It all happened around 2:45 p.m. The plane that covered the route from Madrid to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, according to the newspaper El País, took off and ascended a few meters before crashing, with the left engine on fire. Flight JK 5022 was delayed by an hour, possibly due to technical problems, an extreme that has not yet been confirmed by the company or AENA. The accident occurred more or less one kilometer from Terminal 4, on Runway 36. The fire caused by the accident was extinguished minutes after 5:00 p.m. The bodies will be transferred to pavilion 6 of IFEMA.
The Government Delegation of Madrid confirms that more than 150 people have died after a plane with 166 passengers, two of them children, and nine crew members on board that was taking off from Barajas airport crashed this afternoon. 27 survivors of the impact have been transferred to hospitals, although some of them died in transit or upon arrival at the health centers. Barajas airport has declared an emergency, which is the highest level of alert, and has convened the "Crisis Cabinet".
Information telephone
The Spanair company has reported that the names of the passengers and crew who were on board the plane that crashed in Barajas will not be released until all their relatives have been informed.
Through a statement, the company has announced that flight number JK 5022, which covered the route from Madrid to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, is "a code-shared flight with Lufthansa 255". In said statement, the company explains that "a code share" occurs when "two or more airlines establish their flight number in the programming for the same flight, while only one of the airlines operates it".
Spanair affirms that "it is providing all its support to the Spanish authorities in these difficult times" and hopes to offer more information "as soon as it has it".
In addition, the airline has enabled the telephone number 800 400 200 so that users and relatives of the occupants of the plane that crashed at Barajas airport are "informed at all times".
Sources at Lanzarote airport have confirmed that no flight of the company on the island has been canceled, although all those that had Madrid as their origin or destination have been delayed.
Paulino Rivero suspends his vacation
According to EFE, the president of the Government of the Canary Islands, Paulino Rivero, has suspended his summer vacation to follow the plane accident, a spokesman for the Canarian Executive reported.
Rivero is heading to the headquarters of the Presidency of the Canarian Government in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, from the place in the archipelago where he was resting. The Canarian Executive has opened a permanent communication line with the State Government and the Autonomous Community of Madrid to learn about the scope of the accident.
It also maintains contacts with the public entity Spanish Airports and Air Navigation (AENA), the emergency services of the Community of Madrid and the Government Delegation to gather all the information about said air accident, the sources reported.
The Court of Instruction 11 of Madrid is in charge of the investigation
EFE adds that the head of the Court of Instruction number 11 of Madrid, who was on duty today, has taken charge of the investigation into the causes of the Spanair plane accident.
The plane's black boxes have already been recovered and the judge will order the Police to report on their content.
Legal sources have reported that the magistrate is already at the airport, at the head of a judicial commission, to proceed with the removal of the bodies and carry out the first proceedings.
The bodies of the deceased will be transferred to a pavilion in Ifema, where the Scientific Police and forensic doctors will proceed with the identification work.
Extensive device
The company itself has chartered a flight from Gran Canaria for the relatives of the victims and AENA has set up a crisis room for the relatives.
As for the injured, El País affirms that ten of them have been admitted to the La Paz hospital, which has a special burns unit. Two of the injured who have arrived at this center have burns all over their bodies. Four other injured are in the Ramon y Cajal hospital, where several ambulances have arrived. Madrid hospitals are discharging some of their patients in order to provide enough space for the injured.
230 health workers, 170 municipal police officers, 70 firefighters from the Madrid City Council and about 45 ambulances are involved in the deployed operation. There are four field hospitals at the scene of the accident.
The mayor of Madrid, Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón, and the delegate for Urban Planning, Pilar Martínez, are currently at T-4 of Barajas airport to learn about the situation. The Minister of Development, Magdalena Alvarez, and the Vice President of the Government, María Teresa Fernández de la Vega, have also traveled to the area, where they have spoken with the President of the Community of Madrid, Esperanza Aguirre.
