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Bodies Taken From Crash

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan -- All 15 bodies were recovered over the weekend from the crash site of a helicopter that went down in the Tian Shan Mountains of Central Asia, officials said Monday.


The Soviet-made Mi-8 aircraft was carrying three crew members and 12 passengers, including nine Canadians, when it slammed into a cliff in heavy fog in Kyrgyzstan last Wednesday.


A black box was recovered Sunday, and was sent with the remains to Moscow, authorities said.


It took rescue workers several days to find all the bodies because of heavy fog and rugged terrain. The wreckage, at an altitude of about 3,800 meters, was burned out and showed signs of an explosion.


The Kyrgyz Air chopper was ferrying workers to Bishkek from the remote Kumtor gold mine, a joint venture between the Canadian Cameco Corp. and the Kyrgyz government. Besides the Canadians, the workers included two Britons and a Turk.

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