KAZAN, Russia, Nov. 17 (UPI) -- Authorities in Russia said they believe 50 people died Sunday when a Boeing 737 passenger jet crashed while attempting to land at an airport in Kazan.
Six crew members and 44 passengers were on board the Tatarstan Airlines plane -- en route from Moscow to Kazan -- when it lost altitude 7:30 p.m. local time and collapsed on the runway, ITAR-Tass reported.
The plane's pilots had attempted three landings and were trying to circle the airport when the accident occurred, a spokesman for Federal Air Transport Agency Rosaviatsiya said.
Upon crashing, the fuel tanks on the aircraft exploded, causing a fire that was extinguished fairly soon after the incident, a source told ITAR-Tass.
Irina Rossius, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Emergency Situations and Civil Defense said it appeared as though all 50 people on board the plane were dead.
A law enforcement source told RIA Novosti an investigation has been launched and officials believed crew error to be a possible cause of the crash.
The airport in Kazan, in the republic of Tatarstan, was closed Sunday after the crash.
