Cuba confirms 110 killed in country’s deadliest plane crash since 1989

A firefighter works in the wreckage of a Boeing 737 plane that crashed in the agricultural area of Boyeros, around 20 km (12 miles) south of Havana, shortly after taking off from Havana's main airport in Cuba, May 18, 2018. Alexandre Meneghini, - Reuters

HAVANA (Reuters): Cuban authorities said the fiery crash of an aging Boeing passenger jet on Friday shortly after takeoff from Havana had killed 110 of the 113 on board, making it the Caribbean island’s deadliest air disaster in nearly 30 years.

Flags flew at half-mast in Cuba on Saturday, marking the start of two days of national mourning while authorities worked to recover evidence from the site of the crash and to identify the crash victims. Fifteen have been identified so far and one black box retrieved, officials said.

Allegations of previous safety complaints against the little-known Mexican company called Damojh that leased the nearly 40-year-old Boeing 737 to Cuban flagship carrier Cubana also began to surface.

Damojh declined to comment while Mexico’s Directorate General of Civil Aeronautics said a new audit of the company would be undertaken to ensure it was still “fulfilling norms.”

Meanwhile, Cuban authorities told a news conference on Saturday at Havana airport that 99 of the passengers killed on the domestic flight to the eastern city of Holguin were Cuban, while three were foreign tourists - two Argentines and a Mexican - and two were Sahrawi residents in Cuba. Six Mexican crew members were also killed. Ten Nazarene pastoral couples returning home after a retreat were among the victims, the Cuban Nazarene Church said.

Three Cuban women survived the crash, but are still in critical condition, said the head of the hospital where they are being attended.