A Chinese airliner with 54 people aboard crashed today near Shanghai, killing at least 18 passengers and crew members, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
The plane plunged into a river after an aborted takeoff from Hongqiao Airport, about 14 miles north of Shanghai, at 3:46 p.m.Earlier, Xinhua said 33 passengers and crew members were killed, but a later report said 18 died and rescue efforts were continuing. Xinhua did not explain the discrepancy.
Reports received by the Japanese Consulate in Shanghai said 54 people were on board the flight.
The plane was a Soviet-designed Antonov-24 on flight 5510 of China's flag carrier, the Civil Aviation Administration of China. It was en route from Shanghai to the southern city of Nanchang.
Officials at the CAAC office in Shanghai contacted by telephone said they could not immediately confirm the report.
It was the first crash involving a Chinese airliner since last August, when a flight from Canton crashed while landing at Hong Kong International Airport, killing seven people.