Chinese President Hu Jintao on Sunday sent a condolence message to Russian President Vladimir Putin after the fatal crashing of an A-310 passenger plane at a Siberian airport earlier in the day.
In the message, Hu, on behalf of the Chinese government and the Chinese people, expressed his heartfelt sadness to the Russian government and the Russian people.
Hu also mourned the victims in the crash and extended condolences to their families.
According to the Russian Interior Ministry, an A-310 Sibir airlines jet carrying 192 passengers, six flight attendants and two pilots veered off the runway and hit a building during landing at Irkutsk Airport at about 03:00 AM Sunday (2300 GMT Saturday).
The jet burst into flames upon impact.
The jet arrived in Irkutsk from Moscow's Domodedovo airport. Many of the passengers aboard were children going for vacation on Russia's famous Lake Baikal near Irkutsk.
The Irkutsk airport authorities said several foreign nationals were among the passengers aboard the plane.
(Xinhua News Agency July 10, 2006)
