[QODLink]
Americas
Deaths in Honduras air crash
Aircraft skids off runway and smashes into cars and buildings in Honduran capital.
Last Modified: 31 May 2008 13:35 GMT
Passengers said they felt lucky to survive the
deadly accident [AFP]

At least three people have been killed after a passenger plane overshot an airport runway in Honduras, skidding across a street and smashing into cars and buildings.
 
Several people were also wounded on the Grupo Taca Airbus 320, which had more than 100 people on board and was landing in the Honduran capital, Tegucigalpa, from El Salvador.
There were reports that some people were trapped in cars underneath the plane's wreckage, aviation officials said.
 
It was unclear what caused Friday's crash, though weather may have been a factor as the runway was wet following rain from Tropical Storm Alma, which hit the region this week.
'Desperate' survivors
 
The plane left San Salvador, capital of El Salvador, at 8:30am local time carrying passengers mostly from Honduras, El Salvador and Costa Rica and was flying into Tegucigalpa's main Toncontin international airport.
 
The dead included the pilot, a passenger and a person on the ground whose car was hit by the plane, Associated Press news agency said.
 
One of those killed was Harry Brautigam, a Nicaraguan who headed the Central American Bank for Economic Integration, Manuel Zelaya, the Honduran president, said.
 
Many passengers said they considered themselves lucky to have survived.
 
"Suddenly we felt a big noise and we were all trying desperately to get out," Mario Castillo, one of the passengers, told local television.
 
"The worst injured were the people in business class."
 
More than 7,500 litres of fuel spilled out of the jet and authorities tried to clear away hundreds of onlookers as they hosed down cars trapped under one of the plane's engines.
 
"The aeroplane's fuel could cause an explosion, and that would be an even bigger tragedy," Ivan Mejia, a security ministry spokesman, said.
 
The airport has long faced complaints over safety because of its short runway, high altitude and because pilots have to make an unusually steep approach.
Source:
Agencies
Topics in this article
Country
Featured on Al Jazeera
In the frozen peaks of Afghanistan's Kunar province, a ferocious clash for supremacy rages amid the mountaintops.
Indigenous community with "third world conditions" sits 90km from diamond mine, prompting fight for resource royalties.
There is a unique and dangerous commerce system at work in Amazonia, where children risk their lives for a few pennies.
Organisations that influence social, cultural and political issues in the US have been hijacked by the far right.
<  > 
join our mailing list

Enter Zip Code
Go