Russia mourns 122 killed in plane crash
Flags flew at half-mast and entertainment programmes were cancelled across Russia today to mark a day of mourning for the victims of a plane crash in the Siberian city of Irkutsk that killed at least 122 people and left nine others missing.
Fifty-eight people were injured when the airliner slid off a rain-slicked runway into adjacent garages yesterday and burst into flames.
In all, 72 of the 203 confirmed passengers survived, said Viktor Beltsov, spokesman for the Emergency Situations Ministry.
It was the second major commercial airline crash in two months in Russia.
Preliminary data gathered by the commission investigating the crash indicate that the braking system on the Airbus A-310 operated by Russian airline S7 had failed, Russian news agencies reported.
Another S-7 Airbus A-310 made an emergency landing early today in the Crimean port of Simferopol, the RIA-Novosti news agency reported.
