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RELATIVES MOURN, SEARCHERS COMB RUSSIAN PLANE CRASH SITE IN UKRAINE
Sergei Venyavsky
AP Writer Irina Titova contributed to this report from St. Petersburg
AP Worldstream
Aug 23, 2006
Investigators on Wednesday combed through the wreckage of a Russian
jet that crashed into a Ukrainian field during a severe thunderstorm,
killing all 170 aboard, while relatives _ their faces swollen by
tears _ struggled to make sense of their loss.
Dressed in black, grieving relatives gathered silently at the
airport in St. Petersburg, Russia, which was the doomed plane's
destination. Nearly 200 relatives have said they plan to visit the site
where the Pulkovo Airlines' Tu-154 crashed Tuesday, Vasily Nalyotenko,
deputy head of St. Petersburg's Pulkovo airport, said.
Emergency officials working at the scene said parts of 140 bodies
had been found in the wreckage of the plane, which was flying from
the Russian Black Sea resort of Anapa _ a popular family holiday
destination.
Two flight recorders were found amid the blackened debris, said
Transport Minister Mykola Rudkovsky. The recorders appeared to be in
good condition, investigators said, expressing hope they can explain
what caused the third passenger airliner crash this year in the former
Soviet Union.
Officials said preliminary information suggested weather had caused
the crash about 45 kilometers (30 miles) north of Donetsk, a city in
eastern Ukraine.
Ukrainian officials said a storm with heavy winds, driving rain and
lightning was raging through the region at the time of the crash
and a Russian emergency official said the plane was likely hit by
lightning. Rudkovsky suggested it might have ran into a cyclone.
Valentina Risunkova, whose 34-year-old son, Eduard, died, said
he had asked his parents to pick him and his girlfriend up at the
St. Petersburg airport, then called again to thank them in advance. The
couple had taken the train down to Anapa, but "decided to return by
plane because they were tired from the sun," she said. When Risunkova
heard there had been a crash, "I fainted and fell to the floor."
Fragments of the plane _ its engines, parts of the landing gear,
the nose and chunks of the fuselage _ were scattered around rolling
fields and a small forest near Sukha Balka, a village about 400 miles
(640 kilometers) east of Kiev.
Oleksandr Livochka, deputy prosecutor from the Donetsk region, said
on Ukraine's NTN television that DNA testing might be needed to
identify remains.
Alexander Pomov, a doctor working at the scene, said preliminary
information indicated the victims died from the impact.
Of the 170 people on board, 45 were children aged 12 and under,
Pulkovo Airlines deputy director Anatoly Samoshin told reporters at
the St. Petersburg airport. The list of passengers, many of whom were
from St. Petersburg, appeared to include many families.
An elderly man who refused to give his name said he lost three
grandchildren _ age 3, 10, and 11 _ along with his son-in-law and
his son-in-law's mother.
His daughter _ the children's mother _ had skipped the family vacation
because she had to work, he said.
Russian officials said a citizen of Netherlands, France, Finland and
two Germans were also on the flight.
Ukraine declared a day of mourning Wednesday, canceling entertainment
and sport events. Black ribbons were attached to national flags
throughout the country. The government also said it would scale back
celebrations Thursday to mark its 15th Independence Day anniversary,
postponing fireworks and a concert in downtown Kiev until the weekend.
Thursday will be a day of mourning in Russia.
The crash was the third major incident involving Russia's aviation
industry this year.
An Airbus A-310 of the Russian airline S7 skidded off a runway and
burst into flames on July 9 in the Siberian city of Irkutsk, killing
124 people. On May 3, an A-320 of the Armenian airline Armavia crashed
into the Black Sea while trying to land in the Russian resort city
of Sochi in rough weather, killing all 113 people aboard.
Sergei Venyavsky
AP Writer Irina Titova contributed to this report from St. Petersburg
AP Worldstream
Aug 23, 2006
Investigators on Wednesday combed through the wreckage of a Russian
jet that crashed into a Ukrainian field during a severe thunderstorm,
killing all 170 aboard, while relatives _ their faces swollen by
tears _ struggled to make sense of their loss.
Dressed in black, grieving relatives gathered silently at the
airport in St. Petersburg, Russia, which was the doomed plane's
destination. Nearly 200 relatives have said they plan to visit the site
where the Pulkovo Airlines' Tu-154 crashed Tuesday, Vasily Nalyotenko,
deputy head of St. Petersburg's Pulkovo airport, said.
Emergency officials working at the scene said parts of 140 bodies
had been found in the wreckage of the plane, which was flying from
the Russian Black Sea resort of Anapa _ a popular family holiday
destination.
Two flight recorders were found amid the blackened debris, said
Transport Minister Mykola Rudkovsky. The recorders appeared to be in
good condition, investigators said, expressing hope they can explain
what caused the third passenger airliner crash this year in the former
Soviet Union.
Officials said preliminary information suggested weather had caused
the crash about 45 kilometers (30 miles) north of Donetsk, a city in
eastern Ukraine.
Ukrainian officials said a storm with heavy winds, driving rain and
lightning was raging through the region at the time of the crash
and a Russian emergency official said the plane was likely hit by
lightning. Rudkovsky suggested it might have ran into a cyclone.
Valentina Risunkova, whose 34-year-old son, Eduard, died, said
he had asked his parents to pick him and his girlfriend up at the
St. Petersburg airport, then called again to thank them in advance. The
couple had taken the train down to Anapa, but "decided to return by
plane because they were tired from the sun," she said. When Risunkova
heard there had been a crash, "I fainted and fell to the floor."
Fragments of the plane _ its engines, parts of the landing gear,
the nose and chunks of the fuselage _ were scattered around rolling
fields and a small forest near Sukha Balka, a village about 400 miles
(640 kilometers) east of Kiev.
Oleksandr Livochka, deputy prosecutor from the Donetsk region, said
on Ukraine's NTN television that DNA testing might be needed to
identify remains.
Alexander Pomov, a doctor working at the scene, said preliminary
information indicated the victims died from the impact.
Of the 170 people on board, 45 were children aged 12 and under,
Pulkovo Airlines deputy director Anatoly Samoshin told reporters at
the St. Petersburg airport. The list of passengers, many of whom were
from St. Petersburg, appeared to include many families.
An elderly man who refused to give his name said he lost three
grandchildren _ age 3, 10, and 11 _ along with his son-in-law and
his son-in-law's mother.
His daughter _ the children's mother _ had skipped the family vacation
because she had to work, he said.
Russian officials said a citizen of Netherlands, France, Finland and
two Germans were also on the flight.
Ukraine declared a day of mourning Wednesday, canceling entertainment
and sport events. Black ribbons were attached to national flags
throughout the country. The government also said it would scale back
celebrations Thursday to mark its 15th Independence Day anniversary,
postponing fireworks and a concert in downtown Kiev until the weekend.
Thursday will be a day of mourning in Russia.
The crash was the third major incident involving Russia's aviation
industry this year.
An Airbus A-310 of the Russian airline S7 skidded off a runway and
burst into flames on July 9 in the Siberian city of Irkutsk, killing
124 people. On May 3, an A-320 of the Armenian airline Armavia crashed
into the Black Sea while trying to land in the Russian resort city
of Sochi in rough weather, killing all 113 people aboard.