'Russian crew warned of crash first'

In yet another twist to the claims and counter-claims surrounding the German air disaster, the Russians said today that it was the crew of their airliner who first alerted Swiss controllers to the danger of a collision.

Russian crash investigators said the Tupolev-154's own onboard collision warning system had flashed the plane was on the same trajectory as a DHL Boeing 757 cargo jet 90 seconds before the mid-air crash which killed 71 people.

The RIA news agency quoting unidentified investigators who said: "The Russian crew themselves told Swiss air-traffic controllers of the danger a minute-and-a-half before the crash with the Boeing transporter. The airtraffic controllers should have taken urgent steps to separate the aircraft."

The flight data and voice recorders of both planes are now being analysed.

At the crash site on the German-Swiss border, police said 67 bodies had been recovered as parents of the Russian children killed made the journey to the site to grieve and pray. Some had bouquets of red and white carnations, traditional at Russian funerals.

Some parents said they hoped to take home a handful of soil from the area.