Flydubai plane crash: 2 Indians among 62 killed as Boeing passenger jet crashes in Russia, says Dubai

UPDATE 15:07 p.m. IST -- The two Indians who were killed in the flydubai plane crash in Russia have been identified as Anju Kathirvel Aiyappan and Mohan Shyam by India's Ministry of External Affairs, according to ANI news agency. 

UPDATE 12:42 p.m. IST -- Two Indians were among the 62 people killed in the flydubai passenger jet crash in Russia Saturday, according to the Dubai Media Office. 

The Dubai government's media office announced the nationalities of the passengers on the Boeing jet crash, through its Twitter account, stating there were 44 Russians, 2 people from India, 8 people from Ukraine and 1 from Uzbekistan. 

UPDATE: 12:22 p.m. IST -- The toll from the flydubai plane crash Saturday has been increased to 62 from 61 reported earlier. The Investigative Committee of Russia said in a statement there were  55 passengers and 7 crew members on board, and all had been killed in the crash. 

The committee said a criminal investigation has been ordered into the crash to see if there was any violation of safety rules. 

UPDATE 10:54 a.m. IST -- The Dubai government's media office said through its Twitter account — "flydubai regrets to confirm that flight FZ981 crashed on landing and that fatalities have been confirmed as a result of this tragic accident..At this moment our thoughts and prayers are with our passengers and our crew who were on board the aircraft..We will do everything we can to help those who have been affected by this accident."

UPDATE 10:47 a.m. IST -- Boeing released a statement on Saturday's jet crash.  "Boeing's thoughts and prayers are with those on board flydubai flight FZ981 and their families and friends. Boeing stands ready to provide technical assistance upon the request of government agencies conducting the investigation."

Original story:

A passenger jet with 61 people crashed in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don Saturday, killing everyone on board. Flydubai Flight 981 was flying from Dubai to Rostov-on-Don in Russia when the accident occurred.

The Boeing 737-800 jet crashed near the runway while landing under conditions of poor visibility. The plane was reportedly making a second attempt to land after a failed first try, but crashed and caught fire.

"During the landing approach a Boeing-737 crashed. It had 55 passengers on board. All of them died," a regional spokesman told TASS.

There were 55 passengers and six crew members on board, with Russian media reporting most passengers were Russians along with a few foreigners. 

"There were mainly residents of Rostov-on-Don on board. According to preliminary data, there also were three foreigners there," Russian Emergencies Ministry's official Igor Oder said, according to Sputnik International. 

Nearly 80 rescue workers were deployed at the site of plane crash. 

"We are aware of an incident involving our flight FZ981 from Dubai to Rostov On Don. We are investigating further details and will publish an update once more information is available," Flydubai said on its Facebook page. 

A flydubai spokesperson told Gulf News â€” "Flydubai regrets to confirm that flight FZ981 crashed on landing and that fatalities have been confirmed as a result of this tragic accident."