Plane crash in Russia's Far East kills all 48 on board, including 5 children, officials say
Moscow — Forty-eight people died in a plane crash in Russia's Far East, the head of the country's Amur region said in a statement Thursday. The An-24 passenger plane disappeared from radar as it travelled from the city of Blagoveshchensk on the Russian-Chinese border to the town of Tynda. Rescuers later found the aircraft's burning wreckage amid dense forests on a hillside south of its planned destination.
Regional Gov. Vasily Orlov said that all passengers and crew on board the Siberia-based Angara Airlines aircraft were killed in the crash. He also announced three days of mourning.
Local emergency services said earlier that there were five children among the 49 people on the plane, which crashed about 4,350 miles east of Moscow.
Images of the reported crash site circulated by Russian state media show debris scattered among dense forest, surrounded by plumes of smoke.
Russia's Interfax news agency said there were adverse weather conditions at the time of the crash, citing unnamed sources in the emergency services.
Several Russian news outlets also reported that the Anatov aircraft was almost 50 years old, citing data taken from the plane's tail number.
The transport prosecutor's office in the Far East said in an online statement that the plane had attempted a second approach while trying to land when contact with it was lost.
The authorities have launched a probe on the charge of flight safety violations that resulted in multiple deaths, a standard procedure in aviation accidents.
Aviation incidents have been frequent in Russia, especially in recent years as international sanctions have squeezed the country's aviation sector.
