Five people have died when an Antonov AN-24 plane with dozens of football fans on board made an emergency landing in the eastern Ukraine city of Donetsk, officials said.
“Most of the survivors were able to walk off the plane by themselves,” emergency ministry spokeswoman Svytlana Borodyna said, adding that there had been 44 people on board the plane operated by domestic airline Yuzhne Avialinii.
The cause of the accident was not immediately clear but the plane was flying from the southern resort city of Odessa when it overturned and began breaking up upon landing at Donetsk airport yesterday, according to the ministry.
Aside from the five dead, twelve people were injured in the incident, Borodyna said.
One of the survivors told AFP the passengers were on their way to Donetsk to watch a Champions League match between Shakhtar Donetsk and German side Borussia Dortmund.
“We were all going to the match in Donetsk because we love our club,” said Igor, who declined to give a second name.
Published 14 February 2013, 18:57 IST