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Plane crash: 8 bodies found
25/08/2004 10:05 - (SA)
Moscow - Russian emergency crews on Wednesday found the first bodies in the wrecks of two aircraft that came down within minutes of each other late on Tuesday.
In the wreck of the Tupolev 154 that crashed in the region of Rostov-on-Don, rescuers found five bodies, the Interfax news agency reported, quoting local emergency services.
Three bodies were found where the smaller Tupolev 134 came down near Tula, Russian television reported.
All 88 people aboard the two aircraft are believed to have died.
In Moscow, security officers were looking for six men who had checked in for the Tupolev 154 flight from Moscow to Sochi on the Black Sea but did not board.
Witnesses saw explosion
"The luggage of the six delayed passengers was taken off the aircraft," a representative of the Russian capital's Domodedovo airport said.
It was earlier reported that the Tupolev 154 had sent a hijack alert before it disappeared from radar.
The distress alert from the plane carrying 38 passengers and eight crew members was received on Tuesday at 23:04 local time Interfax said.
Authorities in Moscow said the black box from the Tupolev 154 had been recovered.
President Vladimir Putin earlier authorised the Russian Federal Security Service FSB to launch an investigation into both crashes and ordered security tightened at all Russian airports.
In the case of the other crash involving the Tupolev 134 with 34 passengers and eight crew members aboard, witnesses reported seeing an explosion on board before the plane crashed, according to a rescue worker said.
The aircraft, which reportedly belonged to the airline Volga-Awia, had a flight number of 1303 and was flying from Moscow to Volgograd.
Anxiety over terrorist attacks has increased recently in Russia with the approach of Sunday's presidential elections in Chechnya to replace assassinated Chechen president Akhmad Kadyrov. Moslem separatists insist that Chechnya must be granted independence from Moscow.
Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin flew from his presidential residence at Sochi to pay a surprise visit to the region and laid a wreath at Kadyrov's grave. - dpa
- SAPA
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