Russian investigators have completed the first stage of investigation into the plane crash in western Russia, in which the Polish president and other top state officials were killed, Russia's chief investigator said on Monday.
"We completed the first stage of investigation of identifying the victims and interviewing the eyewitnesses of the tragedy," Alexander Bastrykin said during a ceremony to hand over copies of the plane's flight recorders to Poland.
He said bomb experts confirmed there was no blast or fire on the plane before it hit the ground.
An investigation into establishing whether the plane's systems were functioning properly is currently underway.
"Handing over the copies does not mean that the investigation is over," Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said at the ceremony.
The Polish government Tu-154 crashed near Smolensk on the morning on April 10. All 96 people on board died, including President Lech Kaczynski, his wife and a host of senior Polish officials. They had been due to attend a memorial ceremony for the victims of the 1940 Katyn massacre in which Soviet secret police killed thousands of Polish military officers.
Russian and Polish investigators and experts are jointly investigating the causes of the crash. Polish military prosecutors are also conducting their own separate investigation.
MOSCOW, May 31 (RIA Novosti)
