People of Krasnoyarsk pay last respects to governor Alexander Lebed killed in air crash

Thousands of people are paying last respects in Krasnoyarsk to Alexander Lebed, governor of Krasnoyarsk Territory, who was killed in an air crash on Sunday. The ceremony is taking place in the city's central concert hall, following a funeral service conducted by Archbishop of Krasnoyarsk and Yenisei Antony. The coffin with the general's body is set upon a high pedestal and framed with state flags and fresh flowers. Nearly 100 musicians of the Krasnoyarsk Academic Symphony Orchestra are playing funeral tunes. Emergencies Minister Sergei Shoigu, head of a state commission to investigate the tragedy who just arrived in Krasnoyarsk from the scene of the accident, spent a few minutes standing near the coffin. Before flying off from Abakan, Shoigu told journalists that the cause of the disaster was the helicopter's collision with a power transmission line which the pilots failed to see in poor visibility conditions. The ceremony of parting will last until midnight.