Turkey extends condolences to Russia over deadly plane crash

By Merve Aydogan

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey on Tuesday conveyed its condolences to Russia over a plane crash this morning in the country’s Far East, on the Kamchatka Peninsula.

"We received the news with great sorrow that a passenger plane flying from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky in the Kamchatka Region to Palana crashed today (6 July), resulting in the loss of life of 22 passengers and 6 crew members on board," said a Foreign Ministry statement.

Turkey also extended "condolences to the families of those who lost their lives and to the Government of the Russian Federation."

According to local officials, the aircraft crashed into a hill.

There were no initial reports of survivors, as authorities discovered the wreckage some five kilometers (three miles) from an airport in the settlement of Palana.