YEREVAN. - President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan sent a letter of condolences to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on the wreckage of Russian plane near Petrozavodsk, claiming 44 lives, the presidential press service informed Armenian News-NEWS.am.

In the letter Serzh Sargsyan expressed condolences on behalf of Armenian people to the victims’ relatives and wished a quick recovery to those injured.

As Armenian News-NEWS.am reported earlier, the jet with 52 passengers took off Monday night from Moscow for Petrozavodsk. The plane crashed onto a highway near Petrozavodsk airport in Karelia. The plane tried to land on a motorway, but crashed and caught fire. Forty-four passengers, including crew members died, whereas eight survivors were hospitalized. Armenian by origin was killed in the plane crash. He is a citizen of Ukraine Vahram Simonyan.