BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

24/03/2007

Minsk confirms death of crew of IL-76 plane in Somalia.

MINSK, March 24 (Itar-Tass) - The Aviation Department of the Belarussian Ministry of Transport and Communication has confirmed the death of the crew of a Belarussian transport plane, brought down in Somalia.

The Il-76 plane was brought down "most probably, by missile fire," Vadim Melnik director of the Aviation Department, said here on Saturday. According to his information, the plane crashed some eight kilometres away from Mogadishu, in a difficult-of-access area, which can be reached only by helicopter. The area is under the control of the peacekeeping troops from Uganda. The flight recorders have not been found so far, Melnik added.

The Il-76 plane, belonging to the Transaviaexport Company of Belarus, was brought down over Mogadishu on March 23. It had 11 people on board - seven crewmembers and four engineers. The plane was transporting equipment and specialists for another Belarussian Il-76 plane, which had been brought under fire in the same area on March 9.

Source:

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=11369098&PageNum=0