Air crash in Russia's Kazan confirmed to have killed all 50 people on board

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Air crash in Russia's Kazan confirmed to have killed all 50 people on board

(Xinhua) 20:41, November 18, 2013

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This still image taken from video shows a plane crash incident in Kazan, Russia, Nov. 17, 2013. At least 44 people were killed, the ITAR-TASS news agency reported.(Xinhua)

MOSCOW, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- Authorities in Russia confirmed that all 50 people aboard a Boeing plane that crashed Sunday on landing in Russia's Kazan, capital of Tatarstan republic, were killed.

The dead included 44 passengers and six crew members, said the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry.

A Xinhua reporter at the scene said a full list containing names of 44 passengers killed in the air crash was posted on a glass door of Terminal No. 2 of the airport in Kazan, a city east to Moscow, the Russian capital, and there were no Chinese among the dead judging from the names appearing on the list.

Tatarstan Republic's Deputy Prime Minister Yury Kamaltynov said at the scene that Irek Minnikhanov, son of Tatarstan's President Rustam Minnikhanov, and Alexander Antonov, the republic's security service chief, were among the killed.

Tatarstan authorities declared Monday as the day of mourning for the air crash victims.

More than 10 ambulances and six emergency vehicles were working at the scene. The air crash also caused a fire which was soon put out. Part of the airport was also cordoned off.

The victims' relatives were attended to by psychologists on the second floor of the Terminal, said the Xinhua reporter.

The Kazan airport will remain closed until Monday noon because of the air crash. All flights from Moscow to Kazan were also called off temporarily.

The Boeing plane 737, which had been put into service since 1990 and was leased by Tatarstan air company in 2008, took off from Moscow and crashed at around 7:20 p.m. Moscow time (1520 GMT) when it attempted to land in the airport of Kazan, a city located some 800 kilometers east to Moscow.

The National aviation watchdog Rosaviatsia said the plane was about to fly a second circle before landing.

The cause of the crash is yet to be determined as the black boxes had not been found.

President Vladimir Putin expressed condolences to the families of the killed, said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, adding that Putin also instructed an investigation commission set up for the air crash.

Russian Investigative Committee, the country's criminal investigative body, said it would send experts to the site of the air crash, and the committee head Alexander Bastrykin would fly to Kazan Monday.

Family members of the killed passengers each will receive compensation including about two million rubles (some 61,530 U.S. dollars), according to local media reports.