Top brass, pilots face charges as Ukraine mourns victims of air disaster
July 29, 2002, 05:41 PM
SKNYLIV AIRFIELD, Ukraine (AFP) - Holding flickering candles, many in tears, mourners gathered to remember the 83 dead of a weekend air show disaster in Ukraine as criminal charges hung over the two fighter jet pilots and air force top brass.
With a national day of mourning in the ex-Soviet republic, some 1,500 Ukrainians congregrated at the disaster site at the Sknlyiv airfield in western Ukraine, where a memorial service was held in the open air.
Mourners dressed in sombre clothes brought flowers and wreaths to lay on the ground at the spot where a low-flying Russian-made Sukhoi Su-27 jet crashed into a crowd of spectators on Saturday, causing death and mayhem.
Women covered in headscarves, many tearful, held candles in their hands as Uniate Catholic priests offered prayers for the dead. The first 45 victims were to be buried Monday in the nearby city of Lviv, according to the mayoralty.
SOMETIMES IT'S HARD TO BE A HERO
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