Swiss citizen confirmed as victim of Moscow plane crash
Emergency teams work at the wreckage of the aircraft which crashed on Sunday, just a few minutes after take-off from Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport.
Keystone
A Swiss man is among the 71 people who died in a Moscow plane crash on Sunday, the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) confirmed on Monday in Bern.
“The FDFA has been in touch with the relatives of the victim. The foreign affairs minister, Ignazio Cassis, sends his condolences to all families which have been affected by the tragedy, including the Swiss victim’s relatives, and wishes them strength at this difficult time,” the FDFA confirmed to the Swiss news agency SDA.
The Swiss victim was an engineer and had travelled to Russia for a business trip.
The aircraft crashed on Sunday, just a few minutes after take-off from Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport, killing all 71 people on board. The plane was carrying six crew members and 65 passengers, Russian state news agency RIA reported. The plane was headed to the city of Orsk, near the Kazakh border.
The reasons behind the crash remain unclear. The Saratov Airlines crew didn’t report any problems before the plane crashed into snowy terrain, reported Russian state-run media.
Russian authorities said that they will look into all possible hypotheses which could have led to the crash, including weather conditions, human error, or a technical problem. Emergency services have recovered the plane’s black box, transport minister, Maxime Sokolov, said on Monday.
They already established, however, that the crash is unrelated to terrorist activity. “It has been shown that the aircraft was whole at the time of the crash, any fire and explosions only occurred only after the crash,” said the investigation committee in a statement.
Popular Stories
More
Multinational companies
Azeri fossil-fuel cash cow brings controversy to Switzerland
Beer sales in Switzerland watered down by bad weather
This content was published on
The past brewing year fell through in Switzerland, partly due to the bad weather. Beer sales shrank again. For the first time, per capita consumption fell below the 50 liter mark.
Compensation for Syrian after pregnant wife denied help on Swiss train
This content was published on
Switzerland’s Federal Court has partially upheld the appeal of a Syrian family being deported from Switzerland to Italy in 2014. The man now also receives compensation.
Swiss-EU negotiations: Cassis to meet Sefcovic in Bern
This content was published on
Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis will meet the Vice-President of the EU Commission, Maros Sefcovic, in Bern on Wednesday.
Heavy snowfall in Switzerland causes traffic chaos and accidents
This content was published on
The heavy snowfall late on Thursday and during the night into Friday led to traffic chaos and many accidents in many regions of Switzerland.
Chimpanzee behaviours passed down through generations
This content was published on
Some of the complex behaviours of chimpanzees have been passed down and refined over generations. These include the combination of several tools for foraging.
More than 600,000 rounds of Swiss sniper ammunition reach Ukraine
This content was published on
Sniper ammunition from Swiss P Defence reached Ukraine via a Polish company in July 2023, reported SRF Investigativ on Thursday, citing official information.
Switzerland launches national digital inclusion alliance
This content was published on
The Swiss government launched the Swiss Digital Inclusion Alliance on Thursday with the goal of giving as many people as possible access to digital services.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Three die in youth camp plane crash in southeast Switzerland
This content was published on
The pilot and two 14-year-old passengers of a small light aircraft died on Friday when their plane crashed in the Diavolezza mountain region, near Pontresina.
Another air force show cancelled after fatal crashes
This content was published on
The Air and Space Days at the Swiss Transport Museum in Lucerne is taking place on October 8. But the head of the air force, Aldo Schellenberg, and Defence Minister Guy Parmelin decided to cancel air demonstrations by the Super Puma and PC 7 display teams. Air-related events will still take place on the ground,…
This content was published on
A military helicopter crashed in the central Swiss Alps on Wednesday, killing two pilots and injuring a flight assistant.
This content was published on
Two Swiss F/A-18 fighter jets have intercepted an Israeli El Al airliner near Schaffhausen due to a bomb threat, authorities said.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.