A passenger plane flying from the United Arab Emirates crashed early today near the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, killing all 62 people on board.

The Dubai-based airline FlyDubai said there were 55 passengers and seven crew members aboard its flight FZ981.

“It is with great sadness that we report we believe there are no survivors,” the carrier said in a Facebook statement.

It said the passengers included 44 Russians, eight Ukrainians, two Indians and one Uzbek national.

Initial reports said that 61 people were aboard the Boeing 737-800 aircraft.

“We don’t yet know all the details of the accident but we are working closely with the authorities to establish the cause,” FlyDubai executive Ghaith al-Ghaith said.

RT news network meanwhile said the plane crashed in bad weather while trying to land in Russia.

It quoted the Southern Regional Emergency Centre as saying the plane crashed and burned while making a second attempt to land at the city airport.

The aircraft had departed from Dubai airport at 1820 GMT on Friday and was due to arrive that evening at 2240 GMT.

FlyDubai is a low-cost carrier based in Dubai.

- dpa

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