Jetliner Crashes at Havana; 126 Reported Dead
A Cuban jetliner with 126 people aboard exploded and crashed Sunday evening shortly after takeoff from Havana’s Jose Marti Airport, Cuba’s official news agency Prensa Latina reported, adding that there were no survivors.
Cuban Radio and the Mexican news agency Notimex said 63 people on the ground were injured when the plane crashed in a Havana suburb.
The Cuban news agency said the Cubana de Aviacion jetliner, a Soviet-made Ilyushin 62, was carrying 115 passengers and 11 crew members. According to the agency, Flight 9046 was bound for Milan, Italy, with a stop in Cologne, West Germany.
Debris Falls on Homes
Prensa Latina said the wreckage from the plane showered down on 19 houses. Officials did not elaborate on the cause of the accident, according to the dispatch.
The news agency said that 113 of the passengers were foreign tourists and that two were Cubans.
The Soviet news agency Tass said today that the four-engine airliner was carrying West German and Italian tourists on a return charter flight.
The Spanish news agency EFE said there was a heavy downpour with thunder and lightning at the time of the crash.
Cuban President Fidel Castro and other high officials went to the site soon after the 7 p.m. crash, Prensa Latina said.
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