  Belavia plane crashes in Yerevan airport, no casualtiesFebruary 14, 2008 - 12:25 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Four people were hospitalized after a passenger plane crashed on takeoff at an airport near the capital of Armenia, early on Thursday, a spokesperson for the country's civilian aviation authority said. The Canadian-built CRJ-100 was heading for Minsk with 18 passengers and three crew members on board when it slid off the runway at the Zvarnots Airport, about 10 km (six miles) west of Yerevan, one wing hitting the ground, the aircraft splitting into two parts and catching fire. The accident took place at 4:15 a.m. (00:15 a.m. GMT). "All the passengers and crew were rescued from the blazing plane," Belavia spokesperson said. The representative said most of those injured in the crash had received medical assistance on the spot. Sixteen of the people on board were reported to be Armenians. The nationality of the others has yet to be announced. The aircraft belongs to the Belarusian state-owned airline, Belavia. Specialists from the airline are on their way to the crash site along with Belarusian Transport Ministry representatives, RIA Novosti reports.   Top stories David Vardanyan is the son of former Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan who who is currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan. The number of state universities will be reduced from 23 to 8 by 2030, Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Zhanna Andreasyan has said. From September 21 to November 11, a total of 2,820 Russians registered at a place of residence in Armenia, the police has said. The situation on the contact line between Karabakh and Azerbaijan was relatively stable overnight, the Defense Army says.   Partner news |  Related sections Latest news Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty  Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty.Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza.Aliyev says no need for mediators in Armenia-Azerbaijan process Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev believes that Baku and Yerevan do not mediators in the process of normalizing relations.U.S. believes peace is “possible” in South Caucasus The United States continues to believe that peace is possible in the South Caucasus, Vedant Patel said. |
