Tu-154 plane crash's 48 victims buried at military cemetery in Mytishchi
MYTISHCHI, Moscow region. Jan 16 (Interfax) - Forty-eight of the people killed in the crash of a Tupolev Tu-154 airplane over the Black Sea have been buried at a military memorial cemetery in Mytischhi near Moscow.
The crew members, military servicemen, artists from the Alexandrov Ensemble, culture department chief Anton Gubankov and four journalists were among 47 victims buried at the federal cemetery after their relatives expressed a wish for them to be buried at a military cemetery. Gubankov's assistant Oksana Badrutdinova was buried here earlier.
Relatives, colleagues, parliamentarians and government officials, including Defense Minister General of the Army Sergei Shoigu and Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov, came to bid farewell to the victims and express condolences to their families.
Deputy Defense Minister Nikolai Pankov reassured the victims' relatives of the Defense Ministry's full support. Metropolitan Juvenaly of Krutitsy and Kolomna, who led the religious part of the funeral, also offered condolences on behalf of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia and the Russian Orthodox Church.
Throughout the day the mourning halls of the military cemetery hosted the farewell ceremony for the air crash victims. A headstone was erected after the funerals and will be replaced later by a sculptural composition.