There has been a serious accident in Madrid's Barajas airport this afternoon. A Spanair plane that was taking off for Gran Canaria seems to have left the runway, maybe as a result of a fire in one of the engines, and depending on which media outlet you read the number of dead is being estimated at between 7 and 50, with many more injured. The plane was carrying 170 passengers, and the airport is currently in a state of emergency.
Update 17:00 - The latest estimate I have heard of the number dead in the accident is 45, although El Mundo cites a much higher figure of over 100.
Update 18:00 - The official figure of fatalities still seems to be around 45-50 although some media are still quoting much higher figures. The thesis still seems to be that of an engine that has exploded on take-off and it seems that this and the crash landing provoked a serious fire in the plane. Some reports have suggested that the airport is still operating partially, but the journalists reporting from the scene suggest this is not the case.
18:05 - I've just heard on CNN+ that the new estimate is over 90 fatalities
Update 17:00 - The latest estimate I have heard of the number dead in the accident is 45, although El Mundo cites a much higher figure of over 100.
Update 18:00 - The official figure of fatalities still seems to be around 45-50 although some media are still quoting much higher figures. The thesis still seems to be that of an engine that has exploded on take-off and it seems that this and the crash landing provoked a serious fire in the plane. Some reports have suggested that the airport is still operating partially, but the journalists reporting from the scene suggest this is not the case.
18:05 - I've just heard on CNN+ that the new estimate is over 90 fatalities
3 comments:
The Guardian is quoting 'up to 150 dead'. Hopefully this is nothing more than guesswork.
It's a bit worrying that media are reporting that almost everyone has died when it's still far from clear that this is the case. Apart from El Mundo I haven't seen or heard a figure over 50.
Well I imagine that if you have the highest figure, you'll get more incoming links. That's the beauty of the modern media... just shove it down the memory hole when it's obvious you're wrong.
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