PHOTO -GRANMA
HAVANA
More than 100 people have died after a Boeing 737 airliner crashed and exploded near Jose Marti International Airport in Havana, Cuban state media say.
“At 12:08pm today, a Boeing 737-200, leased by Cubana de Aviación, fell to the ground as it was taking off, in an area between José Martí International Airport and the town of Santiago de Las Vegas” report Granma.
Three people have survived but are in a critical condition in hospital, Cuban Communist Party newspaper Granma reported.
The plane came down shortly after take-off, crashing in a field. It was carrying 104 passengers and nine foreign crew, according to local media.
“There has been an unfortunate aviation accident. The news is not very promising, it seems that there is a high number of victims,” Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said after visiting the crash site.
The airliner had been leased to state airline Cubana de Aviación by the Mexican company Damojh, Cuban news agency Prensa Latina said.
State TV said it was an internal flight from the Cuban capital to the city of Holguin, in the east of the island.
