A Russian airliner crashed in Ukraine on Tuesday killing at least 30 of 169 persons on board, officials confirmed and predicted there was little chance of survivors, according to dpa. Lightning striking the aircraft and causing an on-board fire was the most likely cause of the crash, aviation officials said. The Russian-manufactured Tu-154 went down in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region. Rescue teams at the crash site confirmed at least 30 persons died. A total of 159 passengers including 45 children, and 10 crew had been aboard, airline officials said. Ukrainian and Russian media by early evening were reporting all had died in the crash, among them citizens of the Netherlands. The plane operated by Pulkovo Air Lines had been en route to St Petersburg at the time of the crash, said Ihor Krol, a spokesman for Ukraine's Ministry of Emergency Situations. The Tupolev began its flight in the southern Russian city of Anapo, and had been transiting Ukrainian air space, the Interfax news agency reported. Ukrainian air traffic controllers tracking the aircraft at 14:39 local time (11:39 GMT) saw the plane suddenly lose altitude before disappearing from radar screens. The crew reported an on-board fire at an altitude of 10,000 metres and was attempting to make an an emergency landing shortly before losing contact with air controllers, Krol said. The plane's air crew issued an SOS three minutes after beginning its sudden drop from altitude, and according to Russian news reports repeated the signal twice before crashing. The plane had been flying in an area of severe turbulence and hail storms before falling from the sky, the Interfax news agency reported citing Aleksander Neradko, a senior Russian aviation official. Ukrainian meteorologists officials confirmed the plane had flown into storm clouds rising to 11,700 metres. The accident did not appear to be linked to a terrorist act, Russian and Ukrainian transportation officials agreed.
