Russia airliner with 170 aboard crashes

The Tupolev Tu-154, belonging to Pulkovo Airlines, went down shortly after the pilot reported a fire on board and heavy turbulence, the Ukrainian Emergency Situations Ministry said.

At least 30 bodies have been pulled from the wreckage, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) northwest of Donetsk in a hard-to-reach area, the ministry said.

Anatoly Simushin, deputy director of the St. Petersburg-based Pulkovo, told reporters there were 45 children on board the plane, The Associated Press reported.

Flight 612 was en route from the Black Sea resort town of Anapa to St. Petersburg.