DONETSK, August 23 (RIA Novosti) -- A total of 80 bodies have been recovered from the wreckage of a Tu-154 airliner that crashed in eastern Ukraine Tuesday, Russian emergency service said Wednesday.
The passenger jet crashed in eastern Ukraine en route from a Russian Black Sea resort to St. Petersburg. Pulkovo Airlines, which owned the plane, said Wednesday morning that 170 people - including 45 children under the age of 12 - had been killed. Other sources had suggested 171 passengers and crew had lost their lives.
The plane came down in stormy weather 45 kilometers (30 miles) north of regional center Donestk near the Russian border.
