Russia Sends Aid To Freezing Inhabitants Of Tuva

A plane from Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry has left Moscow bound for Tuva, near Mongolia, where a breakdown at a thermal power plant has left more than 3,000 people without power in temperatures of minus 40 degrees Celsius.

The plane is carrying stoves and heating units for people in the affected area.

Extreme cold and frost are blamed for the accident at the Khovu-Aksy thermal plant on December 20.

Since then, people in the settlement of Khovu-Aksy have been surviving on supplies brought from the Emergency Situations Ministry.

Some 1,500 people are working to fix the problem at the thermal plant.

A criminal case has been opened against the district administration head and his deputy.

Based on reporting by ITAR-TASS and Interfax