City plunged into mourning as it loses its star children

UFA, Russia -- They were the chosen children, standout athletes or students with the best grades, selected to travel and represent their Muslim region on a trip to the Spanish coast away from their homes in this industrial and oil-refining city in the heart of Russia.

Instead, the Russian republic of Bashkortostan mourned the loss of its brightest youngsters after 52 children and their five adult escorts died when their chartered plane collided with a cargo jet Monday night in southern Germany.

Flags few at half-staff Tuesday evening outside the government building, now a crisis center for victims' families, overlooking the White River that flows through the regional capital of Ufa. Three days of mourning have been declared in Bashkortostan.

Parents who were planning to welcome their children back after their 14-day trip to the Spanish coast south of Barcelona are now filling out visa applications and getting their passports in order so they can travel to Germany.

"They just want to see the place" where their children spent their last moments, said Bashkortostan's deputy prime minister, Khalyaf Ishmuratov, who added that many want to have at least a piece of earth from the crash site to remember them by.

Doctors huddled around relatives of the victims at the crisis center, where workers used a roomful of typewriters to complete visa applications. One physician rushed to check a woman's blood pressure as she slumped over in tears. An ambulance stood ready outside.

Two women huddled Tuesday evening outside the building, comforting each other in a tight embrace. When asked about their loss, one woman who declined to give her name could only answer, "What is there to say?"