Twenty priests were among the dead in a plane crash in Cuba last Friday and over a hundred people reportedly perished, while three survivors are still in critical condition at the hospital.
Cuba's Transportation Minister Adel Yzquierdo confirmed that one of the blackboxes from the crash site had been retrieved. Yzquierdo also stated that the death count was at 110.
"On that plane were 10 couples of pastors. 20 people," Maite Quesada of the Cuban Council of Churches told the press. They were from the Nazarene Church and were returning to their hometowns after a summit with other pastors in Havana.
Witnesses said they saw the aircraft, a Boeing 737, take off the ground just before noontime but it suddenly plunged towards an unpopulated site between San Antonio de las Vegas and Boyeros.
"The only thing we heard, when we were checking in, an explosion, the lights went out in the airport and we looked out and saw black smoke rising and they told us a plane had crashed," witness Brian Horanbuena, a tourist from Argentina, detailed an account to reporters.
Friday's crash has been deemed the worst air disaster in Cuba's history since 1989, according to reports. National carrier Cubana de Aviación apparently leased the aircraft from Aerolineas Damojh, a Mexican company. Investigations showed that Damojh had two previous performance complaints in the last decade.
Meanwhile, rescuers found three female survivors from the Cubana Flight 972 crash site but they remain in critical condition at the hospital.
Cubana Flight 972 had six crewmembers and at least five foreigners on board. The rest of the passengers were Cubans.
Meanwhile, Pope Francis expressed his condolences to Cuba in a telegram sent to Bishop Dionisio Guillermo Garcia Ibanez. He said he's praying for "spiritual serenity of Christian hope" for the families in mourning.
