Russian plane crash kills 40

6/20/2011

MOSCOW — Forty people were killed when a passenger jet crashed late Monday in northwestern Russia, news agencies said.

RIA Novosti and Interfax, citing Emergencies Ministry officials, reported that the plane crash-landed on a highway en route from Moscow to the city of Petrozavodsk.

Russian news agencies said the plane crashed on the final approach to the airport in Petrozavodsk, ditching a few hundred yards short of the runway. Petrozavodsk is 400 miles (640 kilometers) northwest of Moscow.

They reported eight people who survived the crash were hospitalized in critical condition. The plane was a Russian-made Tu-134 jet, the Emergencies Ministry said.

The ministry confirmed on its website that there had been an incident and posted a list of 43 passengers.