Remains of 10 people found at Russian plane crash site

Moscow, May 6 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Investigators have found the remains of at least 10 people at the crash site of a light aircraft that went missing in Russia's Urals mountains last year after being hijacked by a party of revellers, officials said.

"At the site of the inspection, skeletonized remains of the bodies of at least 10 people have been found," said a spokeswoman from the regional Transport Investigation Department.

The An-2 biplane, which was tasked with monitoring wildfires, departed from an airstrip near Serov town in Sverdlovsk region June 11, 2012, without contacting the air control.

Investigators previously said the plane had apparently been stolen by the pilot and his drinking buddies for a fishing trip or a visit to the bathhouse.

The plane was found by local hunters Saturday on a marshland, eight km from the place where it took off, the regional Interior Department said.

The search for the missing plane was halted in November 2012 due to bad weather conditions and was expected to be resumed this spring.

The Investigative Committee said investigators have restarted a criminal probe into the An-2 hijacking and crash.

The criminal case was opened on charges of the breach of flight safety rules and the rules of aircraft operation that entailed the death of more than two people through carelessness.

--IANS/RIA Novosti

pm/