153 die as Spanish jet crashes

The black box containing flight data and voice recordings has been recovered from the wreckage of yesterday's plane crash at Madrid's Barajas airport. The Spanair McDonnell Douglas MD-82, bound for the Canary Islands, was carrying 172 passengers when it took off, apparently with one engine on fire, overshot the runway and exploded in a field. Only 19 passengers survived. Speculation is mounting as to the cause of the crash as details emerge suggesting the plane, which according to Barajas Airport's flight co-ordinator had already had two flights cancelled in recent days, had been delayed by an hour already after the pilot complained of a faulty temperature. A long line of emergency vehicles attended the scene. "There is nothing left of the plane; it is totally burned," a Guardia Civil told reporters. "It's the closest to hell I've ever seen. The corpses were boiling and we were burned as we retrieved them."