Cuban Plane Crash: Passenger jet crashes near Havana, killing more than 100 people
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We start with the plane crash in Cuba. A Boeing 737 carrying 110 passengers and six Mexican crew members has gone down near Havana. Cuban state-run media reports the passengers were mainly Cuban, with five foreigners. Three people survived but are in a critical condition. Cuba has decreed two days of national mourning. So far, the exact number of deaths is unknown. CGTN's WANG TONGXUAN has more.
The plane was almost completely destroyed.
Firefighters raced to the scene along with a fleet of ambulances.
Emergency personnel combed through the wreckage, but there was little hope of survivors other than the first three.
President Miguel Diaz-Canel also rushed to the scene.
MIGUEL DIAZ-CANEL CUBAN PRESIDENT "Everything here has been organized. The fire was extinguished, the remains are being identified and the mission has been put together by the Transportation Ministry to investigate. Now besides giving our condolences over the loss of human life and pledging all our solidarity to the families of victims, we'll conduct an appropriate investigation and will gather information. We'll give it to our people."
The Boeing 737-201 went down at 12:08 local time on Friday, shortly after taking off from Havana International Airport.
It was on an internal flight to Holguin.
The plane had been leased to the Cuban state airline by the Mexican company Global Air.
Mexico's government said the plane was built in 1979 and had passed inspection in November.
Authorities are investigating to determine the cause of the accident.
Boeing says it's ready to send a technical team to Cuba.