Tu-134 airliner crashes; 7 killed, 50 injured

Moscow, Mar 17 (UNI) Seven passengers on board a Tu-134 were killed and 50 wounded today when the plane crash-landed in southern Russia's city of Samara, about 550 miles south-east of here, Emergency Situations ministry said.

The plane belonged to the Siberia-based UTAir, Russia's fifth largest carrier. There were 57 passengers and seven crew on board the airliner which was en route from the west Siberian town of Surgut, Russian news agencies quoted Emergency Situations Ministry as saying.

According Russian television stations reports, the plane developed a chassis- malfunction as it reached Samara airport and the moment it landed its body crashed.

The injured were hospitalised in Samara and the nearby town of Tolyatti.

The last major crash of a Russian airliner was on August 22, when a Tu-154 of Pulkovo Airlines crashed in Ukraine, killing all 170 people aboard.

In July, an Airbus-310 of S7 airlines went off the runway after landing in Irkutsk, smashed into adjacent buildings and caught fire, killing 123 of the 203 people aboard.

In May, an Armenian Airbus-320 crashed into the Black Sea while trying to land in the southern Russian city of Sochi, killing all 113 people aboard.

UNI