YEREVAN, May 3 (RIA Novosti) - Armenian air company Armavia said Wednesday it had set up an emergency headquarters to investigate a crash in the early hours of the day that is thought to have claimed 113 lives.
An Armavia A-320 came down about six kilometers off Russia's Black Sea coast while heading for an airport in Adler, which services the resort of Sochi. In all, 105 passengers and eight crew members were on board.
A spokesman for the company said the plane's crew had been informed about poor weather in Sochi and decided to land in the nearby capital of Georgia, Tbilisi. Air traffic controllers later told the crew that the weather had improved, but the weather was still bad when the plane approached Sochi. The pilot apparently decided to make a second circle after failing to land at the first attempt.
"At this moment it disappeared from radar screens," the spokesman said.
Rescuers said they recovered 25 bodies from the wreckage so far.
