Russian Plane Crashes, Another Disappears
Reports: One Russian Airliner Crashes, Second Disappears; Putin Orders Investigation

The Associated Press

MOSCOW Aug. 24, 2004 — A Russian airliner crashed and a second disappeared from radar about the same time Tuesday night after both planes took off from the Moscow airport, raising fears that terrorism was involved.
There was no word on survivors among the 89 people believed to be aboard the planes, which left from Moscow's Domodedovo airport, Russian news agencies reported.

President Vladimir Putin ordered an investigation by the nation's top intelligence agency, and security was tightened at airports across the country.

A Tu-134 airliner with 43 people aboard crashed in the Tula region, 125 miles south of Moscow, at about 10:56 p.m. Tuesday, Emergency Situations Ministry spokeswoman Marina Ryklina said. She said the plane was carrying 35 passengers and a crew of eight.

A Tu-154 with 46 people aboard lost contact with flight officials about three minutes later near Rostov-on-Don, about 600 miles south of Moscow, Ryklina said. The jet belonged to the Russian airline Sibir, which said the plane disappeared from radar screens at about 11 p.m. Tuesday, Interfax reported. There were 38 passengers and a crew of eight aboard.

Quoting an unnamed air traffic official in Moscow, ITAR-Tass said authorities were not ruling out terrorism. The agency also reported that witnesses said they saw an explosion before the Tula region crash.

In Washington, a senior U.S. State Department official said, "We are obviously concerned by the news. We're following developments closely and trying to determine the facts."

The U.S. Homeland Security Department was monitoring the situation but was not implementing any additional security measures in the United States, spokesman Brian Roehrkasse said.

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