59 Killed as Airliner Crashes on Takeoff in Northern China
BEIJING — A Chinese airliner crashed into a lake Friday on its second attempt to take off from Yinchuan, killing 59 people including a Briton, the official New China News Agency said.
The British Aerospace 146 of China Northwest Airlines was starting a scheduled flight to Beijing from Yinchuan, capital of Ningxia province, officials said.
Yinchuan, a popular tourism destination, is about 500 miles west of Beijing.
The airliner, which was carrying 108 passengers and five crew members, failed in its second takeoff attempt. It careened off the runway and into a lake, where it broke apart.
There was no immediate explanation why the plane crashed or why its first takeoff attempt failed.
Yinchuan, which lies along the famous Great Wall, has attracted growing numbers of overseas tourists seeking adventure in China’s rugged and sparsely populated northwest.
China Northwest is one of at least a dozen regional carriers spun off in recent years from the Civil Aviation Administration of China, which had been a national aviation monopoly.
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