Plane carrying 104 passengers crashes after takeoff from Havana

Only three survivors have been survived and they are in critical condition after a Boeing 737 crashed on takeoff from Jose Marti International Airport in Havana on Friday with 104 passengers and nine crew aboard, a military officer told reporters.

The officer declined to provide his name and other officials declined to confirm the figure.

The plane came to rest in a yuca field where firefighters sprayed the charred fuselage with hoses.

Officials said the plane was headed to the eastern city of Holguin when it crashed between the airport in southern Havana and the nearby town of Santiago de Las Vegas.

The plane lay in a farm field and appeared heavily damaged and burnt, with firefighters spraying water on its smoldering remains. Government officials including President Miguel Diaz-Canel rushed to the site, along with a large number of emergency medical workers and ambulances. Residents of the rural area said they had seen some survivors being taken away in ambulances.

The plane was rented by Cubana, which has taken many of its aging planes out of service in recent months due to mechanical problems.