NPR: Cosmonaut Crashed Into Earth 'Crying In Rage'

Wonderful article. That audio file, if authentic, is heartbreaking. Wish I could find a translation. Am I the only one who had no clue that Yuri Gagarin looked like a young Marlon Brando? I'm sure that didn't hurt publicity.

Nice to see someone posting in this group, BTW.

Here's a photo of the crash site.

"Soyuz-1 then hit the ground at 40 meters/second at 0322:52 UT (7). The search party in the air could see the descent module on the ground without any associated parachute and they also saw the soft landing rockets fire. The descent module caught fire and the landing spot was engulfed in smoke. The capsule was in such a state that rescue crews could not find Komarov when they landed and approached the burning wreckage.The rescue teams reported somewhat cryptically by radio that the capsule had been spotted and that "the cosmonaut needs urgent medical attention" and then ceased transmitting in order to preserve secrecy."

From http://www.svengrahn.pp.se/histind/Soyuz1Land/Soyanaly.htm