MOSCOW. Jan 31 (Interfax-AVN) - The Russian Foreign Ministry and the Russian Embassy in Jakarta are currently clarifying the circumstances surrounding the plane crash that occurred in East Timor on Friday, the Russian Foreign Ministry told Interfax.
Russian diplomats in Moscow and Jakarta have also contacted the UN structures in Russia and East Timor for information on the crash, the source said.
It is difficult to get quick confirmation of information on the crash because there are no diplomatic missions in East Timor, the source said. However, UN structures are operating there.
Russia established diplomatic relations with East Timor after it became independent last year. Vladimir Plotnikov, the head of the Russian diplomatic mission to Indonesia, also works in East Timor.
The UN office in Jakarta previously reported that the IL-76 Candid plane, which crashed off the northern coast of East Timor, had a Russian crew of six onboard. All these people are feared dead.
The plane is believed to have been carrying equipment for a Portuguese phone company operating in East Timor. The crash area was covered with fog at the time of the accident.