20 hurt as plane makes hard landing in Russia

At least 20 people were injured after an Airbus plane with over 200 passengers on board made a hard emergency landing on Thursday near Moscow shortly after taking off, authorities said.

The Ural Airlines' flight A321 performed a hard landing near Zhukovsky International Airport, southeast of Moscow, after its engines were struck by birds, the Sputnik news agency quoted Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency as saying.

The aircraft was travelling from Moscow to Simferopol in Crimea, with 226 passengers and seven crew members on board, Xinhua news agency reported.

The plane landed in a corn field near the airport. IANS