THREE people who were on a board a plane which "exploded" in mid-air and plummeted to the ground in Cuba have survived the crash.

Four people were pulled from the wreckage and the authorities in Havana say three women are still fighting for their lives in hospital.

The ageing Boeing 737 with 110 people aboard crashed shortly after taking off from Havana airport on Friday. At least 100 people are believed to be dead.

It was Cuba's worst aviation disaster in three decades and its third major air accident since 2010.

Skies were overcast and rainy at the airport at the time of Friday's disaster and Cuban state television said the 39-year-old jet veered sharply to the right after departing on a domestic flight to the eastern city of Holguin.

"I saw it taking off," supermarket worker Jose Luis told the AFP news agency. "All of a sudden, it made a turn, and went down. We were all amazed."

"We heard an explosion and then saw a big cloud of smoke go up," Gilberto Menendez, who runs a restaurant near the crash site, told Reuters.

"The only thing we heard, when we were checking in, an explosion, the lights went out in the airport and we looked out and saw black smoke rising and they told us a plane had crashed," Argentine tourist Brian Horanbuena said.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said a special commission had been formed to find the cause of the crash.

The plane had 104 mainly Cuban passengers and six crew members.