28 May 2004 15:28
Russian plane takes off from Baghdad, leaving badly wounded man behind
The Emergencies Ministry is completing the evacuation of Interenergoservis staff from Baghdad. An Il-62 aircraft took
off from the [Baghdad] airport a few minutes ago ["half-an-hour ago" according to captions for the deaf].
Against expectations, not all the specialists will return home. Some of them - 80 of the company's staff according
to the Russian Foreign Ministry - have expressed a wish to continue working in Iraq. However, the Moscow office of
Interenergoservis has denied these reports. There they say the management has ordered a 100-per-cent evacuation of
personnel. The only exception has been made for a small group of specialists - the precise number is not specified - who
are to mothball the unfinished projects.
Some reports say the two gravely wounded employees of Interenergoservis - Trifonov and Korenkov - were both aboard
the flight to Moscow. However, other reports say doctors have given their approval for the evacuation of only one
wounded person, whose identity is not known. At literally the last minute before the airliner was due to take off, the
second wounded person was taken off the flight. ITAR-TASS news agency has just reported this.
[Channel One TV] |
RUSSIA IN FACTS
