Russian passenger plane makes emergency landing in cornfield

Crimea-bound plane had just taken off from a Moscow airport when it was forced to land without wheels or engine power

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  Ural Airlines Airbus 321 passenger plane following an emergency landing in a field near Zhukovsky International Airport in Moscow Region. Reuters

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  Russian police officers near the site of Ural Airlines A-321 passenger plane emergency landing outside Zhukovsky airport in Ramensky district of Moscow region, Russia. A-321 with 226 passengers and seven crew members on board en-route from Moscow to Simferopol made emergency landing after a right engine failure following the plane's colliding with seagulls shortly after take-off. Ten people were hospitalized following the accident. EPA

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  This handout picture taken and released on August 15, 2019, by the Investigative Committee of Russia shows the Ural Airlines Airbus A321 after a hard landing on a corn field outside Moscow's Zhukovsky airport. A Russian Airbus with more than 230 people aboard was forced to make an emergency landing in a corn field outside Moscow after hitting a flock of seagulls, officials said. AFP PHOTO

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  Ural Airlines A-321 passenger plane is seen on the site of its emergency landing in a field outside Zhukovsky airport in Ramensky district of Moscow region, Russia. A-321 with 226 passengers and seven crew members on board en-route from Moscow to Simferopol made emergency landing after a right engine failure following the plane's colliding with seagulls shortly after take-off. Ten people were hospitalized following the accident. EPA

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  Firefighters spray foam on a wing of the Ural Airlines Airbus 321 passenger plane following an emergency landing. Reuters

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  Ambulances on the road near the site of Ural Airlines A-321 passenger plane emergency landing outside Zhukovsky airport in Ramensky district of Moscow region, Russia. A-321 with 226 passengers and seven crew members on board en-route from Moscow to Simferopol made emergency landing after a right engine failure following the plane's colliding with seagulls shortly after take-off. Ten people were hospitalized following the accident. EPA

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  Ural Airlines A-321 passenger plane is seen on the site of its emergency landing in a field outside Zhukovsky airport in Ramensky district of Moscow region, Russia. A-321 with 226 passengers and seven crew members on board en-route from Moscow to Simferopol made emergency landing after a right engine failure following the plane's colliding with seagulls shortly after take-off. Ten people were hospitalized following the accident. EPA

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  Ural Airlines A-321 passenger plane is seen on the site of its emergency landing in a field outside Zhukovsky airport in Ramensky district of Moscow region, Russia. A-321 with 226 passengers and seven crew members on board en-route from Moscow to Simferopol made emergency landing after a right engine failure following the plane's colliding with seagulls shortly after take-off. Ten people were hospitalized following the accident. EPA

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  Russian police officers near the site of Ural Airlines A-321 passenger plane emergency landing outside Zhukovsky airport in Ramensky district of Moscow region, Russia. A-321 with 226 passengers and seven crew members on board en-route from Moscow to Simferopol made emergency landing after a right engine failure following the plane's colliding with seagulls shortly after take-off. Ten people were hospitalized following the accident. EPA

A passenger jet made an emergency landing in a field outside of one of Moscow’s airports, injuring at least 23 people, Russian officials said.

The Ural Airlines Airbus A321 was bound for Crimea and carrying 226 passengers and a crew of seven when it struck a flock of birds while taking off from Moscow’s Zhukovsky International Airport on Thursday.

The aircraft’s engines malfunctioned after the collision and the pilot made an emergency landing -- without landing gear or thrust -- in a cornfield about 1 kilometre from the airport.

The Russian health authorities said 23 people, including five children, were taken to hospital.

News website Life.ru posted footage of people walking through the cornfield away from the plane.

Later on Thursday, the Kremlin announced it would bestow state awards on the two pilots who were in charge of the plane.

"We congratulate the hero pilots who saved people's lives," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

The crew displayed "fantastic skills and self-control. The captain was a Yekaterinburg resident Damir Yusupov. He and his crew saved 223 lives. Heroes,” Sverdlovsk region Governor Evgeny Kuyvashev wrote on Instagram.

In May, a Sukhoi Superjet-100 plane caught fire upon landing in Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport, killing 41 of 73 on board.