Three Dutch among victims of Cuba plane crash

RNW

All 68 people on board a domestic flight which crashed in central Cuba on Thursday were killed. Among the 61 passengers were three Dutch co-workers on a business trip.

Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal has offered his condolences to the victims’ next of kin. The minister said he was in close contact with their employer and would offer help as needed.

According to Cuba’s state-owned media, the other victims were 40 Cubans, nine Argentinians, seven Mexicans, two Germans, two Austrians, a Spaniard, a French citizen, an Italian, a Japanese and a Venezuelan.  

The plane, an ATR-72 owned by AeroCarribean, crashed near Guasimal, the capital of Sancti Spiritus province, while en route from Santiago de Cuba to the capital Havana.

An eyewitness says the plane fell from the air "causing a ball of fire on the mountain". The plane reportedly made a distress call shortly before the crash.  The disaster may have been caused by Hurricane Tomas which is nearing Cuba. An other airline had cancelled its flights due to the weather.

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