Russian jet crashes into Black Sea !

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Russian jet crashes into Black Sea

 

 

 

 

MOSCOW: A Russian TU-154 airliner flying from Tel Aviv to Siberia

crashed Thursday into the Black Sea coast off Russia, a spokesman for

the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations said.

 

Interfax reported that Russian authorities fear that an explosion on

board the airliner may have been a terrorist attack.

 

An official at the ministry also said that he had received

information from eye witnesses on board an Armenian airliner that

flew near by that an explosion occurred on board the Russian jet.

 

Vasily Yurchuk, the spokesman, said the plane had gone down 185 km

off the Russian coastal city of Adler.

 

NTV television quoted Israeli airport officials as saying that all

passengers on board were Israeli citizens.

 

In Israel, civil aviation officials said the jet took off from Tel

Aviv at 9:58 am (0758 GMT) on a regular weekly flight, but refused to

give any details.

 

The plane was on its way from Tel Aviv to the Siberian city of

Novosibirsk, Yurchuk said. It belonged to Sibir Airlines, which is

based in Novosibirsk.

 

The Emergency Situations Ministry said there were at least 66

passengers and 11 crew members aboard.

 

The plane had made a stopover in Burgas in Bulgaria, where it

apparently took on more passengers, Vladimir Kofman, an official with

the Interstate Aviation Committee, which overseas crashes in all of

the former Soviet republics.

 

President Vladimir Putin convened an emergency Kremlin meeting

following the crash and named the head of the Security Council,

Vladimir Rushailo, to head the investigation of the crash.

 

(AP/AFP)