teen children, flying for holidays on Lake Baikal, a popular Siberian spot in summer, media reported. Three people on board were not on the official register of passengers, an Emergencies Ministry spokeswoman said.

At least 122 bodies had been recovered and 55 people were in hospital being treated for burns, trauma and the effects of smoke inhalation. The fate of 12 passengers was unknown.

"It was awful. I saw people burning, they were burning," Margarita Svetlova, who survived the crash, told Russia's First Channel television.

"I probably lost consciousness for a minute ... I unfastened my seat belt. I ran and started shouting and swearing, looking for an exit ... The inflatable escape chute wouldn't inflate, but I jumped all the same. I was lucky, I just hurt my leg a bit."

Sibir airlines flight 778 from Moscow to Irkutsk, an Airbus A-310, overshot the runway at around 2:50 a.m. Moscow time (2250 GMT on Saturday).

The only surviving stewardess opened an emergency exit, enabling passengers in the rear of the plane to jump to safety. Of the eight-strong crew, a pilot also survived.

"I heard a bang and the earth shook," Mikhail Yegerev, a witness in his 50s, told Reuters. "I went out and saw plumes of smoke and the plane's tail."

Some 600 rescue workers used cutting gear to recover bodies after taking two hours to douse the burning Airbus fuselage.

President Vladimir Putin called a day of mourning on Monday.

TV pictures showed the smoking wreckage of the plane in between several lockup garages. Only its tail section, bearing the white-on-blue logo of Sibir airlines, was still intact.

"My garage is here. I ran there and saw people coming -- blackened with smoke, with injuries, burns and a woman with a broken leg," Yegerev said.

At Moscow's Domodedovo airport, where flight 778 took off on Saturday evening, friends and relatives sought news of their loved ones at an improvised information centre. Some smoked nervously, some burst into tears, some made endless phone calls.

One man, called Vyacheslav, lost his brother, sister-in-law and their 4-year-old child in the crash, his friend Larisa Kolcheva said. "We were sitting with them yesterday before they got on the flight," she told Reuters.

"I just can't believe this has happened."

A woman called Yekaterina said she had seen off her friend, Marina Khaptanova, who was flying to see her 9-year-old son, Alexei. "Now it looks like this will never happen."

Sibir said three Chinese, one Azeri and a German on board had died, while seven other foreign nationals -- from Germany, Poland, Azerbaijan and Belarus -- were in hospital.

The airline set up a Web site, www.bort778.info, to post the latest information.

Prosecutors opened a criminal probe into the crash, with human error and equipment failure considered among the possible causes. There was no immediate suspicion of foul play.

Transport Minister Igor Levitin said the plane's pilots had told air traffic controllers they had landed successfully but then radio contact broke off suddenly, news agencies reported.

Levitin also said the runway in Irkutsk was wet after rain.

Airbus said the crashed plane, assembled in 1987, had made more than 10,000 flights. It said it would send specialists to Russia and provide full assistance to the authorities.

According to RIA Novosti, two Azerbaijan's citizens were among the passengers. One of them survived and was brought to the hospital.

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev today has sent a message of condolences to President of Russia Vladimir Putin on the occasion of the plane crash in Irkutsk, AzerTAg reports.

The message reads:

Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich,

It is with great sorrow that I learn of the plane crash killing many people in Irkutsk. On the occasion of this tragedy, on behalf of the Azerbaijani people and on my own behalf, I offer our deepest condolences to You, families and friends of the dead, and the whole people of Russia.