Investigators search snow for Russian plane crash clue

STEPANOVSKOYE: Rescuers on Monday searched through deep snow for body parts and debris after a Russian passenger plane crashed near Moscow minutes after take-off, killing all 71 people on board, in the country’s deadliest air crash since 2016. The Antonov An-148 plane went down in a snow-covered field, making it difficult to access, with emergency workers forced to reach the wreckage by foot or on snowmobiles. The accident happened in Ramensky district around 70 kilometres (44 miles) southeast of Moscow on Sunday at 2:28 pm (1128 GMT) after the plane departed from Domodedovo airport outside the Russian capital. Sixty-five passengers and six crew members were on board and all of them died, Russia’s Investigative Committee said. The flight was operated by the domestic Saratov Airlines and was headed for the city of Orsk in the Orenburg region close to Russia’s border with Kazakhstan. On Monday, rescuers in dark uniforms trudged across the site in formation, using shovels to shift snow around 40 centimetres (16 inches) deep, an AFP video journalist saw. The Investigative Committee, which takes charge of major incidents and is probing the crash of the eight-year-old plane, said that the aircraft caught fire on the ground after crashing. “At the moment of falling, the aeroplane was intact, without a fire. An explosion took place after the plane crashed,” it said, adding that it is looking into factors including the pilots’ training and the plane’s technical state.