Dramatic footage has emerged that shows the moment a plane crash landed at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport shortly after taking off.
Passengers aboard the Aeroflot Superjet-100 were forced to evacuate at speed following the incident in which the plane was consumed by fire.
Twitter videos show the plane returning to the runway with a huge plume of fire and smoke trailing from it as emergency services vehicles rushed to the scene.
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Despite reports from some news agencies claiming that as many as thirteen people have died, there has been no official confirmation of that as of yet.
Russian officials have so far only confirmed the death of one person. The Russian Emergencies Ministry have said six people have been hospitalised.
The flight – thought to be flight SU1492 travelling from Moscow to Murmansk – caught fire shortly after take off and was then forced to immediately return to Sheremetyevo Airport in order to crash land.
Once the plane was extinguished, it became clear that there was a huge amount of damage to the tail of the craft, as well as further along the cabin towards the rear.
It is not known what caused the blaze to start and a full investigation into the events has been launched.
Several reports have suggested that the plane made two attempts to crash land after the first was unsuccessful.
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A distress signal is thought to have been issued shortly after take-off, when the fire started. There are thought to have been around 78 passengers on board the aeroplane.
One passenger, identified as ‘Mikkentosh’ is quoted in Russian media as having said: “Guys I am all right, I am alive and in one piece.
“I managed to jump out.
“This was the 17.50 Moscow to Murmansk flight, see the rest in the news.
“Definitely not everyone managed to escape, huge condolences to families and friends.”
A source at airport services is also quoted as having told Interfax news agency: “The plane gave a distress signal, then air traffic control lost communication with it,
“It was impossible to contact it.
“It was landing in complete silence.”
Several angles of the accident have emerged due to the incident taking place directly in front of the airport’s main terminals.
As it stands, one runway is currently still in use at the airport, but some flights are diverting to other airports as a result of the crash landing.
Many departing flights have been delayed.
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Kristian Kostov, a former Russian Eurovision song contest entrant who was in the airport at the time, tweeted: “A lot of passengers just started screaming “oh shit shit shit oh no oh no fuck nooo!!!!”….
“And then we saw that there is a plane on fire right in front of us… I don’t know what to say”.
A criminal investigation is underway.
