What appeared to be one of the wings of the plane was wedged among scorched tree trunks, but the main fuselage appeared to have been entirely destroyed. Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel, who went to visit the scene, said there was a "high number" of casualties. Reports said European airline Blue Panorama had been leasing a 737-400 plane to Cubana de Aviacion for several months. The last major airline crash in Cuba was in July 1997, when an Antonov-24 passenger plane fell into the sea off Santiago de Cuba. In March 2002, a small Antonov-2 plane travelling from Cienfuegos to Cayo Coco crashed in the central province of Santa Clara.

Source: Bangkok Post May 18, 2018 18:33 UTC