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Flight data recorder box found at Kazakhstan plane crash scene

The CRJ 200 LR plane met with an accident five kilometers from the Alma-Ata airport at 11:13, Moscow time, on Tuesday

ASTANA, January 29 (Itar-Tass) - A flight data recorder box has been found at the scene of plane crash off Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan. "It will be sent for examination to the Interstate Aviation Committee," the central communication routes service under the Kazakh president reported.

The CRJ 200 LR plane met with an accident five kilometers from the Alma-Ata airport at 11:13, Moscow time, on Tuesday. All the five crew and 16 passengers on board were killed in the crash. A city emergency situations department official said the plane had been warned not to land because of the fog; it began to execute a go-around but fell to the ground due to poor visibility.

A 123-strong team of rescuers, medics and firefighters with 33 units of equipment is working at the scene.

The plane was manufactured in 2000, and last overhauled in June 2011. Its air worthiness certificate was valid through September 2013. The plane has logged 25,707 hours since the beginning of operation, the central communication routes service said. Both pilots took a refresher course in Lithuania in 2012.

A government commission led by First Deputy Prime Minister, Regional Development Minister Bakhytzhan Sagintayev has begun to investigate the accident. It includes Emergency Situations Minister Vladimir Bozhko, Transport and Communications Minister Askar Zhumagaliyev, prosecutors and officials.

Transport prosecutors initiated criminal proceedings over "violation of traffic rules and operation or railway, water or air transport." The plane belonged to the SKAT airline

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev ordered to investigate the cause of the crash and provide assistance to the victims' families.

The Russian consulate general said there was no Russian citizens on board.