Moscow, 30 August 2002 (RFE/RL) -- Searchers in Russia's Far East today found the bodies of 16 people who were on board a plane that crashed when it tried to land in a village on the Okhotsk Sea in heavy fog. Viktor Beltsov, a spokesman for Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry, said bodies and scattered wreckage from the plane were found about three kilometers southwest of Ayan, where the plane had been trying to land.
Officials say the aircraft last made contact with air traffic control about 12 minutes before it was scheduled to land at the Ayan airport, approaching from the sea. Russia's ORT television said the pilot made four attempts to land before the plane disappeared.
Officials say the aircraft last made contact with air traffic control about 12 minutes before it was scheduled to land at the Ayan airport, approaching from the sea. Russia's ORT television said the pilot made four attempts to land before the plane disappeared.