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Image:Crash site of Flydubai Boeing 737-800 in Rostov-On-Don, Russia

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Dubai Airliner Crashes in Russia, Killing All 62 on Board

A Dubai airliner with 62 people on board nosedived and exploded in a giant fireball early Saturday in Rostov-on-Don, Russia.

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Image: Fly Dubai Flight FZ981 crashes in southern Russia

Fly Dubai Flight FZ981 crashed in Rostov-on-Don, Russia in the early morning on March 19, 2016. It was flying from Dubai to Rostov-on-Don, and crashed during its second landing approach.

Handout / via EPA
Image: Fly Dubai Flight FZ981 crashes in southern Russia

Russian emergency trucks are at the scene near the area of the plane crash at the Rostov-on-Don airport, about 600 miles south of Moscow, Russia Saturday.

Russian Ministry for Emergency Situations / via AP
Image: RUSSIA-UAE-AVIATION-ACCIDENT-FLYDUBAI

Ambulances stand by at the airport entrance following the crash.

The aircraft, a Boeing 737-800, was carrying 55 passengers, most of them Russians, and seven crew members of various nationalities. No one survived the crash.

SERGEI VENYAVSKY / AFP - Getty Images
Image: 62 People killed in flydubai FZ981 plane crash in southern Russia

The powerful explosion pulverized the plane but investigators quickly recovered both flight recorders. The cause of the crash wasn't immediately known, but officials and experts pointed at a sudden gust of wind as a possible reason.

Handout / via EPA
Image: Handout shows wreckage of the crashed Boeing 737-800 Flight FZ981 operated by Dubai-based budget carrier Flydubai, at the airport of Rostov-On-Don, Russia

Wreckage of the crashed plane are scattered on the runway at the Rostov-on-Don Airport in Russia.

Handout / via Reuters
Image: 62 People killed in flydubai FZ981 plane crash in southern Russia

According to the weather data reported by Russian state television, winds at ground level weren't dangerously strong at the moment of the crash, but at an altitude of 500 meters (1,640 feet) and higher they reached a near-hurricane speed of around 30 meters per second (67 miles per hour).

Above, emergency service members examine the crash site.

Handout / via EPA
Image: Emergencies Ministry members gather near crash site of Flydubai Boeing 737-800 Flight FZ981 in Rostov-On-Don

Emergencies Ministry members gather near the crash site of the Boeing 737-800 Flight FZ981.

Handout / via Reuters
Image: View shows crash site of Flydubai Boeing 737-800 in Rostov-On-Don

According to Flightradar24, the plane circled for about two hours before making another landing attempt. It said a Russian Aeroflot plane scheduled to land around the same time made three landing attempts but then diverted to another airport.

Above, emergency service members examine and clean the crash site.

Handout / via Reuters
Image:Crash site of Flydubai Boeing 737-800 in Rostov-On-Don, Russia

A Russian Emergency Ministry member stands next the wreckage of the crashed plane at the Rostov-on-Don airport.

AP
Image:Crash site of Flydubai Boeing 737-800 in Rostov-On-Don, Russia

Emergency service members investigate the plane’s wreckage.

AP
Image: A psychologist of the Russian Emergencies Ministry sits next to a relative of a victim of the crashed Flydubai Boeing 737-800 Flight FZ981 at the airport of Rostov-On-Don, Russia

A psychologist of the Russian Emergencies Ministry, left, sits next to a relative of a victim of the accident, center, at the Rostov-On-Don Airport on Saturday.

Sergei Pivovarov / Reuters
Image: A psychologist of the Russian Emergencies Ministry speaks with a relative of a victim of the crashed Flydubai Boeing 737-800 Flight FZ981 at the airport of Rostov-On-Don, Russia

A psychologist of the Russian Emergencies Ministry, left, speaks with a relative of a victim at the Rostov-On-Don Airport.

Sergei Pivovarov / Reuters
Image: Journalists watch news on crashed Flydubai Boeing 737-800 at airport of Rostov-On-Don

Journalists watch news on the crashed Flydubai Boeing 737-800 at the Rostov-On-Don Airport on Saturday.

Sergei Pivovarov / Reuters
Image: RUSSIA-UAE-AVIATION-ACCIDENT-FLYDUBAI

A man reads the passengers' list of the Fly Dubai airplane at the Rostov-on-Don Airport on Saturday.

SERGEI VENYAVSKY / AFP - Getty Images
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