Rostov-on-Don, South Russia, March 19, 2016
At present four clergymen and Church volunteers are on duty at the Rostov-on-Don airport. There are also relatives of the victims of the plane crash which happened early in the morning of March 19 at the Rostov-on-Don airport.
On March 19 at 3:00 Moscow time at the Rostov-on-Don airport a Boeing 737-800 coming from Dubai (flight no. 981) crashed during the approach landing, killing all 62 people on board – 55 passengers and 7 crewmen. His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia offered up his prayers for the repose of those killed in the catastrophe. Relatives of the victims have arrived to the airport, and clergy of the Rostov-on-Don Diocese are giving them spiritual support and psychologists from the Ministry for Extraordinary Situations are working with them.
“As soon as the passenger jet crash was reported, the rector of the airport chapel Archpriest Andrei Mekushkin arrived at the site,” said chairman of the Rostov Diocese’s Charity Department Priest Eugene Osyak to a spokesman of the Diaconia.ru website. “Now four priests are on duty at the airport and are rendering spiritual assistance to relatives of the killed passengers; there are also several volunteers. They will be staying there as long as needed.”
Priest Eugene Osyak has noted that in the morning 7 priests, all of whom are qualified rescue workers, were given additional training by the Ministry for Extraordinary Situations for identification work with relatives of the Boeing crash victims.
“All the relatives are currently in a very difficult psychological state. The diocesan clergy will support them not only at this stage and not only during the identification, but also later,” chairman of the diocese’s Charity Department stressed. “They can receive Church support at any moment.”
According to Fr. Eugene, the diocese will take care of the passengers in Rostov-on-Don who are still staying at the airport because their flights have been cancelled.
“Among them there are people who do not live in the city of Rostov and they have nowhere to go. If we get the consent of the airport services regarding the possibility of delivering hot food to these passengers, we will arrange this. Moreover, we plan to work with the Social Taxi church service – the cabs will be able to transport people to the airport and from there to the city. For getting such help one should appeal to our volunteers at the airport.”
On March 19, 2016, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia prayed at the Divine Liturgy of the Holy Trinity Cathedral of Moscow's Danilov Monastery for the repose of all those killed in the air disaster at the Rostov-on-Don airport.
Prayers were offered up at the litany for the departed "for the repose of the departed servants of God, who perished tragically in a plane crash in Rostov-on-Don and that they may be forgiven every transgression both voluntary and involuntary."
Metropolitan Merkury of Rostov and Novocherkassk has expressed his condolences to the victims’ families and all those who lost their beloved ones in the tragedy. He has called upon the clergy and social services of the diocese to render all necessary pastoral and psychological assistance to support the relatives of the crash victims.
