Identification of Air Crash Victims Begins in Ukraine
The identification of the passengers of the Russian Tu-154 which crashed on Tuesday has begun in Donetsk. Relatives of the victims were taken to the plane crash site yesterday.
The total of 249 people came to Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, on a special jet from St. Petersburg and buses from Krasnodar and Anapa. Russian Transport Minister Igor Levitin met the relatives.
100 grieving people mustered the strength and went to the village of Sukha Balka last morning, where the plane crashed. A requiem was held at the place, and an Orthodox cross was put up. A group of distraught relatives wanted to break through the police cordon to get to the debris, and police had to keep them back.
Clergymen were allowed to place flowers and soft toys at the heart of the site.
The identification started in Donetsk in the afternoon after the relatives of the victims had come back from Sukha Balka. Blood samples were taken from the people for DNA tests.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Aug. 25, 2006
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