| I think the first four words of the headline are the F6 key on Russian word processors... |
Investigators scouring the grassy fields where the two airplanes fell nearly 500 miles apart recovered flight recorders but found no signs of bomb blasts that might have downed the aircraft, officials said. While authorities did not rule out terrorism, they opened a criminal investigation into possible negligence and put the transportation minister in charge of the probe. The timing of the crashes, on the eve of Sunday's election in the rebellious region of Chechnya, raised suspicion that they might have been the latest in a two-year wave of terrorist assaults that has claimed more than 500 lives. A spokesman for the main rebel leader denied any rebel role in the disaster. Security forces at checkpoints in Chechnya and at Russian airports tightened screening. |