153 killed in Madrid plane crash

Updated August 21, 2008 17:45:53

Relatives and friends wait at Las Palmas airport in Spain, August 20, for news of the passengers of a Spanair flight that crashed after take off, killing 153. [AFP]

The Spanish prime minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, has declared three days of national mourning for the 153 victims of the country's worst air disaster in 25 years.

Investigators are trying to determine what caused a Spanish tourist jet to break up in flames as it took off from Madrid's airport.

Witnesses told local media one engine of the Spanair MD-82 caught fire during the attempted takeoff from Madrid-Barajas airport on a flight to Las Palmas in the Canary Islands at 2:45pm (1245 GMT) Wednesday.

The unstable aircraft then veered off the right of the runway, before breaking up, with fire spreading rapidly through the fuselage.

Transport Minister Magdalena Alvarez said 153 people were killed and 19 injured, two of whom remain unidentified.

There were 162 passengers on board along with 10 crew members, four of whom were travelling as passengers.

The Minister said the MD-82 had just taken off, but it was not clear if the back wheels had left the ground.

She said the plane had earlier begun taxiing to the runway, before turning back because of an undisclosed technical problem, which caused a one-hour delay in the takeoff.

The two black boxes were found and were to be analysed.

Some experts said the fire in the engine was not enough to explain the accident, and other causes may be to blame.

The plane should have veered to the left if there was a loss of power in the left engine.

Spanish media said the pilot had earlier signaled a malfunction in an exterior temperature gauge, which was fixed before takeoff.

Secretary of State for Communication Nieves Goicoechea ruled out terrorism, saying there was "no doubt that it was an accident."

Spanair's managing director Marcus Hedblom described it as "the worst thing that could happen" and expressed his condolences to the families of those killed.

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who interrupted his holiday to go to the scene, said "the government is overwhelmed, very affected, as are all Spanish citizens, by this tragedy."

It was the deadliest air accident in Spain since a Boeing 747 of the Colombian airline Avianca crashed in Madrid in 1983 killing 180 people.

The most deadly accident in the history of civil aviation occurred in Spain when two Boeing 747s collided at Tenerife airport in the Canary Islands on March 27, 1977, killing 583 people.