Drafts from My Coffee Table: Headline Places - Deadly Russian plane crash in Kazan

Monday, November 18, 2013

Headline Places - Deadly Russian plane crash in Kazan

Location: Kazan, Russia

The unfortunate accident of plane crash today (Nov 18, 2013) in Kazan, Russia raised fresh alarm over the aviation safety of the country. The plane involved was a Boeing 737-500, operated by regional carrier of Tatarstan region in central Russia, Tatarstan Airlines. 44 passengers and 6 crews on board were killed when the pilot tried a second landing in the Volga city after departing from Moscow's Domodedovo airport.

A criminal investigation had been launched to determine the exact causes as well events leading up to the point of the crash, a scene which could only be described as apocalyptic images taken of the fiery and debris strewn runway. The plane exploded upon impact at about 19:20 local time (15:20 GMT).

Question: Where is Kazan in Russia?

Video taken from Yahoo News (original source from Reuters Videos) elaborating the plane crash in Kazan, Russia.

Kazan lies approximately 760km to the east of the capital city of Moscow, and is by itself the capital of and largest city of Republic of Tatarstan. Geographically, it is located at the confluence of Volga and Kazanka river. A 2010 census showed that its population is 1,143,535, making it the 8th most populous city in the Russian Federation.

The city is not without its cultural attraction. It was honored by UNESCO as an example of Christians and Muslims living together in harmony, as well as boasting a World Heritage Site, the Kazan Kremlin. In 2009, it was granted the rights by the Russian Patent Office to state itself as "the third capital of Russia", beating Nizhni Novgorod in a tight struggle for the title. The same year also saw it being chosen as the "sports capital of Russia", and still being referred as such, a fact that is understandable as it had hosted the 2013 Summer Universiade as well as being the future host of 2015 World Aquatic Championships and 2018 FIFA World Cup.

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