Families of Russian Plane Crash Victims to Get Over $47K Each from Government, Airline

Families of the victims of a Russian plane crash from Tuesday will receive payments of more than 3.5 million rubles, or about $47,200, which includes compensation from the airline, insurance and a subsidy from the regional government, officials said.

Rescuers have found bodies of 19 victims in Russia's Far East region, authorities said. There had been 28 people on board the airplane at the time of the crash.

An investigation into the cause for the crash is still underway, with police considering bad weather, equipment malfunctions or pilot error.

Authorities in Kamchatka have declared three days of mourning after the crash.

For more reporting from the Associated Press, see below.

An Antonov An-26 crashed near its destination town of Palana in the region of Kamchatka, apparently as it came in for a landing in bad weather. The plane was en route from the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky to Palana on Tuesday morning when it missed a scheduled communication and disappeared from radar.

Wreckage was found Tuesday evening on a coastal cliffside and in the sea, and the search and rescue operation was suspended until Wednesday morning after night fell, as the crash site was difficult to access in the dark.

The governor of Kamchatka, Vladimir Solodov, told the state Tass news agency that the "first bodies are being pulled out (of the water)."

Russian media reported Tuesday that none of the six crew members or 22 passengers on board had survived. The head of the local government in Palana, Olga Mokhireva, was among the passengers, spokespeople of the Kamchatka government said.

Solodov said Tuesday that a group of government officials including Transport Minister Vitaly Savelyev will head to Palana on Wednesday.

President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday morning extended his condolences to the families of the victims.

In 2012, an Antonov An-28 plane belonging to Kamchatka Aviation Enterprise crashed into a mountain while flying the same route as Tuesday's flight. A total of 14 people were on board and 10 of them were killed. Both pilots, who were among the dead, were found to have alcohol in their blood, Tass reported.