18 Dead in Crash of Cargo Plane in Eastern Russia

HRT ^ | December 2, 2001

[Verginius Rufus]

At least 18 persons were killed in the crash of a Russian cargo plane Ilyushin-76 in the vicinity of the city of Okhotsk in eastern Russia...

Before the crash the pilot informed flight control that he needed to make an emergency landing because of a fire in the airplane, Itar-Tass agency announced. The cause of the fire is not known. Afterwards the plane exploded in the air. Aboard were 9 crew members, 4 cargo loaders, and 5 members of the Russian border guard.

[Verginius Rufus]

Okhotsk is in eastern Siberia due north of Sakhalin Island and almost midway between Vladivostok and the Bering Strait, so this does not seem to be related to any of the military operations in Afghanistan.

[billorites]

Okhotsk B'gosh.

[MarMema]

Lord have mercy on the souls of these people! Especially the border guards.