ArmInfo.Acting Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan sent a condolence message to RF President Vladimir Putin in connection with an AN-26 plane crash in Kamchatka.
As the press service of the RA PM reports, the message reads, in part:
"On behalf of the people of Armenia and on my own behalf, I express sincere condolences over the AN-26 crash in Kamchatka. In this mournful hour, please convey my deep condolences to the families and friends of the victims."
Earlier on the same day, the Federal Air Transport Agency clarified that the rescuers had found the wreckage of the An-26. According to emergency services, the liner crashed into a rock. The An-26 aircraft stopped communicating on Tuesday, July 6. The aircraft took off for Palana from the Elizovo airport in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.
There were 28 people on board, among them, according to preliminary data, two children. In addition, according to the passenger list, there were four employees of the Palan administration on board. All passengers and crew were killed in the crash. At present, the search for the wreckage and the bodies of the victims is temporarily suspended due to the onset of darkness. The operation will continue tomorrow morning.
After the disappearance of the aircraft from the radar, sources assumed that the An-26 could crash due to equipment failure or poor visibility. Later, the governor of the region, Vladimir Solodov, said that the plane crash could have occurred during the second approach of the aircraft for landing.
In turn, the Investigative Committee (IC) of the Russian Federation stated that unfavorable weather, technical malfunction of the aircraft, as well as a piloting error were considered as the causes of the disaster.
The Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) has formed a commission to investigate the incident. Russian Transport Minister Vitaly Savelyev and head of the Federal Air Transport Agency Alexander Neradko fly to the crash site of the An-26 in Kamchatka to participate in search and rescue operations.