More than 40 people feared dead after passenger plane crash in Russia
Russia's civil aviation authority released a video of the plane that had come down in a densely forested area.
Air traffic controllers lost contact on Thursday, local time, with the Russian An-24 plane carrying 43 passengers, including five children, the regional governor, Vasily Orlov, said.
Reuters reported that preliminary data suggests there are no survivors.
The burning fuselage of the plane, which was from the Soviet era and was nearly 50 years old, was spotted on the ground by a helicopter, in the Amur region.
The plane, whose tail number showed it was built in 1976, was operated by a Siberia-based airline called Angara.
The local emergencies ministry said the plane dropped off radar screens while approaching its destination of Tynda, a town in the Amur region bordering China.
Debris from the plane was found on a hill about 15 kilometres from Tynda, the Interfax news agency quoted emergency service officials as saying.
"During the search operation, a Mi-8 helicopter belonging to Rosaviatsiya (Russia's federal air transport agency) discovered the fuselage of the aircraft, which was on fire," Yuliya Petina, an emergency services official, wrote on Telegram.
"Rescuers continue to make their way to the scene of the accident".
Authorities announced an investigation into the crash.
The small, propeller-driven plane is well-suited to the harsh conditions in Siberia and Russia's far north.
The Antonovs don't have to land on runways, but can manage on the ground or snow.
The planes were designed in the 50s and produced in Kyiv from the 60s, but none has been made for almost a decade.
According to Siberian airline Angara, almost 100 remain in service, with an average age of about 50 years.
In 2023, after the Western sanctions were introduced, two Siberian airlines asked the Russian government to extend the service life of Soviet-era Antonov aircraft.
Reuters
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