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    June 21, 2011

44 Reported Killed in Russian Plane Crash

   VOA News
   A view shows the site of a plane crash near the airport outside the
   northern Russian city of Petrozavodsk, June 21, 2011
   Photo: Reuters
   A view shows the site of a plane crash near the airport outside the
   northern Russian city of Petrozavodsk, June 21, 2011

   Russian officials say 44 people were killed and eight others injured
   when a passenger plane crashed late Monday in Russia's northern
   republic of Karelia.
   The plane, a Tupolev 134, with 52 people on board was trying to land at
   Petrozavodsk airport, about 650 kilometers northwest of Moscow, when it
   crashed on a nearby highway and caught fire.
   The survivors were taken to Petrozavodsk hospitals.
   Russian news reports quoted officials as saying that bad weather could
   have been a factor in the accident, but that human error is not ruled
   out. Heavy fog was reported at the time of the crash.
   RIA Novosti quoted Karelia's health minister Valentina Ulich as saying
   that among those killed was a Swedish citizen. The agency also reported
   that rescuers working at the crash site have found both flight
   recorders from the aircraft.
   The plane was enroute from Moscow's Domodedovo airport to Petrozavodsk
   when it crashed.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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