An-12 crash site examination over in Magadan region

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.