Ukraine plane crash kills all 170 onboard
A Pulkovo Airlines plane similar to that which crashed
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Tuesday, 22, Aug 2006 07:43
All 170 people onboard a Russian passenger airliner which crashed in eastern Ukraine this afternoon have been killed, it has been confirmed.
Vasily Nalyotenko, deputy head of Pulkovo Airlines, which operated the aircraft, said there were no survivors among the 160 passengers, 39 of whom were children, and ten crew members.
Rescue operations have been hampered by torrential rain, Russia's emergency situations ministry spokeswoman Yulia Stadnikova said.
The three-engined Tu-154 jet, believed to have been full of holidaymakers, had been flying from the Black Sea resort of Anapa to the Russian city of St Petersburg when it disappeared from radar screens.
Reports claim the pilots failed in an attempt at an emergency landing and the aircraft crashed 45 km north-east of the regional town of Donetsk.
Ukrainian emergency situations ministry spokesman Igor Krol has told local media that a fire broke out on the plane at about 1,000 metres.
Russian aviation official Alexander Neradko has, however, blamed the catastrophic loss of control on strong turbulence.
Other senior Russian officials have ruled out the possibility of terrorism.