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IRKUTSK, Russia:Two Chinese are feared dead and one escaped with minor injuries when a Russian airliner crashed on landing and burst into flames in Siberia yesterday, killing at least 122 people and injuring more than 50.
Tu Er’xun, an official with the Chinese Consulate General in Khabarovsk, said that of the three Chinese on the plane-the fate of two was not known while one man escaped with slight injuries.The survivor Wang Tiecheng from North China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region-said the other two Chinese on board, both women, had probably died.They were reported to be making a stopover in Irkutsk on route to Shenyang, capital of Northeast China’s Liaoning Province.
But Sibir airline said three Chinese were among five foreigners killed, the other two being an Azeri and a German.No other details were available except that seven foreign nationals were being treated.
Many of the 200 people on board were children flying for holidays to Lake Baikal, a popular Siberian spot in summer, media reported.
At least 122 bodies had been recovered and 53 people were in hospital being treated for bums, trauma and the effect of smoke inhalation, an Emergencies Ministry spokeswoman said.The fate of 25 passengers was unknown.
Sibir airlines flight 778 from Moscow to Irkutsk, an Airbus A-310, overshot the runway at around 2∶50 a.m Moscow time(22∶50 GMT on Saturday).It ploughed through a wall into nearby buildings and caught fire.
The only surviving stewardess opened an emergency exit, enabling passengers in the rear of the plane to jump to safety.Of the eight-strong crew, a pilot also survived.
Some 600 rescue workers used cutting gear to recover bodies after taking two hours to douse the burning fuselage.
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