Russian plane crashes, scores of passengers die
A Russian passenger plane with nearly 50 people on board crashed in the Amur region near China border on Thursday morning.
Sky News reported that the aircraft, carrying passengers including five children and six crew members, crashed without a survivor.
“Rescuers locate burning fuselage of missing Russian passenger plan,” Reuters quoted emergency officials as saying.
The plane, operated by Angara Airlines, was hovering around the destination of Tynda, a town in the Amur region bordering when the air traffic control lost contact with the aircraft, Reuters reported.
According to Russian news agency, Interfax, the plane disappeared during a second landing attempt after an initial approach to Tynda Airport was unsuccessful.
Interfax quoted the Russian emergencies ministry as saying, “Fifteen kilometres from Tynda, the wreckage of an An-24 was found on a slope. The plane was destroyed.”
Rescue efforts are ongoing, and investigators will analyse flight data and cockpit recorders once found, it added.
News agency TASS reported that an error during landing in poor visibility caused the crash.
It caught fire during its descent, and no survivors were spotted during an aerial inspection of the site, TASS said, quoting a statement from the regional civil defence and fire safety centre.
“According to the director of Tynda Airport, the plane caught fire upon impact, and a Mi-8 helicopter crew flying over the area reported no signs of survivors,” the statement said.
Angara Airlines and local authorities are yet to confirm the main cause of the crash.
