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Search operation at An-148 crash site to last about a week — transport minister

A passenger plane carrying 71 people crashed near Moscow on Sunday, killing all on board

MOSCOW, February 12. /TASS/. The search operation at the crash site of the Antonov An-148 plane in the Moscow Region will last about a week, Russian Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov said on Monday.

"According to the Emergencies Ministry, the operation, which will last about a week, has switched to the search stage," Sokolov said.

He added that "work to collect and transport the remains of the victims will take about a week."

Radio contact with the Antonov An-148 passenger plane operated by Saratov Airlines (along the Moscow to Orsk route, Orenburg Region) that departed from Domodedovo Airport at 14:24 Moscow time on Sunday was lost a few minutes after takeoff. Fragments of the plane were found near the village of Stepanovskoye in the Moscow Region’s Ramensky district. There were 65 passengers and six crew members onboard the passenger jet. According to the latest data, none of them survived.