Soviet Transport Plane Crash Kills 78

LENINAKAN, U.S.S.R.--Adding to the tragedy of this earthquakedevastated city, a Soviet military transport plane carrying soldiers to help in rescue efforts crashed as it approached the airport, killing 78 people, the Tass News Agency said.

Rescuers battled a lack of equipment and poor organization yesterday as they tried to free a dwindling number of survivors trapped in mountains of concrete and twisted metal.

President Mikhail S. Gorbachev wound up a two-day visit to the disaster area, calling the situation in Armenia "a grave disaster, simply a tragedy."

"I have seen so many people in trouble who have lost near and dear ones, whole families," Gorbachev told Soviet television. "I have simply been shaken by everything I have seen in these two days. It is simply difficult to bear this in human terms. It is unbearable."

He exhorted rescuers to speed their cleanup efforts, warning that an epidemic could break out within days.

Gorbachev and his wife Raisa were shown consoling survivors and speaking with rescuers in Spitak, a city of 16,000 that was virtually destroyed by the quake, and in Kirovakan 10 miles east.

The estimated death toll increased. Doctors Without Borders, an international relief organization, said in Amsterdam that Health Minister Yevgeny I. Chazov told workers the quake had claimed between 50,000 and 60,000 lives. The previous government estimate was 40,000-45,000.

In Leninakan, Armenia's second-largest city near the Turkish border, stacks of red, black or unfinished wood coffins were piled on street corners.

Mountains of concrete and metal rubble filled the cityscape, indicating where many of the newer, multistory prefabricated apartment houses had gone down. Many lower, older buildings were left unscathed.

Mayor Emil Kirokofyan told the first group of foreign correspondents to visit the area after Wednesday's quake that recently constructed apartment buildings had not been built to withstand such a severe temblor--even though Leninakan is in an area of frequent earthquakes.

Hundreds of bonfires fueled by cardboard, trash or debris provided the only heat for people who had spent the last four nights on the streets, and sent a pall of smoke over the city of 250,000 people.

"I don't have anywhere to live. I am homeless," cried an old woman walking out of rescue headquarters, where officials had put her on a list for new housing.

Everywhere, officials and rescuers pleaded for more cranes and heavy equipment to drag slabs of concrete and twisted pillars off trapped people.

At one site, rescuers worked feverishly with saws, torches, hammers and crowbars to free a family of seven discovered near the top of what was a nine-story apartment building.

Swiss rescuer Heinz Brecht said his team had used trained dogs to locate five survivors Saturday. But he said the work was difficult because of the scale of the destruction.

Survivors who spoke about the tragedy described a series of three or four quakes separated by brief pauses.

"There was a hum and then everything started to shake, to the left and to the right. It was like a ship," said Anna Asatyan, who sat at a bonfire in the street in front of her home.

A Belgian relief team of experts carrying 40 tons of equipment including four-wheel-drive vehicles left for Yerevan yesterday, as did an Israeli plane with a 42-person team headed by an army general.

Although the Soviet Union does not officially recognize Israel, the Israelis offered to help soon after the quake. Two more planes are scheduled to take off today.

"The relief effort until you reach the spot here has been very good," said Sverre Kilde, a Norwegian U.N. officer. "But here on the spot there is no control."