Spanish plane crash death toll at 149

A Spanish airliner bound for the Canary Islands at the height of the holiday season crashed, burned and broke into pieces today while trying to take off from Madrid, killing 149 people on board, officials said.

There were only 26 survivors in the mid-afternoon crash, said Spanish Development Minister Magdalena Alvarez, whose department is in charge of civil aviation. It was Spain's most deadly air disaster in more than 20 years.