MOSCOW, February 11. /TASS/. Small fragments of the An-148 passenger plane that crashed near Moscow on Sunday are scattered in snow, with no big pieces seen around, a TASS correspondent reported from the crash site.

The area is covered with a thick blanket of snow, which complicates the search operation. Snow-removing vehicles are clearing the area.

Fragments are scattered around a vast area, with no crater, reported in some media, seen at the crash site.

According to Russia’s Investigative Committee, the plane’s fragments are scattered over an area of at least one kilometer.

Radio contact with an An-148 passenger plane of the Saratov Airlines (flight 730 from Moscow to Orsk, Orenburg region) that took off from the Domodedovo airport at 14:24 Moscow time on Sunday was lost four minutes after the takeoff. Fragments of the plane were found near the village of Stepanovskoye in Moscow region’s Ramensky district. There were 65 passengers and six members of the crew onboard the plane. According to latest data, no one has survived.

As of now, two bodies and one flight recorder have been recovered from the crash site.

A criminal case on charges of violations of flight safety and aircraft operation rules entailing the death of two or more people has been opened.