A storm has begun. Sofa experts on the Internet claim that after a storm it will only be easier for divers to work - the water itself will carry many things ashore. Those professionals who are now examining the sunken TU-154 think otherwise. Bad weather, on the contrary, will confuse all the cards. Vyacheslav Ivashchenko, head of the search and rescue unit of the southern regional search and rescue squad of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, told Komsomolskaya Pravda about how the search for the crashed plane is going.

- In what conditions do you have to work?

Almost perfect. The plane lies on a large underwater field. The depth is about the same everywhere - about 25 meters. That is, you can search during the day without special lighting, there are enough natural conditions. The bottom is solid sandstone. There is almost no silt or dirt.

- And what can be found?

Large parts of the aircraft, small, some personal items. If you manage to find electronic devices - phones, tablets - they are immediately taken upstairs. Then they go for examination. Yesterday we lifted an aircraft engine weighing three tons from the bottom. There are also fragments of bodies (according to the data, as of 18:40 on December 28, the remains of 16 people were found - Auth.)

The work of divers under water at the crash site of the Tu-154.

- No whole bodies?

Alas. This is what happens when you hit the water hard. The dead are literally torn to pieces. I saw something similar during the crash of the Airbus of Armenian Airlines 10 years ago. Also near Adler. The injuries are similar.

(Recall that information appeared in the media that the bodies of the dead were found without clothes. Now it’s clear why. By the way, the data that the passengers were wearing life jackets were also not confirmed.)

- And how do you look for fragments at the bottom?

An anchor drops from a ship on the surface. I tie myself to him with a rope and begin to slowly swim in a circle. Then the rope lengthens, and I swim in a larger circle. The bottom is searched with such divergent trajectories. Small objects are tied with a rope - they are lifted by partners in a boat on the surface. Large parts of the aircraft are pulled out with a crane. I mark the coordinates, a ship or a barge with a lift floats on the surface. Then the find is tied with slings and rises.

- And what more: personal items or parts of the aircraft?

90% - fuselage elements. Passengers' belongings are rare.

- They say the storm will help you.

No. The storm will shake everything at the bottom. Something may shift to already tested areas. In addition, now everything is clearly visible under water. And after the storm, the turbidity will rise, it will become much more difficult to work.

- Is it psychologically difficult to swim underwater and find the remains?

You have to set yourself up right. I focus on the thought that there is difficult but important work to be done. Return to relatives their loved ones. Only I can do this. There will be no others. That's the kind of motivation that helps.

- Are there any tricks to relax after work, to reboot?

I return to my family, play with the children, I just try not to think about what lies at the bottom. Again, I remind myself that this is not an ordinary profession where everything happens.

Vyacheslav Ivashchenko said that the divers of the Ministry of Emergency Situations work hard all day. They go out to sea in the morning, when it begins to get light, and return to the shore only in the evening with sunset. But even so, each submariner manages to work no more than two hours. The rest of the time is spent on diving-surfacing, preparing equipment and filling oxygen cylinders.

PHOTO REPORT

Rescuers of the Ministry of Emergency Situations raise the wreckage of the Tu-154 from the bottom of the Black Sea

HELP "KP"

The search operation involves 45 ships, 15 submersibles, 192 divers, 12 aircraft and five helicopters. A self-propelled crane arrived in the crash area to lift large debris.

Found about one and a half thousand fragments of the aircraft. On this moment managed to raise one-third to the surface. 12 large fragments were also found. One of them - two by three meters, the second - about five meters in length, the third - more than 60 meters in length.

MEANWHILE

The main phase of the search for the wreckage of the crashed Tu-154 has ended

“The active phase of the search operation in the Black Sea has been completed,” the source said. The search group lifted almost all Tu-154 fragments from the bottom of the sea. A group of ships that took part in the operation left the Black Sea

BY THE WAY

Rescuers from the crash site of Tu-154: The victims have the same injuries as the victims of the 2006 disaster

Since the day of the Tu-154 crash, rescuers have been working non-stop at the site of its crash in the Black Sea. They lift from the bottom of the bodies of the dead and the wreckage of the aircraft, on board which at the time of the crash were 92 people - crew members, artists of the ensemble. Aleksandrova, journalists and Dr. Lisa.

Our photojournalist Vladimir Velengurin is watching with his own eyes how the divers work and how the search operation is progressing

- When did you start searching for the bodies of Tu-154 passengers?

We were given the alarm somewhere around 7 am on Sunday. For another 30 minutes we waited for the coordinates of the main search area - this information came from air traffic controllers. They went out to sea on boats. Soon, helicopters of the search and rescue service of the Ministry of Defense appeared in the sky, then small ships and ships with divers began to approach.

When was the first body discovered?

I didn't watch the clock. In addition, 10 boats worked at once. We recovered the first body about three hours after the start of the helicopter pickup operation. Approximately one and a half kilometers from the coast.

- And who was it?

A woman of about 40 years old. A tightly closed red suitcase floated next to her.

- Judging by your answer about age, she was not disfigured?

She didn't have eyes...

Was her clothes intact?

She was wearing a badly torn cloak... And she was all broken... the impression that without bones... We raised two more from the water about a kilometer from the shore. Two military men, in uniform... Also torn... Young. Well, thirty, thirty-five years ... And the bodies are broken, broken ... That's it, I can't talk anymore, it's hard ... And there is a lot of work.

- Traces of burns on clothes, on the bodies, you did not notice?

The devil knows... The clothes are wet... And it's hard to judge by the skin on the face - it was burned or torn off by something hard upon impact...

The plane, it turns out, fell apart in the air. This version is also supported by the fact that the Tu-154 chassis was found near the coast.

EXPERT OPINION

"Either an explosion, or the strongest blow to the water"

The military medical examiner Captain II rank Alexander KOLESNIKOV answers the question "KP"

Photo of the wreckage of the fuselage of the fallen Tu-154 raised from the bottom of the Black Sea

As a result of a search operation in the Black Sea, part of the fuselage was pulled out of the water crashed plane Ministry of Defense Tu-154. At the crash site of the liner - near Adler, almost opposite the airport - specialists from the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Emergency Situations are working.

The middle part of the fuselage was found about 1.8 kilometers from the coast of Sochi at a depth of about 25 meters. The fragment pulled out of the water reaches about five meters in length and five in width, Komsomolskaya Pravda correspondent Vladimir Velengurin reports from the site of the search and rescue operation.

Specialists from the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Emergency Situations are working at the crash site of the liner.

The middle part of the fuselage was found about 1.8 kilometers from the coast.

As participants in the operation told KP, the plane was moving along the glide path towards the water before falling into the water - runway located perpendicular to the coastline.

The recovered fragment lay at the bottom at a depth of about 25 meters.

Rescuers pulled out of the water part of the fuselage of the fallen Tu-154 aircraft of the Ministry of Defense.

The fragment pulled out of the water reaches about five meters in length and five in width.

A search operation continues in the crash area of ​​the plane. Several pieces of debris were raised from the bottom. There are dozens of ships in the area. Deep-sea submersibles are used.

A search operation continues in the crash area of ​​the aircraft. Several pieces of debris were raised from the bottom. There are 45 ships in the area. Deep-sea submersibles are used. When it got dark, the spotlights were turned on.

Many agencies report that rescuers found the body of crew commander Roman Volkov and the body of Oksana Batrutdinova, assistant head of the Department of Culture of the Ministry of Defense. However, there is no official confirmation of this information. It is confirmed that by this time the bodies of ten dead have been found, it is also reported that the remains of another 80 bodies were raised to the surface, but rescuers say that the remains of the bodies are very damaged and no one is now talking about how many there are.

Work is ongoing and will continue throughout the night. The water area at the crash site of the Tu-154 is illuminated by special searchlights. The plane, according to experts, crashed six kilometers from the coast, and during the day this place was clearly visible from here, but now, in the dark, neither the camera nor the human eye can see the equipment.

In the meantime, the Interfax agency reports with reference to representatives of the Ministry of Defense, divers have lifted two elements of the aircraft control mechanism from the bottom of the sea. According to the serial numbers, it was previously established that they may belong to the crashed Tu-154. One of the raised fragments is quite impressive in size - about five meters.

At the crash site, 45 ships continue to operate, including anti-sabotage boats and ships with sonar equipment. Sea bottom divers and several deep-sea submersibles are surveying. In addition, helicopters are operating in the sky above the crash site, even now, at night. In total, about 3.5 thousand people participate in the operation. The conditions here are not easy. The depth reaches 100 meters, and due to the strong current, experts say, the wreckage of the aircraft is scattered at a fairly large distance. On an area of ​​240 square kilometers.

The Minister of Transport of Russia, Maxim Sokolov, who heads the government commission to investigate the disaster, said that due to the strong current, some of the fragments of the Tu-154 and the bodies of the dead could be carried towards Abkhazia, so Abkhaz colleagues also joined in the rescue work.

Each discovered detail is lifted from the bottom to the surface, then to be delivered to the shore. All found wreckage of the aircraft should help experts to restore the picture of what happened on board. According to the Ministry of Defense, the search operation area is divided into 15 sectors, by this minute the bottom of seven of them has been completely examined. And by the same time, in the area of ​​prospecting work, the survey of the surface surface was completely - 100% completed.

The flight recorders have not yet been found. This is due to the same strong current and difficult bottom topography. Now fragments of the aircraft continue to be searched with the help of radar equipment.

A storm has begun. Sofa experts on the Internet claim that after a storm it will only be easier for divers to work - the water itself will carry many things ashore. Those professionals who are now examining the sunken TU-154 think otherwise. Bad weather, on the contrary, will confuse all the cards. Vyacheslav Ivashchenko, head of the search and rescue unit of the southern regional search and rescue squad of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, told Komsomolskaya Pravda about how the search for the crashed plane is going.

- In what conditions do you have to work?

Almost perfect. The plane lies on a large underwater field. The depth is about the same everywhere - about 25 meters. That is, you can search during the day without special lighting, there are enough natural conditions. The bottom is solid sandstone. There is almost no silt or dirt.

- And what can be found?

Large parts of the aircraft, small, some personal items. If you manage to find electronic devices - phones, tablets - they are immediately taken upstairs. Then they go for examination. Yesterday we lifted an aircraft engine weighing three tons from the bottom. There are also fragments of bodies (according to the data, as of 18:40 on December 28, the remains of 16 people were found - Auth.)

The work of divers under water at the crash site of the Tu-154.

- No whole bodies?

Alas. This is what happens when you hit the water hard. The dead are literally torn to pieces. I saw something similar during the crash of the Airbus of Armenian Airlines 10 years ago. Also near Adler. The injuries are similar.

(Recall that information appeared in the media that the bodies of the dead were found without clothes. Now it’s clear why. By the way, the data that the passengers were wearing life jackets were also not confirmed.)

- And how do you look for fragments at the bottom?

An anchor drops from a ship on the surface. I tie myself to him with a rope and begin to slowly swim in a circle. Then the rope lengthens, and I swim in a larger circle. The bottom is searched with such divergent trajectories. Small objects are tied with a rope - they are lifted by partners in a boat on the surface. Large parts of the aircraft are pulled out with a crane. I mark the coordinates, a ship or a barge with a lift floats on the surface. Then the find is tied with slings and rises.

- And what more: personal items or parts of the aircraft?

90% - fuselage elements. Passengers' belongings are rare.

- They say the storm will help you.

No. The storm will shake everything at the bottom. Something may shift to already tested areas. In addition, now everything is clearly visible under water. And after the storm, the turbidity will rise, it will become much more difficult to work.

- Is it psychologically difficult to swim underwater and find the remains?

You have to set yourself up right. I focus on the thought that there is difficult but important work to be done. Return to relatives their loved ones. Only I can do this. There will be no others. That's the kind of motivation that helps.

- Are there any tricks to relax after work, to reboot?

I return to my family, play with the children, I just try not to think about what lies at the bottom. Again, I remind myself that this is not an ordinary profession where everything happens.

Vyacheslav Ivashchenko said that the divers of the Ministry of Emergency Situations work hard all day. They go out to sea in the morning, when it begins to get light, and return to the shore only in the evening with sunset. But even so, each submariner manages to work no more than two hours. The rest of the time is spent on diving-surfacing, preparing equipment and filling oxygen cylinders.

PHOTO REPORT

Rescuers of the Ministry of Emergency Situations raise the wreckage of the Tu-154 from the bottom of the Black Sea

HELP "KP"

The search operation involves 45 ships, 15 submersibles, 192 divers, 12 aircraft and five helicopters. A self-propelled crane arrived in the crash area to lift large debris.

Found about one and a half thousand fragments of the aircraft. At the moment, it was possible to raise one-third to the surface. 12 large fragments were also found. One of them - two by three meters, the second - about five meters in length, the third - more than 60 meters in length.

MEANWHILE

The main phase of the search for the wreckage of the crashed Tu-154 has ended

“The active phase of the search operation in the Black Sea has been completed,” the source said. The search group lifted almost all Tu-154 fragments from the bottom of the sea. A group of ships that took part in the operation left the Black Sea

BY THE WAY

Rescuers from the crash site of Tu-154: The victims have the same injuries as the victims of the 2006 disaster

Since the day of the Tu-154 crash, rescuers have been working non-stop at the site of its crash in the Black Sea. They lift from the bottom of the bodies of the dead and the wreckage of the aircraft, on board which at the time of the crash were 92 people - crew members, artists of the ensemble. Aleksandrova, journalists and Dr. Lisa.

Our photojournalist Vladimir Velengurin is watching with his own eyes how the divers work and how the search operation is progressing

"According to experts, the bodies of those killed in the Tu-154 crash are most likely inside the fuselage at a depth of about 60 meters," RIA Novosti quoted him as saying.

ON THIS TOPIC

In turn, the head of the Ministry of Transport of Russia, Maxim Sokolov, said that during the search and rescue operation, a number of fragments of the bodies of the dead were found, many of which can be identified. "But we will clarify more detailed information tomorrow morning, when they are ready for transportation to Moscow," the minister was quoted by TASS as saying.

Currently, search operations in the Black Sea are carried out by 32 ships and boats, 80 divers, five helicopters, drones and remote-controlled deep-sea vehicles. “In addition, 1,300 military personnel of the Southern Military District are being prepared for the transfer. Four Il-76 military transport aircraft are in constant readiness at Adler airfields,” Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said at a briefing. He noted that the rescue vessels of the Black Sea Fleet with equipment to perform complex diving operations at depths of up to 400 meters will arrive in the search area. Earlier it was reported that nine ships of the Ministry of Emergency Situations were involved in the search operation in the area of ​​the crash.

As the site wrote, on the morning of December 25, information appeared that a Tu-154 aircraft of the Russian Defense Ministry, flying from Sochi to the Khmeimim air base, disappeared from the radar. Later, the department reported that fragments of the missing Tu-154 were found 1.5 kilometers from the coast of Sochi. According to updated data, there were 92 people on board the ship, including artists of the Alexandrov Ensemble and nine journalists.