Rescuers Battle Ice, Fire at Site of Siberia Crash
MOSCOW — Holding out little hope of finding survivors, rescuers broke through layers of ice and battled new flames Sunday as they searched for victims of an airplane crash a day earlier in a residential neighborhood of a Siberian town.
Crews worked round the clock using heavy equipment to clear debris from the crash site in Irkutsk. By midnight, searchers had recovered the remains of 42 people.
Officials expect the death toll to rise to at least 65 when rescue workers are able to reach other victims buried in the rubble of buildings destroyed when the huge military transport plane crashed shortly after takeoff Saturday. No official cause has been established.
“The ruins themselves turned into icebergs after the firemen had to pour tons of water on them,†said Marina V. Rykhlina, a spokeswoman for the federal Emergency Situations Ministry.
Rescue efforts were further complicated when the smoldering ruins and unburned fuel burst into flames after being exposed to the air.
Russian officials said everybody on the Antonov-124 was killed, but there was dispute over how many were aboard. Estimates ranged from 23 to 46 passengers and crew.
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