Rescuers Recover Plane Crash Victims

The first remains of the 141 people who died when their Russian jetliner smashed into an arctic mountain were recovered Saturday and carried to the airport where the plane was to have landed.

Difficult terrain and harsh weather have delayed the rescue effort since the aging Tupolev 154 crashed Thursday, 6 miles short of the main airport of Norway’s Svalbard Islands.

Several bodies were buried by an avalanche; rescuers also have had to watch for polar bears on glacial Spitsbergen Island, about 400 miles north of mainland Norway.

The victims mainly were Russian and Ukrainian coal miners and their families who had been returning from vacations.