KHABAROVSK, August 15 (Itar-Tass) —— Experts from the Far Eastern transport investigation administration of the Russian Investigations Committee and Interstate Aviation Committee have ended their work at an An-12 plane crash site in Russia’s Far Eastern Magadan region, a spokesman for the local emergencies centre told Itar-Tass on Monday.
The experts have examined a territory of some 15 square kilometers and recovered pieces of the plane and fragments of the bodies of those killed in the crash.
“The examination of the territory yielded material evidence weighing more than 35 kilograms that are needed to establish the circumstances of the crash,” said Natalya Salkina, a spokeswoman for the Far Eastern transport investigation administration.
“Fragments of dead bodies cannot be presented to relatives for identification, so the bodies will be identified through a genetic examination,” she said. “The group of investigators will return to Magadan on Monday of Tuesday to continue investigation.”
On August 9, the An-12 transport plane was making a flight between Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Magadan and Keperveyem (Chukchi Autonomous Area). Soon after its take-off from the Magadan airport, where the aircraft was refueled and serviced by technicians on board the plane, land air traffic controllers received a report by the crew about a flare-up of one engine. The pilots requested an emergency landing, and the Magadan airport put all emergency services in the state of readiness. But the communication with the plane went dead, and the aircraft disappeared from radars. The crash place was spotted on August 10, nearly 24 hours after searching. None of 11 persons on board the plane survived.