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Warm waters blamed for at least 5,000 Pelican deaths on Peru's coast
By Marilia Brocchetto, CNN

(CNN) -- Warm waters off Peru are to blame in the deaths of more than 5,000 marine birds on the coast, government authorities say.

The Peruvian National Center for the Study of El Nino reported earlier this week that since February the Peruvian coast has had an abundance of warm water as a result of marine currents throughout the world's oceans. The warm water has altered the marine ecosystem, it said.

The warm water has led fish such as anchovy and other species that live in surface waters to migrate to deeper water toward the south. As a result, pelicans and other birds that feed from the surface of the water died of starvation.

"If these oceanographic conditions persist, it is likely that its impact will spread to other areas of the (Peruvian) coast even during the fall, which could make the numbers increase and affect other marine species" said the report.

The ministry of environment said seafood is still safe to eat, and encouraged everyone to continue to support local fishermen, according to state-run Andina news agency.

"Marine resources are fully guaranteed, so we promote consumption and discard the speculation that some people or institutions disseminated irresponsibly," said the deputy minister for strategic development of natural resources, Gabriel Quijandria.

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Andina reported that Quijandria also clarified the beach warning that had been issued by authorities last week.

"The health alert does not prohibit admission to the beaches, but people are advised to avoid contact with the remains of pelicans, dolphins and other animals that are stranded," he said.

Officials in Peru continue to search for the culprit in the death of almost 900 dolphins since the beginning of the year. The health ministry is awaiting final results from molecular analysis looking for the morbillivirus, which previously has been linked to dolphin deaths.

Rescuers comb wreckage of Russian jet that crashed on Indonesian mountain

Jakarta, Indonesia (CNN) -- Bad weather hampered recovery efforts Friday as rescue teams combed a forbidding slope of an Indonesian mountain where a Russian jetliner crashed on a demonstration flight this week.

Rescuers found 12 bodies early in the day, according to Vice Marshal Daryatmo, head of the National Search and Rescue Agency, who like many Indonesians uses only one name.

It will take at least two weeks to identify the victims through DNA tests, Indonesian authorities said.

All 45 on board the Sukhoi Superjet 100 are feared dead.

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The Superjet 100, Russia's newest passenger plane, slammed into Mount Salak, a volcano south of Jakarta, after disappearing from radar screens Wednesday.

Most of the wreckage is on a steep slope about 6,000 feet high, making it difficult to reach.

The cause of the crash remained unclear. The Russian Investigative Committee said it has launched a criminal probe into possible safety violations.

"We can understand how the families are feeling right now, and we want to do this evacuation as fast as we can, but the problem is the crash site terrain is unreachable by parachute," Daryatmo said at a news conference Friday.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono announced a joint investigation Friday after a phone call with his Russia counterpart, Vladimir Putin.

"I welcome the offer from Russian President Putin because the goal is to investigate what could have caused the plane crash," Yudhoyono said.

The Russian Investigative Committee had said 48 people were on board the plane, including eight Russian crew members. But the Russian state-run news agency RIA Novosti said the number was 45, citing Sukhoi Civil Aviation President Vladimir Prisyazhnyuk as saying three of the people on the passenger list did not board the flight.

The plane was on a demonstration flight for Indonesian Ministry of Transportation officials and representatives of Indonesian airlines, the Russian Embassy in Jakarta said before the crash.

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Indonesia's Sky Aviation signed a $380 million deal in 2011 to buy 12 Sukhoi Superjet 100s, and press reports said a number of Sky employees were on the plane that went down. Sukhoi employees are also among the missing.

It was the first crash of a Sukhoi Superjet 100, RIA Novosti said.

The plane was on its second demonstration flight Wednesday when it lost contact with air controllers at Jakarta's Halim Perdanakusuma Airport.

The Sukhoi jet arrived in Jakarta as part of a demonstration tour of six Asian countries. It had been to Myanmar, Pakistan and Kazakhstan, and was scheduled to visit Laos and Vietnam after Indonesia, RIA Novosti said.

Sukhoi manufactures military aircraft and is known especially for its fighter jets. Its civilian aircraft is narrow-bodied with a dual-class cabin that can transport 100 passengers over regional routes.

It flew its maiden flight in 2008 and has had encountered problems in the past.

In March, a Superjet 100 operated by Russia's Aeroflot Airlines was forced to abandon its flight to Astrakhan, Russia, and return to Moscow because of problems with the undercarriage, according to RIA Novosti.

A similar defect in another Aeroflot-operated Superjet 100 plane had to be fixed in Minsk in December. However, Russia's state-run United Aircraft Corp. said the defect did not affect passenger safety.