At least 41 people were killed yesterday after a Russian plane made an emergency landing and burst into flames at Sheremetyevo airport in Moscow.

Russia media reports say two children and a flight attendant were among the dead.

“There are 37 survivors - 33 passengers and four members of the crew,” Ms. Yelena Markovskya, an official with the Investigative Committee, was quoted as saying by RIA Novosoti. 

Russia’s flagship carrier, Aeroflot, said the plane was forced to return to the airport “for technical reasons,” but did not elaborate.  

The aircraft, a Sukhoi Superjet-100, departed Sheremetyevo airport at 18:02 local time for the city of Murmansk.

The crew reportedly issued a distress signal when "malfunctions" occurred shortly after departure.

After making an emergency landing at the airport, the plane's engines caught fire on the runway, Aeroflot said in a statement.

The crew “did everything to save the passengers,” who were evacuated in 55 seconds, the airline said.

According to Sputnik, the fire ultimately destroyed half of the aircraft. 

A commission has been set up to investigate the cause and circumstances of the tragedy, while Aeroflot’s crisis headquarters has been promptly convened, the statement read.

The Sukhoi Superjet 100 or SSJ100 is a regional jet designed by Sukhoi, a division of the United Aircraft Corporation. Its development started in 2000, it made its maiden flight on May 19, 2008 and its first commercial flight on April 21, 2011 with Armavia.

By May 2018, 127 were in service and by September the fleet had logged 300,000 revenue flights and 460,000 hours.