Plane Swerves at Madrid Airport, Several Reported Dead
August 20, 2008 by national
Filed under Stories of Interest
UPDATE:
Some 140 people were killed today when a packed passenger jet caught fire and overshot the runway as it tried to take off from Madrid airport, official sources said.
The Spanair plane, with 173 passengers and crew aboard, crashed and broke apart as it tried to take off from Terminal 4 at the Barajas airport. It was heading for Las Palmas airport on the island of Gran Canaria.
The Reuters news agency quoted sources in the emergency services as saying that all but about 25 of those aboard had been killed – far ahead of initial death tolls given by officials.
The Spanish Cabinet was convened for an emergency session to discuss the catastrophe.
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An airliner bound for the Canary Islands swerved off the runway while departing from Madrid airport Wednesday and caught fire, Spain’s national airport authority said. Local media reported at least 20 people dead.
Thick, white smoke billowed from the scene at Barajas airport.
Spanair flight JK5022 was bound for Las Palmas in the Canary Islands, a popular vacation spot off West Africa, the company said.
The airport authority AENA gave no information about the number of passengers or possible casualties. But the newspaper El Pais quoted sources at the Spanish Interior Ministry as saying at least 20 people died in the accident and 57 were injured. The paper said 166 people were on the plane.
