Putin postpones visit to Sochi to oversee investigation into plane crash

Putin was scheduled to travel to the Black Sea city of Sochi today to meet with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. However, he decided to stay in the capital to oversee the investigation after a Saratov Airlines plane crashed near Moscow, killing 71 people.

Instead, Mr Abbas will meet Mr Putin in Moscow later in the day, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

The pilots of the An-148 did not report any problems yesterday before the twin-engine plane crashed into a field about 40 kilometers from Moscow’s Domodedovo airport. The plane disappeared from radar just minutes after taking off from the airport, en route to the city of Orsk, about 1,500 kilometers to the southeast.

The search and rescue operation in the snow-covered area could last a week, Russian officials said. "Work is ongoing at the scene," Emergencies Minister Vladimir Puchkov said early this morning.

The ministry said only two bodies had been found as of the evening of February 11. About 400 search and rescue workers had been dispatched to the scene.

Investigators also searched the airline's office in Saratov.

The Russian Investigative Committee said it was looking into all possible causes. Some reports said there were questions about whether the plane had been properly de-iced. Snow was falling moderately in most of the Moscow region at the time of the crash.

Domodedovo Airport has been the focus of security concerns in the past. Authorities were widely criticized for security lapses in 2004, after suicide bombers blew up two planes taking off from the airport on the same evening, killing 90 people. A 2011 bombing in the airport’s arrivals area killed 37 people.