Flydubai contacting families of victims

LATEST STATEMENT FROM FLYDUBAI: Flydubai has announced that contacts are underway with families of victims of its plane, which crashed while attempting to land in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don.

"Our priority is the extension of all possible care and respect to the families of the passengers and crew of flight FZ981. We are currently in the process of contacting all families that have lost loved ones as a result of this tragic accident. It is a process that will take a little time but as a mark of respect to the families of the bereaved, we want to make every effort to inform them directly prior to releasing the full passenger manifest."

EARLIER STATEMENTS:

In a statement Flydubai spokesperson said: "Our priority is the extension of all possible care and respect to the families of the passengers and crew of flight FZ981. We are currently in the process of contacting all families that have lost loved ones as a result of this tragic accident. It is a process that will take a little time but as a mark of respect to the families of the bereaved, we want to make every effort to inform them directly prior to releasing the full passenger manifest."

"On behalf of everyone at flydubai, I would like to express the devastation we all feel in relation to this morning’s tragic event in Rostov-on-Don. Our primary concern is for the passengers and crew involved at this tragic time. Everyone in our company is in deep shock and our hearts go out to all the loved ones of those involved.

"We are still in the process of gathering all the information we possibly can, but at this stage I will share the facts that we are able to confirm now. At 00.50GMT today flydubai flight FZ981 crashed at Rostov-on-Don and I am very sorry to say that we believe that there are no survivors. On board the aircraft, 55 passengers including 33 women, 18 men and 4 children and 7 crew members of whom 5 were male and 2 were female. The nationalities of the passengers included 44 Russians, 8 Ukrainians, 2 Indians and 1 Uzbekistani.

"I am personally leading our accident response with the support of the full management team. At this stage the focus of our efforts is on establishing the facts around the incident and providing all possible support to the authorities.

"As I speak members of our team are contacting relatives of the passengers and crew who were on board and we are offering any help we can to those affected.

"In addition, we have activated our Emergency Response Team who are on their way now to the site.

"We do not yet know all the details of the incident but we are working closely with the authorities to establish precisely what happened. We are making every effort to care for those affected and will provide assistance to the families and friends of those who were on board.

"Finally, I would like to say once more how deeply we feel for those affected by this tragedy."

EARLIER STATEMENT

Following our earlier statements more information is now available relating to flydubai flight FZ981.

Flydubai very much regrets to confirm that the accident involving flight number FZ981 at Rostov-on-Don earlier today has resulted in 55 passenger fatalities including 33 women, 18 men and 4 children. The nationalities of the deceased passengers include 44 Russians, 8 Ukrainians, 2 Indians and 1 Uzbekistani.

We are currently contacting relatives of the passengers and crew who were on board and we are offering any help we can to those affected.

Chief Executive Officer Ghaith Al Ghaith, with the support of the full management team, is leading our response to the accident. At this stage the focus of our efforts is on establishing the facts around the incident and providing all possible support to the authorities.

Our emergency response team are now en-route to Rostov-on-Don.

The aircraft involved was a Next-Generation Boeing 737-800.

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