An-28 flew too low, crashed into hill - survivor

Vladivostok - The An-28 plane that crashed on the Kamchatka Peninsula in poor weather conditions had been flying at a low altitude and it was too late when the pilots caught sight of the trees, Vladimir Shabalkov, a surviving An-28 passenger and chief of the firefighting brigade in the town of Palana, told reporters on Thursday.

"The altitude was low. A minute - and we saw trees beneath us. The pilots pulled the planed up sharply and we grazed the tops of the trees and crashed into the hill," he said.

Shabalkov is now at the Koryak District Hospital.