More than 60 people have died after a FlyDubai passenger jet smashed into the ground while attempting to land at a Russian airport.

Flight FZ981 was carrying 55 passengers and seven crew members from Dubai when it crashed at Rostov-on-Don airport around 4am Moscow time.

four children were among those killed in the smash, which happened as the plane attempted to land for a second time in bad weather conditions. Thirty-three women and 18 men were also travelling.

Dailymail reports that the plane went up in flames after its tail hit the runway and disintegrated, a statement released by Russia's Emergencies Ministry confirmed.

The aircraft was predominantly carrying Russian passengers, although eight Ukrainians, two Indians and one person from Uzbekistan were also on board.

Emergency services were this morning at the airport attempting to clear up the debris from the Boeing 737.

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