77 ARMENIAN AND 28 RUSSIAN CITIZENS WERE ONBOARD THE CRASHED ARMAVIA PLANE
Yerevan, May 3. ArmInfo. 77 Armenian citizens and 28 Russian citizens,
mostly of Armenian origin, were onboard Armavia’s A-320 plane which
crashed 5 km of Sochi this night, says the head of the chief department
of civil aviation of Armenia Artem Movsissyan.
A total of 113 people were onboard, with the bodies of only 18 ones
found to date.
Movsissyan says that the plane took off from Yerevan 01:47 AM.
Because of bad weather over Georgia the captain decided to go back
to Yerevan, but the controller said that the weather was improving
and the plane could land in Sochi. 03:15 AM the plane disappeared.
According to the preliminary information, the plane crashed because
of bad weather, but the final answer will be given only after the
investigation. Movsissyan says that before the flight the plane was
in normal technical condition and its 10 tons of fuel were enough
for coming back to Yerevan – from Yerevan to Sochi a plane consumes
only 3.5 tons of fuel. Movsissyan says that A-320 was produced in
1995 and was insured.
Today the Armenian President called a meeting and gave instructions to
relevant services. One more Armavia plane with relatives and experts
onboard flew to Sochi today morning.

PATIENCE TO THE RELATIVES OF THE VICTIMS
A1+
[03:15 pm] 03 May, 2006
Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II has delivered a condoling
message to the relatives of the victims of the air crash. The
message says:
“We learned about the destruction of the airplane and the death of
the passengers and the crew with the deepest sorrow. We mourn this
great and unexpected loss together with the relatives of the victims
and the whole nation. We condole with the families and relatives of
the victims on behalf of the Armenian Church.
We pray to God to accept the innocent souls and to grant them eternal
peace. We pray Him to console the souls of those who are desolate in
order to survive the grief of the loss. Amen”.

THE POSSIBLE REASONS OF THE AIRPLANE CRASH IN BLACK SEA ARE ANNOUNCED
Panorama.am
14:41 03/05/06
The strong air wave was named as one of the possible reasons of the
A-320 air plane crash in Black sea.
This was reported by the Agency of the National News (ANN). According
to the source, the version of the natural cataclysm stays the most
probable among the others. Experts say “preliminary data show that
A-320 craft was knocked down to the surface and literally fall into
pieces”.
As per PRAIM-TASS agency, one of the reasons of the crash could be
that air craft has fallen into the waterspout. Amongst the other
reasons one mentions the conditions of boarding in Sochi airport,
where take-off and boarding are performed above the sea.
However there is nothing unusual in such scheme of take -off and
boarding, it is being used in other airports worldwide, notes the
Agency.
The power authorities deny the version of terrorist act. ITAR-TASS
quoting the source from State Department of Internal Affairs of
Krasnodar region reports that there are no grounds to speak about
the blast occurring on board. According to ANN, air craft was so worn
out that it could not stand any critics.
In the same time, technical reasons of the catastrophe were dismissed
by the Armavia Company. According to its representative, the air
craft was in ideal technical condition, was allowed to flight, and
led by the experienced crew.

US NOT IN FAVOR OF BUILDING NEW NUCLEAR POWER PLANT IN ARMENIA
Noyan Tapan
May 02 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 2, NOYAN TAPAN. Issues related to construction of a
second nuclear power plant in Armenia were discussed at the 12th
sitting of the US-Armenia Task Force (USATF) in Yerevan on May
2. RA Minister of Finance and Economy Vardan Khachatrian stated
this at a press conference following the sitting. “The RA energy
minister presented clearly that if the operating Metsamor nuclear
power plant is closed, a new one must start operating on the same
day,” V. Khachatrian said. According to him, it is envisaged that
the second nuclear power plant should have a greater capacity of
1,000 megawatts. At the same time, as the finance minister noted,
the Armenian government must be able to obtain the necessary funds
for the construction of a new nuclear power plant and the closure of
the old one. Tom Adams, US Coordinator for Europe and Eurasia, said
that the US government is not in favor of the idea of building a new
nuclear plant in Armenia. In his words, taking the issue of security
into account, it would be more correct to find an alternative solution.

RUSSIAN DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER MET OSCE MINSK GROUP CO-CHAIRS
ArmRadio.am
03.05.2006 11:21
On May 2 Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Grigori Karasin met
the Russian, American and French Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group
and Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Andrzej
Kasprzyk.
“During the meeting the issues in the agenda of settlement of the
Karabakh conflict were discussed,” Russian Ministry of Foreign
Affairs informed.

THERE WERE FAMOUS PEOPLE AMONG THE PASSENGERS OF THE CRASHED PLANE
ArmRadio.am
03.05.2006 12:00
According to preliminary information, there were a number of famous
people among the passengers of the plane that crashed May 3 near
Sochi. These particularly include former Chief of National Security
Service Karlos Petrosyan’s son, former Director of the “Armenian
Airlines” Vyacheslav Yaralov, “Head of the VIP Service of “Zvartnots”
airport Albert Azaryan.
To note, all none of the passengers survived. Most of them were
citizens of Armenia.

COMMSSION ESTABLISHED TO ARRANGE FUNERALS OF THE PASSENGERS OF THE CRASHED PLANE
ArmRadio.am
03.05.2006 12:23
According to RA president Robert Kocharyan’s instruction, a commission
headed by RA Minister of Territorial Administration Hovik Abrahamyan
has been established to arrange funerals of the dead passengers and
provide necessary assistance to their families.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE OF SOCHI HAS LAUNCHED A CRIMINAL CASE
ArmRadio.am
03.05.2006 12:45
Corpses of 25 passengers of the “A-320” airplane have been found in
the Black See.
According to Russian sources, at the point of crash of the plane the
depth reaches 300 meters.
Preceding the tragedy the “A-320” plane was going for a crash landing.
Prosecutor’s Office of Sochi has launched a criminal case according
to Part 2 of Article 283 of the Russian Penal Code.
The “A-320” airplane produced by “Airbus Industry” in 1987 was meant
for short and medium-distance flights. The plane executed its first
flight on February 22, 1987.

MAY 5-6 DECLARED DAYS OF MOURNING IN NAGORNO-KARABAKH
ArmRadio.am
03.05.2006 16:25
Today NKR President Arkady Ghukasyan signed a decree, according to
which May 5-6 have been declared days of mourning for those who died
as a result of the air crash on May 3, 2006.
NKR President’s Press Office informs that Heads of Ministries,
Agencies, Regional Administrations, the Mayor of Stepanakert, NKR
Representations in foreign countries have been instructed to bend the
state flag of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic on these days of sorrow.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

CATHOLICOS OF ALL ARMENIANS GAREGIN II MOURNS WITH THE WHOLE NATION
ArmRadio.am
03.05.2006 15:51
The Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II expressed his condolences
to families and friends of the passengers of the plane that crashed
on its way to Sochi.
“With deep sorrow we learned about the crash of the plane and about the
numerous victims. We mourn this great and sudden loss together with the
relatives of the victims of the disaster and with the whole nation. We
express condolences to all relatives and friends of the dead. We pray
the God to accept the souls of the dead and confer peace to them.
We ask the God to give patience and consolation to the families of
the victims.
Prayer and heavenly blessing to the memory of the disaster victims,”
the message says.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress