A China Eastern commuter plane crashed into a frozen lake seconds after takeoff in Inner Mongolia today, killing 53 passengers and crew and two people on the ground.
The Bombardier CRJ200, flown by two pilots, had taken off from Baotou, nearly 600 km (370 miles) west of Beijing, en route to eastern Shanghai, China Eastern Airlines Corp. Ltd. said.
Xinhua news agency quoted one witness as saying the plane was trailing black smoke when there was an explosion and the plane crashed and broke apart. Xinhua said the plane crashed through a park ticket office and two people on the ground had been killed. The fire had been put out at the lake and more than 400 people, including firefighters, police officers, park staff and a 20-member diving team from Baotou Iron and Steel, a major steel producer based in the city, had joined the rescue work.
State television showed pictures of rescuers pulling debris from below the broken ice.
The remains of 46 victims had been found but not the black box flight recorders, Xinhua said.
China's last major crash was on May 7th, 2002, when a China Northern flight from Beijing to Dalian fell into the sea after the pilot reported a fire in the cabin, killing 112 people.
The Canadian Bombardier CRJ200 was the world's first 50-seat commuter jet.