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MOSCOW – Rescuers found the bodies of nine victims a day after a plane crash in a remote region of Russia’s Far East, local authorities said.
An Antonov An-26 carrying 28 people crashed on Tuesday near its destination town of Palana in the Kamchatka region, apparently as it was preparing to land in bad weather.
The wreckage was found Tuesday evening on a coastal cliff and in the sea, and the search and rescue operation was suspended until Wednesday morning after dark because the crash site was difficult access in the dark.
Kamchatka Governor Vladimir Solodov told the Tass state news agency that “the first bodies are being removed (from the water).” The Russian Emergency Ministry said nine bodies have been found so far, and one has already been identified.
Russian media reported on Tuesday that none of the six crew members or 22 passengers on board survived. The head of the local government of Palana, Olga Mokhireva, was among the passengers, spokespersons for the Kamchatka government said.
Solodov said on Tuesday that a group of government officials, including Transport Minister Vitaly Savelyev, would visit Palana on Wednesday.
In the aftermath of the crash, the Kamchatka authorities declared three days of mourning. Officials said the families of the victims will receive payments of more than $ 47,200 which will include compensation from the airline, an insurance payment and a grant from the regional government.
In 2012, an Antonov An-28 plane belonging to Kamchatka Aviation Enterprise crashed into a mountain on the same route as Tuesday’s flight. A total of 14 people were on board and 10 of them were killed. Both pilots, who were among the dead, had alcohol in their blood, Tass reported.
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