MOSCOW/BEIJING, March 19 (Xinhua) -- The ongoing investigation of Saturday's air crash in Russia would take about two months, according to Russia's Investigative Committee, as the international community sends condolences to the victims and their families.
MOSCOW, March 19, 2016 (Xinhua) -- Rescuers work at the crash site of the Boeing 737-800 Flight FZ981 operated by Dubai-based budget carrier Flydubai, at the airport of Rostov-On-Don, Russia, on March 19, 2016. One of the two flight recorders of the Flydubai Boeing 737-800 airliner was found at the crash site at the Rostov-on-Don airport in Russia's southwest Rostov region, and the search for the second one is ongoing, the RIA Novosti news agency reported. (Xinhua/RIA Novosti)
Two flight recorders have been found and both are in good condition, said the Russian committee. It added that technical failure, pilot error and poor weather conditions were the likely causes of the tragedy that took place in Rostov-on-Don, in Russia's southwestern Rostov region.
A Boeing 737-800 passenger plane en route from Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, to Rostov-on-Don crashed at about 03:50 Moscow time (0050 GMT) on Saturday at the city airport, killing all 62 people aboard, according to the investigative committee.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang extended condolences on Saturday to his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, over the air crash.
In the message, Li expressed his deep condolences to the Russian victims and all other people aboard the plane. Li also expressed his sincere sympathy to the bereaved families.
On the same day, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi extended condolences to his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, over the death of all those on board the ill-fated passenger plane. Wang expressed sincere sympathy to the next-of-kin of those who lost life in the air tragedy.
Earlier in the day, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev extended condolences to the families of the victims as well.
More than 800 people are working at the crash site, where over 100 fragments of bodies are scattered.
The time for identification of the bodies might be prolonged considering the large number, said the Russian Emergencies Ministry.
Experts from the United Arab Emirates, the United States and France will soon join the investigation, said the Interstate Aviation Committee, a supervising body overseeing the management of civil aviation in the Commonwealth of Independent States.
A Kyrgyz citizen named Nasirdinova Jyldyz, born in 1988, was among the dead, according to the Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry.
In a presidential press release on Saturday, Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev expressed his deep condolences and sincere sympathy to the victims' families in the tragedy and to Putin as well.
The plane manufacturer Boeing said on its website that it stands ready to provide technical assistance upon the request of government agencies conducting the investigation.
In the wake of the crash, the Rostov-on-Don airport has been closed, and inbound flights are being redirected to other destinations.
The airport was to resume operation in no earlier than 24 hours, said Governor of the Rostov region Vasily Golubev.
The Boeing 737-800 passenger plane, a short- to medium- range airliner with 55 passengers and seven crew members onboard, fell on the ground, broke into several pieces and caught on fire as it missed the runway in a second landing attempt, amid poor visibility conditions caused by heavy rains.
There were more than two hours between the plane's two landing attempts, according to regional investigative authority.
The plane was of Flydubai, or the Dubai Aviation Corporation, which has confirmed the crash on its Facebook page, but said it does not know all the details of the incident and is now "working with the authorities to establish precisely what happened."
The 55 passengers, comprising 33 women, 18 men and four children, include 44 Russians, eight Ukrainians, two Indians and one Uzbekistani, while the crew members consist of five men and two women, said Flydubai CEO Ghaith al-Ghaith on Facebook.
Of the seven crew members, two are confirmed as Spanish nationals, one, a stewardess, from Colombia and one from Kyrgyzstan. Various sources said the others are from Russia, Cyprus and Seychelles, respectively.
Flydubai said the ill-fated aircraft departed the Dubai International airport at 1820 GMT on Friday and was due to arrive at 2240 GMT at night.
