BELARUSSIAN PLANE CRASHES ON TAKEOFF IN ARMENIA

Xinhua
Feb 14 2008
China

MOSCOW, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) — A passenger plane with 21 people onboard
crashed when taking off from Armenia’s capital of Yerevan early
Thursday, but no one was killed in the accident, Russian media
reported.

Four people were hospitalized after the plane crashed at the Zvarnots
Airport, about 10 km west of Yerevan, Russia’s RIA news agency cited
a spokesperson for the Caucasus country’s civil aviation authority
as saying.

The Canadian-made CRJ-100 was heading for Minsk with 18 passengers and
three crew members on board when it slid off the runway at 0015 GMT.

The aircraft split into two parts and burst into flame after one of
its wings hit the ground, the report said.

"All the passengers and crew were rescued from the blazing plane,"
the spokesperson said, adding that most of those injured had received
medical assistance on the spot.

Sixteen of the people on board were reported to be Armenians while
the nationality of the others has yet to be announced.

The aircraft belongs to the Belarussian state-owned airline,
Belavia. Flights to and from the airport were halted temporarily and
experts are heading for the spot to carry out an investigation into
the crash.