RUSSIA: ALL 145 PEOPLE ABOARD TUPOLEV 154 WHICH CRASHED AND EXPLODED IN SIBERIAN WOODS HAVE DIED

Record ID: 383704

  • Title: RUSSIA: ALL 145 PEOPLE ABOARD TUPOLEV 154 WHICH CRASHED AND EXPLODED IN SIBERIAN WOODS HAVE DIED
  • Date: 4th July 2001
  • Summary: (U2) IRKUTSK, RUSSIA (JULY 4, 2001) (REUTERS) 1. SLV SCENE OF CRASH OF TUPOLEV 154 AIRLINER; PLANE WRECKAGE; PIECES OF PLANE/EMERGENCY EQUIPMENT AT SITE (6 SHOTS) 0.42 2. SLV WRECKAGE; MV INVESTIGATORS WORKING AT THE CRASH SITE; WRECKAGE AND BODY ON GROUND; MV INVESTIGATOR WORKING; HELICOPTER LANDING (11 SHOTS) 2.04 3. (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) SERGEI SHOIGU, HEAD OF THE EMERGENCIES MINISTRY, SAYING "The experts still don't have a clear picture of what happened and how it could happen this way from the point of view of the basic aerodynamics laws. It was the third approach to land, but the plane was turned 180 degrees from the course it was supposed to follow. Its clear that there are no survivors. And it looks that the plane just fell flat on the ground. It looks that way because the debris is scattered over a very big area." 2.53 4. SLV MORE OF CRASH SITE 3.00 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
  • Embargoed: 19th July 2001 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: IRKUTSK, RUSSIA
  • Country: Russia
  • Reuters ID: LVADJAGPXWMXFGVG1DQ5JPNAB4PQ
  • Story Text: All 145 people aboard a Tupolev 154 which crashed
    and exploded in Siberian woods have died, officials at the
    crash site have said.

    The plane went down while circling for a scheduled landing
    in Irkutsk, halfway through a flight from Yekaturinburg in the
    Ural Mountains to Vladivostok on Russia's Pacific coast.

    Television pictures showed a crash site strewn with
    debris and corpses. Only the plane's rear wing was intact,
    bearing the logo of airline VladivostokAvia.

    Officials said there were no survivors and that 143 bodies
    had been found at the scene.

    The plane made two abortive attempts to land and crashed
    on its third approach, Russian media said, dropping from the
    sky about 30 km (18 miles) from Irkutsk and bursting into
    flames.

    Emergencies Ministry head Sergei Shoigu said experts still
    don't have a clear picture of how the accident occurred.

    "It was the third approach to land, but the plane was
    turned 180 degrees from the course it was supposed to follow,"
    he said.

    "It's clear that there are no survivors. And it looks that
    the plane just fell flat on the ground. It looks that way
    because the debris is scattered over a very big area."
    Yekaterinburg airport spokesman Valery Goncharov told
    Reuters the plane had carried 136 passengers and nine crew,
    including 12 Chinese nationals and six children.

    VladivostokAvia is one of hundreds of tiny domestic
    carriers in Russia which emerged when internal routes were
    split off from flagship carrier Aeroflot when the Soviet Union
    broke up.


  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register