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Friday, 5 May 2006, 22:42 GMT 23:42 UK

Armenian airline loses second jet

Remains of an Armavia jet in Brussels A plane belonging to the Armenian airline Armavia has been destroyed by fire - only two days after another of its jets crashed, killing 113 people.

The Airbus A320 was in a hangar in Belgium that burned down on Thursday night. Three other planes in the hangar were also destroyed.

Four workers were injured in the accident in Brussels.

Meanwhile Armenia and Russia have begun periods of mourning for those killed in Wednesday's crash in the Black Sea.

Most of the dead were Armenians on a flight from Yerevan to the Russian Black Sea city of Sochi, which crashed as it was attempting to land. The plane involved was also an Airbus A320.

Russian searchers believe they have found the plane's flight recorders, at a depth of 680m (2,200ft) in the Black Sea.

Ceremonies were held on Friday at the site of the crash, where relatives threw wreaths of flowers into the waters, and at churches in Armenia and Russia.

Reserve plane

It was not known what caused the accident in Brussels, where the Armavia jet was undergoing maintenance by the Belgian company Sabena Technics.

It means Armavia has lost two of its fleet of five Airbuses within a few days.

"This was a reserve airliner," said a spokesman for the airline.

"We hope this accident will not wreck our overall flight schedule, and we will try and make up for the losses."

Two other A-320s - one of them belonging to International Armenian Airlines - and a Belgian warplane were also destroyed in the fire.



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Related to this story:
Russia joins Armenia in mourning (05 May 06 |  Europe )
Hunt for Armenia air crash bodies (03 May 06 |  Europe )
In pictures: Armenian plane crash (03 May 06 |  In Pictures )
Air disasters timeline (03 May 06 |  Europe )
Is flying still the safest way to travel? (24 Aug 05 |  UK )
Country profile: Armenia (04 May 06 |  Country profiles )

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