More than 100 feared dead in Cuban plane crash

Officials believe more than 100 people died when a plane crashed shortly after takeoff in Cuba on Friday, according to multiple reports.

A Boeing 737 airliner was carrying 114 passengers and crew when it crashed near Havana’s José Martí International Airport, Cuban state media reported. 

Three female survivors of the crash were being treated and reported to be in critical condition, reports Granma, Cuba’s state-run newspaper. 

They were reportedly rushed to the General Calixto García University Hospital. 

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“There has been an unfortunate aviation accident. The news is not very promising, it seems that there is a high number of victims,” Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said after visiting the crash site. 

The Cubana Airlines flight was taking off from the nation’s capital in route to the Cuban city of Holguin, according to BBC News. 

The plane was departing for Holguin on the eastern side of the island. There were 105 passengers, including five children, and nine crew members, according to Reuters.

Eyewitnesses of the tragedy reported seeing a massive fireball and plume of smoke when the plane crashed, which sent firemen and police scurrying to the scene.

Updated at 5:44 p.m.