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Passenger plane disappears from radar in Cuba – local media Cuban military plane crashes into mountain, killing 8 people on board – authorities
(about 1 hour later)
A passenger plane with up to 39 people aboard has disappeared off the radar above Cuba, several local media outlets report. There has been no official information on the issue from the Cuban authorities. Eight personnel have been killed after a military plane crashed into a mountain in Cuba, the armed forces announced, refuting initial media reports that dozens of civilians were killed when an Antonov-26 passenger plane disappeared off radar screens.
An Antonov-26 plane with up to 39 people on board dropped off radar screens in the early hours of Saturday as it was conducting a flight over Cuba, according to the local NTN24 broadcaster. The aircraft belonged to the local Havana-based Aerograviota airlines. “The eight military personnel on board, including the crew, died,” the Revolutionary Armed Forces Ministry said in a statement.
The plane took off from an airport near the town of Baracoa in eastern Cuba and later disappeared over the western Pinar del Rio province, according to the broadcaster. The Soviet-made Antonov-26 twin-engine turboprop plane crashed into the Loma de la Pimienta mountain some 80km (50 miles) west of Havana after taking off at 6:38am (0638 ET) from Playa Baracoa.
The incident reportedly happened not far from the town of Las Terrazas. “A commission of the Revolutionary Armed Forces Ministry is investigating the causes of the accident,” the ministry said in a statement, denying initial reports that there were civilian casualties.
Media reports suggets that the plane has crashed and there have been no survivors, although Cuban officials have not yet confirmed the information about the incident.
The plane allegedly crashed in an area known as Las Lomas de San Cristóbal, which is “difficult to reach by land,” some local media report, citing unidentified sources. Earlier the Spanish media reported that a civilian Antonov-26 plane with up to 39 people on board dropped off radar screens in the early hours of Saturday as it was conducting a flight over Cuba.
A local CyberCuba media outlet said that the airline confirmed that the plane had crashed, adding that there are “some casualties.” The report from the Colombian NTN24 broadcaster also said that the aircraft belonged to the local Havana-based Aerograviota airlines. Prior to the official statement by Havana, an unnamed source told the AP that Aerogaviota had informed Cuban officials of the crash, but authorities were ordered not to release the information.
The Russian consulate in Cuba said it is trying to verify information concerning Russian citizens possibly being onboard the aircraft. “So far, we have no information about Russian citizens [onboard],” the consulate’s spokesman told the Russian media. Saturday’s incident is not the first time that Antonov-manufactured airplanes were involved in fatal crashes in Cuba.
In the meantime, it was reported that a military plane crashed in the northwest Cuban province of Artemisa, killing eight people on board. The plane belongs to the Aerograviota airlines that also serves Cuban military and government agencies, AP reports, citing unidentified military sources. Sixteen passengers and four crew members died in March 2002, when an Antonov-2 plane crashed near Guaracabuya, Villa Clara, when traveling from Cienfuegos to Cayo Coco.
The Cuban ACN news agency reported about the incident that the military aircraft crashed against a mountain. "The eight military personnel on board, including the crew, died," ACN reported, adding that “a commission of the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces is investigating the causes of the accident.” Five years earlier, in July 1997, 39 passengers died with five crew members when an Antonov-24 crashed into the sea near Santiago de Cuba.
Before that, in March 1990, a Soviet-made Antonov-26 crashed en route from Santiago de Cuba to Havana. Two people were killed and 18 were wounded.