146 dead in SpanAir plane crash

The ill-fated MD-82 on a previous flight

Around 146 people of the 166 passengers and 6 crew have died on the ill-fated flight 5022 which crash shortly after take-off in Madrid on Wednesday afternoon. Rescue efforts were hampered by a large field fire which surrounded the stricken aircraft after it came down in fields near to Madrid’s Barajas Airport. It is thought to be one of the worst air disasters in European aviation history. Less than thirty people have been taken to hospital. Several reports suggest a fire developed in one of the rear engines as it departed before it then veered into the field adjacent to the runway. One Spanish newspaper said the plane had been making a second attempt to take-off. There have been 19 major crashes involving the MD-82 over the past few years according to Sky News.