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| Relatives Begin to Identify Sinai Plane Crash Victims in St. Petersburg | Relatives Begin to Identify Sinai Plane Crash Victims in St. Petersburg |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| ST. PETERSBURG, Russia — The people of St. Petersburg on Monday set about the grimmest task in an airplane catastrophe: identifying the dead. | |
| The vast majority of passengers aboard a Russian airplane that broke apart Saturday over the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt were from St. Petersburg, Russia’s second-largest city. All were vacationers returning from a beach holiday in Sharm el Sheikh. | The vast majority of passengers aboard a Russian airplane that broke apart Saturday over the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt were from St. Petersburg, Russia’s second-largest city. All were vacationers returning from a beach holiday in Sharm el Sheikh. |
| A cargo airplane of the Ministry of Emergency Situations returned the bodies early Monday to Pulkovo Airport, where the passengers had been scheduled to arrive two days earlier. | A cargo airplane of the Ministry of Emergency Situations returned the bodies early Monday to Pulkovo Airport, where the passengers had been scheduled to arrive two days earlier. |
| Awaiting the bodies were ministry employees wearing winter uniforms with fur caps, holding stretchers and standing at attention. | Awaiting the bodies were ministry employees wearing winter uniforms with fur caps, holding stretchers and standing at attention. |
| Then a police car, lights flashing, slowly escorted a large white truck through the city to a morgue. | Then a police car, lights flashing, slowly escorted a large white truck through the city to a morgue. |
| There, with the aid of relatives, forensic medical experts sought to identify the remains. | There, with the aid of relatives, forensic medical experts sought to identify the remains. |
| St. Petersburg extended by two days the national day of mourning that had been declared for all of Russia on Sunday. The St. Petersburg government will pay relatives of the dead 1 million rubles, or about $15,700, in addition to what they will receive from the airline. | St. Petersburg extended by two days the national day of mourning that had been declared for all of Russia on Sunday. The St. Petersburg government will pay relatives of the dead 1 million rubles, or about $15,700, in addition to what they will receive from the airline. |
| Relatives congregated in a hotel near the airport, awaiting word of when they would be called to the morgue. Larisa Y. Pulyanova and Anatoly L. Pulyanov were there to identify their only son, Roman A. Pulyanov, 29, who had been on vacation with his girlfriend. | Relatives congregated in a hotel near the airport, awaiting word of when they would be called to the morgue. Larisa Y. Pulyanova and Anatoly L. Pulyanov were there to identify their only son, Roman A. Pulyanov, 29, who had been on vacation with his girlfriend. |
| Tears welling, Ms. Pulyanova remembered her son as “young and tall and handsome.” | Tears welling, Ms. Pulyanova remembered her son as “young and tall and handsome.” |
| He had picked this vacation, she said, because a week for two cost only 36,000 rubles, or about $565, and the couple did not want to spend more because they were saving for their wedding. | He had picked this vacation, she said, because a week for two cost only 36,000 rubles, or about $565, and the couple did not want to spend more because they were saving for their wedding. |
| “The saddest is that he was our only son,” she said. | “The saddest is that he was our only son,” she said. |
| Mr. Pulyanov said that regardless of the cause of the crash, he was too grief-stricken to be angry at anyone at the moment. | Mr. Pulyanov said that regardless of the cause of the crash, he was too grief-stricken to be angry at anyone at the moment. |
| Even if it were proved to be terrorism related to Russia’s military action in Syria as some have conjectured, he said, that would only justify the Kremlin’s decision to fight the Islamic State militants in that country. | Even if it were proved to be terrorism related to Russia’s military action in Syria as some have conjectured, he said, that would only justify the Kremlin’s decision to fight the Islamic State militants in that country. |
| “But what difference does it make?” Mr. Pulyanov said. “I don’t have a son. Now, that is how I feel. Maybe in a week, I will gather my thoughts and look at things differently.” | “But what difference does it make?” Mr. Pulyanov said. “I don’t have a son. Now, that is how I feel. Maybe in a week, I will gather my thoughts and look at things differently.” |
| The Russian authorities said more than 130 bodies had arrived in the shipment Monday, and that another cargo plane was scheduled for early Tuesday. All 224 people aboard, including many young families, died. | |
| Some bodies were to be shown to relatives at the morgue, while others were to be identified using forensic techniques like DNA matching. Progress was slow. | Some bodies were to be shown to relatives at the morgue, while others were to be identified using forensic techniques like DNA matching. Progress was slow. |
| Residents continued on Monday to pile stuffed animals and flowers on an impromptu memorial at Pulkovo Airport. Many carrying flowers cried, though they said they had no relations to the crash victims. | Residents continued on Monday to pile stuffed animals and flowers on an impromptu memorial at Pulkovo Airport. Many carrying flowers cried, though they said they had no relations to the crash victims. |