Airbus fuselage believed found in Black Sea rescue operation
10:44 | 06/ 05/ 2006

RIA Novosti, Russia
May 6 2006

SOCHI, May 6 (RIA Novosti) – Rescuers said Saturday they thought they
had found the fuselage of an Armenian Airbus that crashed off Russia’s
Black Sea coast three days ago, killing all 113 people onboard.

“An object measuring 20m x 30m has been found in the search area,”
rescue worker Sergei Biryukov said, adding that the object had yet
to be identified, as it could be also a part of an undersea cliff.

Rescuers are continuing efforts to identify the object and would use
an Obzor-600 remotely controlled device to give a more precise visual
picture of the object Saturday, Biryukov said, adding that the device
could not be used to recover the object.

He said the sea floor was rugged, which complicated the efforts.

Earlier reports said the recovery operation involved more than 700
rescue workers, 40 boats, deep-sea vehicles, an amphibious aircraft
and a helicopter, an experimental Katran rescue boat and a new Kalmar
deep-sea search vehicle were also working at the scene to locate
parts of the wreckage and flight recorders, which are seen as the
key to explaining the cause of the tragedy.

Fifty-one bodies have been recovered at the site, and 42 of them have
been identified, the ministry said Friday.

The Airbus A-320 operated by Armenia’s Armavia was flying from the
Armenian capital, Yerevan, to Adler airport, which services the
popular Russian resort at Sochi, when it crashed six kilometers off
the Russian coast early Wednesday morning.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress