MOSCOW, July 5 (RIA Novosti) – Rescuers have found the flight recorder of the Russian helicopter that crash-landed in eastern Siberia on Tuesday killing 24 people, the regional branch of the Investigative Committee said on Friday.
The retrieved flight recorder has been handed over to specialists from the Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) to establish the cause of the accident, the committee said.
There were a total of 28 people, including 11 children, on board the Mil Mi-8 helicopter when it crashed in the republic of Yakutia. Three crew members and a 17-year-old boy survived the crash and were hospitalized in serious condition.
Yakutia declared Friday a day of mourning for the victims of the crash, and local authorities said they would pay compensation of one million rubles ($30,000) to the relatives of those killed and injured in the accident. An additional 100,000 rubles ($3,000) will be given to each family to cover the cost of the funerals.
Polyarniye Airlines, the flight operator, will pay the relatives of those killed in the crash over two million rubles ($60,000) each.
According to earlier reports from the Emergencies Ministry, the helicopter crashed after encountering severe turbulence and striking a hill with its tail about 45 km from its departure point in the village of Deputatsky, about 8,500 km east of Moscow.
It took rescuers more than 30 hours to locate and reach the helicopter, as efforts were hampered by poor weather conditions and lack of transport access to the scene of the crash.
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