18.03.2010, 11:48
Plane crash-lands on lake Ülemiste, Tallinn - Lennuk hädamaandus Ülemiste järvele
Täna kell 10.21 sai häirekeskus teate, et Ülemiste järvejääle on kukkunud lennuk. Kohal on kaks päästemeeskonda. At 10:21 a.m. this Thursday, the Tallinn Emergency Centre received a call about the freight plane AN-26 which had fallen onto the ice of lake Ülemiste.
All six crew-mebers on board are alive and according to the chief doctor of Tallinn Ambulance Service Raul Adlas, also unharmed.
Still, the North-Estonian Regional Hospital has announced that one of the men was brought in for tests before noon, but his injuries are not severe.
Although the plane's pilot was transferred into the ambulance car by a snowmobile, he was able to walk unassisted.
Rescue workers are still trying to stabilize the crash-landed plane in order to prevent it from sinking through the ice.
The spokesman for the North-Estonian Rescue Service Centre Ants Raava said that the plane is leaking fuel, but the extent of the contamination is unknown.
Initially, the rescuers were hindered in their salvaging attempts by the gate in the fence surrounding the lake, which was closed and covered in snow. A passage was eventually dug out by two excavators.
According to preliminary reports, the plane was coming in from Finland and reported problems with landing gear before the emergency landing.