41 people are dead after a Russian flight burst into flames on a runway at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport.
According to Russian reports relayed by the BBC, the flight of 78 passengers and 5 crew members was forced to make an emergency landing mere minutes after departing the same airport. The Sukhoi Sperjet-100 operated by the Russian airline Aeroflot caught fire on the runway, its engines erupting following the landing.
The carrier said that they "did everything to save the passengers" and evacuated the flight in 55 seconds. Still, 6 people remain in the hospital and at least 41 people died in the blaze. Only 37 passengers have been accounted for as of press time, with the carrier providing no details about the origin of the plane's malfunction. Interfax reports that the plane was struck by lightning.
Passenger Dmitry Khlebushkin told reporters that he was helped off of the plane by the crew.
"Only thanks to the flight attendants, I survived," he said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a thorough investigation into the crash.
"All instructions have been given to conduct the most thorough investigation, [to carry out] the necessary orders to find out the cause of this accident," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, per CNN.
