Fatal Russian Plane Crash: First CCTV And Haunting Pictures Of Debris

All 71 people on board were killed.
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Emergency workers in Russia are searching snow-covered fields outside Moscow, looking for body parts and clues after a fatal plane crash on Sunday that killed all 71 people on board.

President Vladimir Putin has ordered a special commission to investigate what caused the AN-148 plane operated by Saratov Airlines to crash outside Moscow shortly after taking off for the city of Orsk in the Orenburg region, about 900 miles southeast of the capital.

CCTV footage purporting to show the plane explode into a fireball at the moment of impact has also emerged.

This CCTV appears to show the moment the plane exploded into a fiery ball
This CCTV appears to show the moment the plane exploded into a fiery ball
Vadim Matyhin via Storyful
A part of the Saratov Airlines Antonov AN-148 plane embedded in the snow
A part of the Saratov Airlines Antonov AN-148 plane embedded in the snow
Sergei Karpukhin / Reuters
Debris from the aircraft has been scattered across a wide area
Debris from the aircraft has been scattered across a wide area
Maxim Shemetov / Reuters

Among the possible causes investigators are looking into are weather conditions, human error and the plane’s technical condition. The plane’s crew did not send any distress signals.

Experts are analysing a flight recorder recovered in the wreckage as well as plane fragments.

President Vladimir Putin has ordered a special commission to investigate what caused the crash
President Vladimir Putin has ordered a special commission to investigate what caused the crash
Sergei Karpukhin / Reuters
Flowers and tributes are left at a statue of Soviet pilot Valery Chkalov to pay tribute to the 71 people who lost their lives
Flowers and tributes are left at a statue of Soviet pilot Valery Chkalov to pay tribute to the 71 people who lost their lives
Sergei Medvedev via Getty Images

Debris and human remains are spread over a radius of a kilometer around the crash site, investigators have said.

Officials from Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry told a meeting broadcast on state TV on Monday that DNA tests were being organised with the relatives of those killed to try to identify body fragments.

The plane, manufactured in 2010, had been carrying 65 passengers and six crew. The passenger list showed many young people were on board, including a five-year-old girl.

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