The air crash took place in the early hours of July 2, 2002. The Russian Tu-154 of the Bashkirian airlines collided with the Boeing-757 cargo aircraft at the height of nearly 11,000 metres. Seventy-one people died, including 62 Bashkirian children who were flying to Spain for holidays, many of them with parents.
"On behalf of the Federal Council, let me apologise and once again express my deep regrets over the accident," runs the letter, which can be found at the site of the Swiss embassy in Moscow.
Switzerland will find the culprits and take measures, including criminal punishment, the letter says.
Switzerland realises that the damage payments cannot hardly help the grieve of the victims' near and dear. "However, having immediately admitted the substantiated claims of the victims' families, we are doing our best to provide them with decent compensations urgently and with no bureaucratic delays to rid them of the difficulties of litigation," the letter runs.
The Swiss Skyguide air traffic controllers have assumed the responsibility for the air crash over Lake Constance, runs the statement of Skyguide Director General Alain Rossier, circulated today in Zurich.
"We admit the responsibility for the final report of the German air crash investigation department and request forgiveness from the families of the 71 victims," the letter reads.
