Over 233 people cheated death on Thursday, after a Russian plane made an emergency landing in a corn field on the outskirts of Moscow, Igbere TV reports.
Igbere TV gathered that the plane was forced to land after striking a flock of birds in the air shortly after take-off.
The Ministry of Health, in a statement sighted by Igbere TV, said 23 people suffered injuries, adding that nobody died in the accident.
“The Airlines Airbus 321 came down in a field Southeast of Moscow after striking a flock of gulls, disrupting its engines”, the statement partly read.
The statement added that the maneuver was a “miracle”, saying the plane came down more than 1 km (0.62 miles) from Zhukovsky International Airport.
The government lauded pilot Damir Yusupov as a “hero,” saying he had saved 233 lives, “having masterfully landed a plane without its landing gear with a failing engine right in a corn field.”
“The engines were turned off when it made the emergency landing and it also had its landing gear up”, said Elena Mikheyeva, a Spokesperson for Russia’s Civil Aviation Authority.
She added that the plane started to shake violently shortly after take-off.
“Five seconds later, the lights on the right side of the plane started flashing and there was a smell of burning. Then it landed and everyone ran away,” she said.
