BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS
DATE:
14/02/2008
Belarussian plane crashes on takeoff in Armenia--officials
Agence France-Presse
YEREVAN -- A Belarussian airplane went up in flames on the runway of Yerevan's airport while trying to take off, injuring 21 people on board, local air agency officials told Agence France-Presse Thursday.
A small CRG airplane, owned by Belarus's Belavia airline and bound for Minsk, hit its left wing on the runway during takeoff and erupted into flames, the state civil aviation agency's spokeswoman Gayan Davtian said.
"Airport emergency services reacted quickly and rapidly evacuated the 18 passengers and three crew. No one died, but all of them suffered burns, some of them severe burns," Davtian said, adding that all were hospitalized.
Of the passengers, 16 were Armenian nationals, she said.
All flights were cancelled at Yerevan's airport following the incident.
Source:
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