Flydubai Boeing passenger jet crashes on approach in Russia

A Boeing 738 (737-800) passenger jet has crashed while trying to land at Russia's Rostov-on-Don airport according to Russia's Emergencies Ministry.

At a televised briefing headed by Emergencies Minister Vladimir Puchkov, a ministry official told him that all 55 passengers and six crew members had been killed.

Boeing's official Twitter account tweeted a statement about the reported incident, saying, "We're aware of reports coming out of Russia and our team is currently gathering more details."

"We are aware of an incident involving our flight FZ981 from Dubai to Rostov On Don. We are investigating the details and we will publish an update once more information is available," the Dubai-based carrier said in response to questions from the AP.

State news agency Tass reported that the Investigative Committee, the country's top investigative agency, said preliminary information indicates the plane was landing when it hit the ground and broke into pieces at the airport about 600 miles south of Moscow.

Unverified footage has surfaced on social media moments before the crash:

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