6 days ago
Where is Amur? Missing Russian plane with 50 onboard found, burning fuselage spotted, no survivors
The wreckage of a plane that crashed with 49 onboard has been found in Russia's Far East. The plane's burning fuselage was spotted by Russia's local emergency services on Thursday.
According to an AP report, the burning fuselage was found on a hillside south of its planned destination in the town of Tynda. There was no evidence of survivors, local rescuers said, as the Amur region's civil defence agency said it was dispatching a ground team to the scene, Reuters reported.
According to Britannica, Amur is an oblast (province) in far eastern Russia. The province occupies the basins of the middle Amur River and its tributary the Zeya, and extends up to the crest of the Stanovoy Range.
Amur River is a river of East Asia, and forms a natural border between the Russian Far East and Northeast China. It then flows some 650 miles (1,050 kilometers) northeastward across Russia to the Tatar Strait, an arm of the Pacific Ocean that connects the Sea of Japan and the Sea of Okhotsk.
Russia had yielded the Amur region to China by the Treaty of Nerchink in 1689. However, the region was reincorporated by Russian Cossacks in late 19th century. Russian Cossacks communities were semi-nomadic, semi-militarised people, often acting as border guards and playing a key role in the colonisation of frontier regions.
Yes, one can visit the region as a tourist. In fact, Russia promoted Amur as a tourism destination. From watching rocket launches to digging up dinosaurs, spotting Amur tigers, and interacting with the ancient Evenk tribes – Amur has a wide range of activities to offer.
One of Russia's private tourism company described Amur as a 'beautiful region' from where you 'can get to China just by swimming across the impressive Amur River'. The website further claims that 'it is believed that it is here, in the deep taiga, in the mountains, there are ancient secret places of power, which are still guarded by shamans…'
An Antonov An-24 aircraft, which went missing during a domestic flight from Blagoveshchensk to Tynda, was located by a rescue helicopter about 15 kilometres from its destination, Russia Today reported.
The twin turboprop aircraft lost communication shortly before reaching Tynda Airport, with no distress signal sent, according to a source quoted by RT. The flight was operated over a 570-kilometre route across Russia's Far Eastern Amur Region.
Governor of the region, Vasily Orlov, confirmed that 43 passengers were on board, including four crew members. Five children were among the passengers, he said.
Video footage released by emergency services showed a Mi-8 helicopter flying over a heavily forested area as part of the search operation. The wreckage was found burning in the taiga, a dense and hilly boreal forest, which has made rescue efforts difficult, as per Russia Today.
