59 die in China air crash

A Chinese airliner crashed into a lake yesterday on its second attempted takeoff from Yinchuan, in north-west China, killing 59 people, including one Briton, Reuter reports from Peking.

The BAe 146 jet was China Northwest Airlines' flight 2119 to Peking from Yinchuan, the capital of Ningxia province and a popular tourism destination. The plane, with 108 passengers and five crew, failed in a second takeoff attempt and careened off the runway and into a lake, where it broke apart.