Seven people died and at least 10 were injured when a Tu-134 aircraft with 57 people aboard crash-landed in the Russian city of Samara today in heavy fog, Russian officials said.
"The plane was flying from (the Siberian city of) Surgut to Samara (on the Volga). The fog was very heavy and the plane's wing touched the ground," said the Emergency Ministry's spokeswoman, Irina Andrianova. "Its fuselage then collapsed and it crash-landed," she said.
The plane belonged to Russian carrier Utair, which said in a statement that the accident had happened in very thick fog, but gave no other details. Utair said 57 people were aboard the aircraft, 50 passengers and seven crew, and said 31 passengers were uninjured. It did not say how many passengers died. All other flights from Samara airport were cancelled until further notice.
Utair was among nine carriers that Russia banned last month from operating charter flights to the European Union, citing safety reasons. The short-haul Tu-134 is one of the oldest passenger aircraft in service in Russia and experts say it should be withdrawn as soon as possible.