MOSCOW, July 9 (RIA Novosti)-At least 65 people have died and 55 have been in injured after an Airbus crashed in the Siberian city of Irkutsk, the Emergency Situations Ministry said Sunday.
The tragedy occurred when the A-310, which was carrying 192 passengers and eight crew, was coming into land on a regular flight from Moscow, when it overshot the runway and hit something before bursting into flames.
Prosecutors in the city, which is 5,000km (3,100 miles) east of Moscow and services the popular tourist destination of Lake Baikal, have suggested 150 people died, but rescuers said the figure was so far much lower.
"According to the information of the Emergency Situations Ministry, 65 people were killed in the A-310 disaster and 55 people have been taken to Irkutsk hospital," a spokesman said. "Rescue work in continuing at the scene."
The accident occurred at 7.44 a.m. local time (10.44 p.m. Saturday GMT).
Russian Transportation Minister Igor Levitin is set to fly out to the scene later today.
On May 3 an Armenian Airbus crashed into the Black Sea with the loss of all 113 passengers and crew.
