"Yes, we can confirm that the bodies were sent to Moscow, the plane took off a few minutes ago," the embassy's spokesman said.
He added that the journalists' bodies would be delivered to Moscow by early Sunday.
According to the schedule on the website of Bangui International Airport, the flight Air France departed at 5:40 p.m. local time (16:40 GMT). This flight follows to Paris with a landing in Cameroon. The plane will land at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris early on Saturday.
The publication said that on Saturday, July 28, the two registered at a local hotel as teachers, and the third — as a journalist. They had journalist's equipment with them. On Sunday, they started to take photos of a group of young sellers in front of the hotel without their consent, the latter became angry and called the police, all three were detained, their passports were confiscated. Later, they were released.
The hotel staff also said that journalists left the hotel on Toyota Hillux 4x4 pickup truck early on Monday.
The Russian Foreign Ministry's consular department said it had earlier published recommendations on its website saying that CAR law enforcement forces were practically not functioning and that one does not have to expect their assistance in case of trouble.
The crime situation in the Central African Republic is complex, armed robberies, killings and attacks on foreigners are regular, and therefore visiting the country involves a lot of risks and is highly undesirable, the department said.
The Russian Investigative Committee has already opened a criminal investigation into the case. According to Russian Foreign Ministry’s spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, preliminary information shows that robbery was the motive behind the armed attack on Russian journalists.
