MOSCOW, Aug 24 (Reuters) - Two Russian passenger planes with
a total of more than 80 people on board went missing within
minutes of each other late on Tuesday and one was confirmed to
have crashed, the Emergencies Ministry said.
A ministry spokeswoman said a three-engine TU-134 with 34
passengers and eight crew flying from Moscow to Volgograd
crashed after contact with it was lost at 2256 Moscow time (1856
GMT).
The wreckage was found near the town of Tula some 150 km (90
miles) south of Moscow.
Just three minutes later, air traffic controllers lost
contact with another passenger plane -- a four-engine TU-154
with 44 passengers and eight crew on board -- flying from Moscow
to the Black Sea resort of Sochi, she said.
Contact was lost as the plane was flying near the southern
city of Rostov-on-Don.
Initially, Itar-Tass news agency said that a TU-154 with 54
passengers and eight crew on board had crashed near Tula.
Tupolev's Tu-154 jet remains the standard medium-range
airliner on domestic flights in Russia, according to aviation
websites. Some 48 metres (157 ft) in length, it can carry up to
180 passengers for up to 4,000 km (2,500 miles).