ROSTOV-ON-DON. Aug 21 (Interfax-AVN) - All remains in the MI- 26 Halo helicopter crash will be identified, Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov told the victims' relatives here on Wednesday. identify everyone," Ivanov said at a meeting with relatives at the North Caucasus military district hospital. The process will probably take several weeks, he said.
"Relatives will probably be asked to help. Their blood might be necessary for genetic testing. If the Military Prosecutor's Office determines that particular officials are to blame, they will be punished severely," he said.
However, no evidence of particular officers' guilt has been uncovered, he said.
Ivanov extended condolences to the relatives and pledged the "maximum moral, material and simply human support."
At present, 21 bodies have been delivered to Rostov-on-Don. The rest will be brought on Thursday and Friday, he said. Part of the injured people will be delivered to the Burdenko main military hospital in Moscow. The transportation of 11 persons is under consideration. Relatives will be allowed to go to Moscow with them.
Six expert groups are working at the crash site, he said. "The investigation will not take long. Numerous fragments of the helicopter remain. It was not overloaded, this is my official statement. There was no cargo aboard. The MI-26 was assembled in 1995, and all scheduled overhauls were conducted. The precise reason behind the catastrophe can only be determined via expert examination," he said.
The helicopter, carrying 147 people, crashed in Khankala on Monday.