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Search For Crashed An-26 Plane Resumes in Russia’s Far Eastern Region Of Kamchatka
According to Russian news agency TASS, the press service of the Russian emergencies ministry's Kamchatka department said on Wednesday that rescuers in Russia’s Far Eastern region of Kamchatka have resumed attempts to reach the accident site near the town of Palana.
Earlier, the search effort was suspended at nightfall.
"The search effort has resumed, a group of rescuers has departed to the accident site on all-terrain vehicles," it said.
Together with rescue teams, law enforcement officers and investigators are also trying to reach the crash site.
According to the press service, the plane crashed in an area with rough terrain. The search effort is complicated by fog and bad weather. The Kamchatka department for hydrometeorology and environmental monitoring told TASS the area of the presumed crash site is hit by gale winds and high waves.
According to an emergency source, a helicopter is unable to take off due to bad weather. One group of rescuers will try to get to the site through a dense forest, while the other is waiting for a low tide, allowing them to move along the coastal area.
The Pacific Fleet department of the Eastern Military District’s press service said one large fragment of the plane’s fuselage landed on the slope of the Pyatibratka hill, while the other was spotted at sea, approximately four km away from the coast.
Meanwhile, Kamchatka Governor Vladimir Solodov announced a three-day region-wide mourning for the victims.
"In accordance with my decree, a three-day period of mourning is declared on the entire territory of Kamchatka. State flags and flags of the Kamchatka Territory are to fly at half-mast everywhere in the region.
TV broadcasters and cultural facilities were suggested cancelling entertaining shows and events," the official was quoted as saying by the regional government’s official website.
The An-26 plane belonging to the Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Air Enterprise went missing on July 6. It was headed from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky to Palana and carried 22 passengers and six crew members on board.
The plane’s debris has been discovered 3.8 kilometers away from the airport of Palana. An emergency source told TASS that the plane stopped communication during its landing. One version suggests that the crash happened because of piloting error due to poor visibility. A criminal case has been initiated over violated rules of safety and air transport use.
The Federal Agency for Air Transport established a special commission to investigate the air disaster. It is led by Russian Transport Minister Vitaly Savelyev.
