41 people, including at least two children, have been killed after Aeroflot flight SU 1492 crash-landed at a Moscow airport yesterday.

The initial reports said that the aircraft was flying from Moscow to Murmansk – a Russian city in the Arctic Circle – when an emergency on board forced them to turn back.

Video footage shows the superjet impacting and then bouncing down the runway before bursting into flames, reports CNN.

You can see that here:

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— Коммерсантъ FM 93,6 (@KFM936) May 5, 2019

Once the plane stopped moving, passengers were able to escape using emergency slides before running away from the burning aircraft.

Russia’s Interfax news agency reported that a “loss of communication” caused by a “lightning strike” had led to the decision to return to Sheremetyevo. No official cause has yet been provided for the disaster.

More footage of the burning plane:

A total of 78 people were aboard the flight, including five crew members. 37 people survived, five of whom were injured.

The flight crew “did everything in its power to save passenger lives and provide emergency assistance to those involved,” another short release said. “Tragically, they were unable to save all of those aboard.”

The captain was the last to leave the burning aircraft, the airline added, and offered its condolences to the passengers and their families. It announced that it would fly relatives those affected to Moscow without charge.

The following harrowing footage was taken from inside the plane:

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,” said Peskov, according to TASS.

Aeroflot has activated its rapid response centre to look into and deal with the incident.

Why and how the plane caught fire is still unknown.

[source:cnn]