Image copyright Reuters Image caption The plane's left engine caught fire after the aircraft left the runway

A passenger jet skidded off the runway and caught fire while landing in the Russian city of Sochi, injuring 18 people, officials have said.

Flight UT579, a Boeing 737-800 operated by the Utair airline, was carrying 164 passengers and six crew from Moscow.

Video shows fierce flames from the aircraft after it crashed through the airport fence and fell into a riverbed.

Some of the injured suffered burns, others carbon monoxide poisoning, officials said.

A spokesperson at Sochi airport said one airport employee had suffered a fatal heart attack during the rescue operation.

The jet was attempting to land in strong wind and heavy rain early on Saturday, Russian media reported.

Russia's NTV channel carried images and video of the incident.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption The plane's final destination - a riverbed next to the airfield

The plane's undercarriage and a wing were damaged when it left the runway and a left engine then caught fire.

Three of the injured are children.

Russia's Investigative Committee has launched a criminal investigation into the incident "on suspicion of inadequate services with a risk to clients' health".

Last month, a helicopter belonging to Utair crashed in north-western Siberia, killing 18 people.

The fatal crash of a Russian airliner at Moscow's Domodedovo airport in February again raised concern about national air safety.

It was the third major plane crash in the country since 2015.</s>A Russian passenger plane ran off an airport runway outside Russia's southern city of Sochi early on Saturday and caught fire injuring 18 people, officials and state media reported.

Russia's Health Ministry said 18 people were injured but said there were no fatalities. The state-run RIA news agency said one Sochi airport staff member died during the clean-up operations.

Utair's Boeing 737-800, carrying 164 passengers and six crew members from Moscow to Sochi, did not brake in time after landing, RIA reported, citing local emergency services.</s>Russian jet goes off runway in Sochi, 18 injured

MOSCOW: A Russian passenger plane ran off an airport runway outside Russia´s southern city of Sochi early on Saturday and caught fire injuring 18 people, officials and state media reported.

Russia´s Healthcare Ministry said 18 people were injured but said there were no fatalities.

State news agency RIA said one Sochi airport staff member died during the clean-up operations.

Utair´s Boeing 737-800, carrying 164 passengers and six crew members from Moscow to Sochi, did not brake in time after landing, RIA reported, citing local emergency services.

The aircraft had landed in heavy rain and with a strong tail wind, Russian civil aviation official Oleg Smirnov told state television channel Rossiya24, which showed images of the aircraft with damaged engines and wings.

Sochi airport said on its website that the aircraft fire that erupted was extinguished in eight minutes and all those on board were evacuated within 17 minutes.

Russian flight safety watchdog will conduct an assessment of Sochi airport and Utair, Rossiya24 channel reported. Safety concerns have plagued Russia´s airline industry as it has witnessed multiple fatal crashes in recent years. In June, a Utair plane carrying Peruvian soccer fans from the World Cup city of Ekaterinburg to Tyumen in Siberia had to land due to an engine failure that caused the cabin to fill with smoke.</s>A supervisor at Sochi International Airport has died after a landing plane careered off the end of the runway into a riverbed and caught fire.

The health ministry says 18 people were injured in the accident, which occurred at about 3am local time as the Utair-operated Boeing 737 from Moscow, carrying 164 passengers and six crew members, was landing.

Transportation minister Yevgeny Ditrikh said airport shift supervisor Vladimir Begiyan, who was one of the first responders to the accident, died of a heart attack at the scene.

The cause of the crash has not been determined, but State news agency RIA, citing local emergency services, said the accident happened after the plane failed to brake in time after landing.</s>A passenger plane from Moscow has made a rough landing in Sochi, hitting a fence, losing a wing and catching fire.

It took the Utair-operated Boeing 737, arriving from Moscow, two attempts to land in Sochi, southern Russia, with strong wind and rain the likely cause of the failed first attempt. When the crew managed to land the plane, it overshot the runway and hit a fence.

After crashing through the fence, the plane plunged into a riverbed. The impact destroyed a wheel stand and one of the wings, and caused the left engine to catch fire, an Utair spokesman told RIA Novosti.

A video of the incident has appeared online, showing the plane engulfed in flames near the runway.

Some 18 people were injured as result of the incident, including three children, Russia’s Health Ministry said. It was reported earlier that six people suffered from carbon monoxide poisoning, and four were hospitalized with burns. The injuries have been described as minor.

While there were no fatalities among the passengers or the crew, an employee of the airport in Sochi died from an apparent heart attack while responding to the incident.

The plane was carrying a total of 164 passengers and six crew. All of the passengers were evacuated as the incident unfolded.</s>A passenger plane from Moscow has made a rough landing in Sochi, hitting a fence, losing a wing and catching fire.It took the Utair-operated Boeing 737, arriving from Moscow, two attempts to land in Sochi, southern Russia, with strong wind and rain the likely cause of the failed first attempt. When the crew managed to land the plane, it overshot the runway and hit a fence.A video of the incident has appeared online, showing the plane engulfed in flames near the runway.</s>A worker at Sochi International Airport died yesterday after a landing plane careered off the end of the runway into a riverbed and caught fire.

Russia's health ministry said 18 people were injured in the accident, which happened at 3am local time as the Utair-operated Boeing 737 from Moscow, carrying 164 passengers and six crew members, was landing.

The airport said the fire was extinguished within eight minutes. Transportation minister Yevgeny Ditrikh said airport shift supervisor Vladimir Begiyan, who was one of the first responders to the accident, died of a heart attack at the scene. The cause of the crash has not been determined.</s>A passenger plane from Moscow has made a rough landing in Sochi, hitting a fence, losing a wing and catching fire.

It took the Utair-operated Boeing 737, arriving from Moscow, two attempts to land in Sochi, southern Russia, although it is not yet clear what hindered the first try. When the crew managed to land the plane, it overshot the runway and hit a fence, losing its left wing.

After the plane crashed through the fence it plunged into a riverbed. The impact destroyed a wheel stand and one of the wings, and caused the left engine to catch fire, a Utair spokesman told RIA Novosti.

Eighteen people have been injured as result of the incident, including three children, Russia’s Health Ministry reported.

It was reported earlier that six people have suffered from a carbon monoxide poisoning, and four were hospitalized with burns.

While there have been no victims among the passengers or the crew, an employee of the Sochi airport died from heart attack while responding to the incident.

The injuries the passengers have suffered have been described as minor ones.

Passengers have been evacuated from the plane.

A video released by Russian news outlet Ren-TV purports to show the plane engulfed in flames near the runway.

164 passengers and 6 crew were on board the plane, Utair says.</s>Passenger jet catches fire in Russia after overshooting runway on landing, injuring 18

A passenger jet caught fire after overshooting its landing sending it crashing through a fence at an airport in Russia, injuring 18 people.

Dramatic footage showed the Utair-operated Boeing 737-800 engulfed in flames on the tarmac at Sochi airport early on Saturday morning (local time).

According to state broadcaster Russia Today, the flight from Moscow took two attempts to land in Sochi due to poor weather conditions.

An Utair spokesman told local media the plane crashed through the fence on the second attempt.

He said it then fell into a riverbed, destroying a wheel stand, one of its wings and sparked a fire on the plane's left engine.

Russia's Health Ministry said 18 people were injured in the incident, including three children.

Early reports said six people were treated for carbon monoxide poisoning, and four were treated for burns.

Russia Today reported that although there were no deaths from the fire, one Sochi airport employee died of a heart attack while responding to the incident.

The plane's 164 passengers and six crew members were all evacuated.</s>MOSCOW (AFP) - One person died - apparently of a heart attack - and 18 people sought medical help when a plane skidded off a runway in Russia's Olympic city of Sochi, slid into a river and caught fire during landing early on Saturday (Sept 1), officials said.

The Boeing 737 flying from Moscow with 166 passengers and six crew members overshot a runway as it attempted to land in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi, damaged a wing and caught fire.

"As a result of the crash landing at Sochi airport 18 sought medical help," regional health authorities said. The injured included three children, said investigators, who opened a criminal probe.

During the rescue operation an airport employee died, possibly of a heart attack, a spokesman for the Sochi Airport told AFP in a statement.

Sixteen ambulance crews worked at the scene, authorities said, adding that the fire had been put out.

The plane was operated by the Utair airline.
Utair Flight 579 overruns the runway and catches fire while landing at Sochi International Airport, injuring 18 people.