Tragedy as jet fighter kills 78

At least 78 people died yesterday afternoon when a Ukrainian jet fighter crashed into hundreds of spectators at an air show in Lviv, western Ukraine, leaving 138 injured. Seven of the dead and many of those hurt were children.

The plane, an Su-27, had been in the air for two minutes. It failed to come out of a rolling dive, clipping trees and an aircraft on the ground. A wing then hit the ground, causing the plane to cartwheel and blow up. Both pilots survived. They ejected just after the plane first grazed the ground and slid backward on its wingtip and nose through hundreds of spectators.

The Skniliv aerodrome was engulfed in flames by the explosion, which sent a plume of smoke towards the clear blue sky. Dozens of ambulances joined panicked parents searching for their children. Survivors staggered around the airfield with wounds and the tarmac was strewn with casualties and debris.

Bohdan Hupalo, 18, dived as the plane raced over him. 'There weren't any survivors among those who fell down late, they were cut down like grass,' he said. The free show was being watched by about 1,500 people.

President Leonid Kuchma cut short a holiday to rush to the scene. 'It's like a bad dream,' he said. He ordered a government investigation into the crash, and fired the the air force commander.

© Guardian News & Media 2008
Published: 7/27/2002
 
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