A Boeing 737 plane crashed on Friday shortly after taking off from Havana's Jose Marti airport, was carrying 110 people on a domestic flight, Cuban state-run media reported.
The jet, rented by Cubana de Aviacion from Mexico’s Damojh, was carrying 104 passengers and six crew when it fell to the ground on a road to Boyeros, killing everyone but three women who remain in critical condition. Only five of the 104 passengers aboard the Cuban airliner were foreigners, state media reported. The state-run Granma newspaper said the majority of those aboard the crashed jet were Cuban nationals.
Government officials including President Miguel Diaz-Canel rushed to the site, along with a large number of emergency medical workers.
Witnesses told the Cuban Television that the passenger plane was turning back to the airport when it struck a power line. Rescuers arrived at the scene 12 minutes later, they said.
Officials said the plane was headed to the eastern city of Holguin when it crashed a short distance from the end of the runway on the southern outskirts of Havana. The plane was almost completely destroyed in the crash and subsequent fire. Firefighters were trying to extinguish its smouldering remains.
LACK OF PARTS AND AIRPLANES DUE TO THE U.S. BLOCKADE
Cubana de Aviacion, which is Cuba's national carrier, reportedly leased to aircraft from Mexican Airline Damojh due to U.S. blockade.
Cubana de Aviacion's director general, Capt. Hermes Hernandez Dumas, told state media last month that Cubana's domestic flights had carried 11,700 more passengers than planned between January and April 2018.
"Among the difficulties created by the U.S. trade embargo is our inability to acquire latest-generation aircraft with technology capable of guaranteeing the stability of aerial operations," Hernandez said. "Another factor is obtaining parts for Cubana's aircraft," he added.
