CHINA PASSENGER PLANE CRASHES IN NORTH-EAST
Baku, August 24 (AZERTAC). A passenger plane with at least 91 people on board has crashed in the north-eastern Chinese province of Heilongjiang, according to BBC News.
The Henan Airlines aircraft burst into flames after overshooting the runway at Yichun City`s airport at 2210 (1410 GMT), the Xinhua news agency reported.
At least 48 people have so far been rescued, according to state TV. Xinhua said 20 had been rushed to hospital.
The Embraer ERJ-190 had taken off from the provincial capital Harbin at 2100.
A China Central TV reporter at the scene did not say what had happened to the 44 people who had not yet been rescued. There have been no reports of any fatalities.
Henan Airlines earlier told Xinhua that the plane was carrying 96 people.
The airline is a joint venture between Shenzhen Airlines of China and Mesa Air Group of the US, and is based in Henan province. It was previously known as Kunpeng Airlines.
The last serious air accident in China was in November 2004, when a passenger plane with 53 people on board crashed into a frozen lake near the northern city of Baotou. Two people on the ground were also killed.
