Almost 150 passengers and crew died and over 26 people were injured, following the crash of a Spanair plane, a subsidiary of Scandinavian Airlines, at the Barajas Airport in Madrid on Wednesday. The MD-82 flight JKK 5022, which was code-sharing with Lufthansa, was carrying 164 passengers, as well as 2 babies, plus 9 crew members on board. The plane was on a regular flight to Las Palmas de Gran Canaries from Madrid and was full like many of the Canary Islands flights during this part of the year. Nearly all of the people on the plane are thought to have been Spanish, flying to the Canary Islands for holidays, or islanders who were visiting Madrid and on their way home. However, there may have been some Dutch and Swedish passengers on board as well. The carrier said that they are not going to issue a victims list until all of the families are informed.

The first reports said that an engine on the port-side seemed to have exploded, catching fire when the plane was taking off, but other witnesses have said that the aircraft was on the ground still. The plane swerved off of the runway, stopping about 300 metres away, breaking up and bursting into flames about 3:45 in the afternoon in Madrid. Only minutes after the event, there was a convoy of over 40 fire engines, 70 ambulances, and other vehicles on there way to the accident. There were even 2 helicopters dropping water to extinguish the aircraft’s flames. Desperate relatives began to arrive at both Madrid Airport and Las Palmas Airport, as the news of the incident was received. Special lounges were set up with psychologists, medical staff, and social workers for the relatives at both of the airports. Spanair also chartered a flight especially for the people who wished to visit Madrid to see the survivors or victims.

Find out more at: www.spanair.com/web/en-gb