A plane crash in rural Havana, Cuba on Friday killed 110 people — including 20 priests — according to the Cuban transportation minister.
The Cuban Council of Churches said that the Boeing 737 plane was carrying 20 priests from an evangelical church located in Holguin, Cuba.
Breaking: Cuban State media is reporting that at least 100 people are dead following a plane crash in Havana, Cuba. pic.twitter.com/b5WbkX005a
— PM Breaking News (@PMBreakingNews) May 18, 2018
The group of priests were returning to their community in the province of Holguin after they spent several days meeting with people in the country’s capital. (RELATED: Plane Carrying 104 Passengers Crashes After Takeoff In Cuba)
“On that plane were 10 couples of pastors. 20 people. All of the Nazarene Church in the eastern region,” Maite Quesada confirmed to the Associated Press.
“Witnesses saw a large fireball followed by a towering plume of smoke near the airport on the outskirts of the Cuban capital,” the Express reported.
#Cuba. President Miguel Diaz-Canel (C) is pictured at the site of the accident after a Cubana de Aviacion aircraft crashed after taking off from Havana’s Jose Marti airport. #AFPphoto by Adalberto Roque pic.twitter.com/3opjXznEZi
— AFP Photo (@AFPphoto) May 18, 2018
Only three people survived the crash. Carlos Alberto Martinez, the director of the Calixto Garcia Hospital, is hopeful that they will recover but added that their condition is severe.
The Mexican government said on its website that the plane was a Boeing 737-201 built in 1979, making it almost 40 years old, according to Express.
Authorities are still unsure why the plane crashed.