Madrid Airport Plane Crash

[M Two One]

149 dead in plane crash at Madrid airport

MADRID, Spain – A Spanish airliner bound for the Canary Islands crashed, burned and broke into pieces Wednesday while trying to take off from Madrid's Barajas airport, killing 149 people on board, officials said.

There were only 26 survivors in the mid-afternoon crash, a Spanish emergency official said.

A police officer said the bodies were so hot that police could barely touch them and told El Pais newspaper the shattered wreckage bore no resemblance to a plane.

Dozens of ambulances rushed to the site as columns of smoke billowed from the wreckage. The prime minister broke off his vacation in southern Spain and rushed back to Madrid, heading straight for the airport.

"I have never seen anything like this in my life," ambulance driver Luis Ferreras was quoted as saying by El Pais.

A Spanish emergency rescue official said only 26 people survived the crash and the rest of those aboard were given up for dead. The official with the SAMUR municipal rescue service gave the toll after touring the site of the crash. He spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because of department rules that barred him from giving his name.

Spanair Flight JK5022 — bound for the popular Canary Islands off the West African coast during the height of Europe's summer vacation season — sped off the end of the runway, crashed and broke into pieces, reports said.

Spanair spokesman Sergio Allard told a news conference the plane was carrying 175 people and the cause of the crash was not immediately known.

Source: Yahoo! News

26 survivors? Man, that is horrible. My condolences to the families who lost loved ones.

 

[Mamba]

Holy shit that got bad, fast. When I left, the estimate was @ 46. I did expect more fatalities, but not 100 more.

R.I.P.

 

[Mamba]

153 dead and counting...

 

[CelticKing]

First when I heard they said 4 dead, and then every hour or so they would raise the number.

May they rest in peace.

 

[pegs]

Wow, this is terrible.

RIP

 

[huevonkiller]

I'm very sorry to hear this, RIP.

 

[Giantsfan1]

Friend of mine was on the plane before this one. She was coming from Madrid back to America. SCARY TIMES