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149 Confirmed Dead in Spain Crash

Bodies too hot to touch after fiery disaster; 26 survive

By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff

Posted Aug 20, 2008 1:44 PM CDT

(Newser) – The Spanish government confirms that 149 people died when a Spanair jet crashed shortly after takeoff from Madrid's airport today, the AP reports. Only 26 survived the horrific crash, which tore the aircraft apart to the point that rescue workers said the wreckage didn’t look like a plane and made the victims' bodies so hot they couldn’t be touched.



Ambulances and rescue workers gather near the site where a Spanair jet crashed on takeoff at Madrid airport on Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2008.
Ambulances and rescue workers gather near the site where a Spanair jet crashed on takeoff at Madrid airport on Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2008.   (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza)
Ambulances and rescue workers gather near the site where a Spanair jet crashed on takeoff at Madrid airport on Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2008.
Ambulances and rescue workers gather near the site where a Spanair jet crashed on takeoff at Madrid airport on Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2008.   (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza)
A Red Cross worker speaks on her cell phone near the body of a victim of the Spanair jet crashed at Madrid airport on Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2008.
A Red Cross worker speaks on her cell phone near the body of a victim of the Spanair jet crashed at Madrid airport on Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2008.   (AP Photo)
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I have never seen anything like this in my life. - Luis Ferreras, Ambulance Driver

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