Russia and Armenia will observe a day of mourning for the victims of a Wednesday plane crash near Sochi on May 5, which Russian President Vladimir Putin and Armenian President Robert Kocharian decided in a telephone conversation on Wednesday, the Russian presidential press service told Interfax.
Putin and Kocharian shared the opinion that the crash was a tragedy for both the Russian and Armenian people and expressed deep condolences to the crash victims' loved ones.
The search for bodies is continuing, with 50 retrieved as of Friday morning. Of these, 41 have been identified - 31 of them Armenians and 10 Russians.
The 105 passengers included 26 Russian nationals, and six children were also aboard.
While the cause of the crash is not known, officials say bad weather at the time may have brought it down as it tried to make a second landing attempt.
It reportedly hit the sea at an angle of 60 degrees, 6km from the coast near Adler airport, just outside Sochi, reports Interfax.
I.L.
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