07 December 2023 , 08:09
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A Russian cargo plane has been pictured exploding in the sky just minutes after taking off, with flames seen trailing through the air.
The stricken Tu-204 aircraft sparked an engine fire, forcing the jet to make an emergency landing back at the airport it had departed from in Ulan-Ude.
A woman witness Lyubov Pichueva said: "I heard a powerful explosion coming from above. At first I thought it was fireworks, but the sound was too strange. It was very scary." Another witness said: "It was burning very bright just now. Something is falling out of it... It is dumping something." The Aviastar aircraft is used to ferry goods between China and Russia amid Western sanctions against Vladimir Putin’s regime. It had been flying from Baikal Airport in Ulan-Ude to the Chinese city Zhangzhou when the explosion led to a fire in its left engine.
The stricken Tu-204 aircraft sparked an engine fire (social media/e2w)Alexey Tsydenov, head of the Buryatia region, said the aircraft had dumped fuel before making an emergency landing using one engine. The plane landed at 8:30 am local time today. There were five crew on board and no casualties. An investigation is underway by the East Siberian Transport Prosecutor's Office. Russia has suffered a spate of air safety issues and the country is the subject of a “red flag” by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). In the first eight months of this year, there were 120 air accidents in Russia involving civil aircraft operated by Russian airlines.
This is more than double the number in recent years despite significantly fewer flights as a result of Putin’s war against Ukraine. Western sanctions have hit the supplies of aircraft spare parts to Russia.
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