A Jewish family of four was killed Sunday morning when a Boeing 737-500 airplane crashed during its final approach to Perm, Russia. All 88 people aboard Aeroflot Flight 821 are presumed dead, the Interfax news agency reported.

According to Chabad-Lubavitch Rabbi Zalman Deutch, a family friend, Ephraim and Golda Nachumov were returning home with their son Eliyahu and daughter Chava from a family affair in Azerbaijan via Moscow.

“This is a nightmare. It is very sad,” said Deutch, the chief rabbi of Perm. “The family was wonderful and so special. I have no words.”

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Eliyahu, 7, had just started first grade at the Ohr Avner Chabad Day School after spending his summer vacation at the local Gan Israel Day Camp. His four-year-old sister had just entered the Ohr Avner preschool.

Tomorrow morning, a social worker will talk with the students about the tragedy and the loss of their friends, said Deutch, who along with his wife Sarah directs a Jewish community of more than 5,000 people.

Russian Chief Rabbi Berel Lazar sent a delegation to Perm consisting of representatives from the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia and the Moscow Jewish burial society to help identify the remains of passengers and ensure a proper burial for the Nachumov family. Family members of the deceased traveled with the rabbinical team.

Debris from the crash stretches across a wide debris field, said Deutch.

“The identification process of bodies has just begun,” said the rabbi, who has been fielding calls from friends of the Nachumovs and consoling distraught relatives. “At the moment, we are not planning any memorials, because most of the passengers are still officially classified as missing. This is very difficult for the community; it hurts.”