BEIJING, May 6. /TASS/. Chinese President Xi Jinping has sent a message of condolences to Russian leader Vladimir Putin following a Sukhoi Superjet 100 plane crash at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport.

"On behalf of the government and people of China, as well as on my own behalf, I mourn the victims and offer heartfelt condolences to the injured," the Xinhua news agency quoted the message as saying.

According to Xinhua, Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang, in turn, sent a message of condolences to his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev.

On May 5, a Sukhoi Superjet 100 operated by Russia’s national airline Aeroflot crash-landed at Sheremetyevo airport. The flight, en route from Moscow to Murmansk, had a total of 78 people on board. According to recent data, the accident killed 41. Six were hospitalized, the Russian Health Ministry said.

An investigation has been opened under Article 263.3 of the Russian Criminal Code (air safety violations leading to two or more deaths by negligence). Several causes for the crash are being considered, including weather conditions, a technical malfunction and the pilots’ incompetence.