On a remote Siberian coast where volcanoes rise above black sand and the sea runs cold, a small Soviet-built aircraft carrying 28 people lost its way between two outposts of Kamchatka and went down. Nine bodies have been recovered so far, and the rest are presumed gone, their families left to wait while searchers work through fog and rough water. The question of why it fell is still open, and investigators are holding three possibilities at once: the weather, a failing machine, or a mistake in the cockpit. It is the kind of loss that reminds a distant region how much depends on a single aging
Nine Bodies Recovered After An-26 Crash in Russia's Far East; Search Hampered by Fog and Waves
All 28 people aboard, including six crew and two minors, are presumed dead, with nine bodies recovered so far.
Nine bodies recovered; fog and waves still hold back the search
Mark
Nine bodies found out of 28. Where does that leave the search?
Mimi
Still in progress. More than 50 people are combing the Okhotsk Sea coast, and the ministry plans to add divers and an Mi-8 helicopter.
Mark
Why is it so slow?
Mimi
Fog, strong winds and waves. The wreckage was found near Palana, but the conditions make the shoreline work hard.
Luke
Worth being clear: all 28 are described as presumed dead. Only nine bodies are confirmed recovered, and just one identified so far.
Mark
Officials say the plane, built in 1982, passed safety checks. Does that settle anything?
Mimi
Not really. It's what officials have said, and the Investigative Committee is still weighing weather, technical malfunction and pilot error.
Luke
Right, and I'd note the safety-check claim is attributed to officials, not independently verified in this reporting. The cause is unknown.
Mark
The An-26 has a long record, though.
Mimi
It was built from 1969 to 1986 and is still used widely across the former USSR. The reporting says it has been in a number of accidents in recent years.
Luke
But there's no count here, and no link drawn to this crash. It's context, not a finding.
Mark
And locally?
Mimi
Three days of mourning, and the governor is heading to Palana with Rosaviation's head, Alexander Neradko.
Le Pouls
- An An-26 carrying 28 people vanished on its Tuesday flight from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky to Palana and was later found wrecked on the coast.
- Fog, strong winds and heavy waves are stalling searchers along the Okhotsk Sea shoreline, where only nine bodies have been pulled from the water so far.
- Governor Solodov has declared three days of mourning while he and Rosaviation's chief head to Palana to direct the response.
- Investigators are weighing weather, technical failure and pilot error, even as the 1982 aircraft was reported to have passed its safety checks.
On a remote Siberian coast where volcanoes rise above black sand and the sea runs cold, a small Soviet-built aircraft carrying 28 people lost its way between two outposts of Kamchatka and went down. Nine bodies have been recovered so far, and the rest are presumed gone, their families left to wait while searchers work through fog and rough water. The question of why it fell is still open, and investigators are holding three possibilities at once: the weather, a failing machine, or a mistake in the cockpit. It is the kind of loss that reminds a distant region how much depends on a single aging aircraft and the people who fly it.
On Wednesday, more than fifty searchers combed the coast of the Okhotsk Sea in Russia's far east, looking for the people who had been aboard an An-26 passenger plane. By nightfall, nine bodies had been recovered, and one had been identified. The emergencies ministry said the search would widen with divers and an Mi-8 helicopter as soon as conditions allowed.
The flight had left Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, the peninsula's main city, bound for the coastal town of Palana. Twenty-eight people were on board: six crew and twenty-two passengers, two of them children. The plane disappeared, and its wreckage was later found near Palana. All on board are presumed dead.
Fog, wind and waves have made the shoreline work slow and dangerous. Governor Vladimir Solodov has declared three days of mourning and is travelling to Palana with the head of Rosaviation, Alexander Neradko.
Why the aircraft went down remains unknown. Built in 1982 and reported to be in good condition, it had passed safety checks. Russia's Investigative Committee is weighing poor weather, a technical fault and pilot error. The An-26, a Soviet design still flown across the former USSR, has a troubled record, and that history hangs over the inquiry. What comes next depends on whether divers can reach the areas the weather has closed, how many of the nineteen missing are found, and what the investigators conclude.
On Wednesday, more than 50 searchers were working along the coast of the Okhotsk Sea in Russia's far east, looking for the people who had been aboard an An-26 passenger plane. By the end of the day, the bodies of nine of them had been recovered. The regional branch of the emergencies ministry reported the figure in a statement and added that one of the nine had been identified.
The plane had been flying on Tuesday from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, the main city of the Kamchatka peninsula, to Palana, a coastal town. It carried 28 people: six crew members and 22 passengers, two of them minors. The aircraft disappeared and then crashed. Search teams later found its wreckage near Palana. All 28 people on board are presumed dead.
The search has been difficult. Officials said fog, strong winds and waves were complicating the work along the shoreline. The emergencies ministry said it planned to bring in divers and an Mi-8 helicopter to widen the effort.
Kamchatka is a vast, remote peninsula, known among adventure tourists for its wildlife, its live volcanoes and its black sand beaches. Governor Vladimir Solodov declared three days of mourning beginning Wednesday. His office said he planned to travel to Palana with Alexander Neradko, the head of the Federal Air Transport Agency, Rosaviation.
The question of why the plane went down is open. Officials have said the aircraft, built in 1982, was in good condition and had passed safety checks. Russia's Investigative Committee, which handles major crimes and incidents, said it was examining three possible causes: poor weather, a technical malfunction, or pilot error.
The An-26 is a Soviet-era aircraft, manufactured from 1969 to 1986. It is still used across the former USSR for both civilian and military transport, and it has been involved in a number of accidents in recent years. That history sits behind the investigators' work, though the committee has not said which of its three lines of inquiry it considers most likely.
What to watch next: whether divers and the helicopter can reach areas the fog and waves have kept closed, how many of the remaining 19 people are found, and what investigators conclude after the governor and Rosaviation's chief arrive in Palana.
Citations marquantes
At present, nine bodies have been found.— Regional branch of Russia's emergencies ministry
Investigators are examining poor weather, technical malfunction and pilot error as possible causes.— Russia's Investigative Committee (paraphrased)
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