Russian plane carrying nearly 50 people crashes in Amur region | What we know

Wreckage of the Russian plane carrying 49 people on board, which went missing in the country’s far east region of Amur, has been found. No survivors were found after a search at the crash site. Reportedly, air traffic controllers lost contact with the An-24 aircraft on Thursday (Jul 24). According to the local emergencies ministry, the plane, operated by a Siberia-based airline, Angara, disappeared off radar screens as it was approaching its destination, Tynda, a town bordering China.

News agency Reuters reported, burning wreckage of the plane was found by a rescue helicopter on a mountainside about 16 kilometres from Tynda, officials said. Local rescuers stated that the helicopter saw no evidence of survivors. According to Russian media reports, preliminary data suggested there were 43 passengers, including five children, along with six crew members on board.

“An Mi-8 helicopter operated by Rosaviatsiya (Russia's civil aviation authority) has spotted the burning fuselage of the aircraft,” Russia's emergencies ministry said, as quoted by Reuters.

Russian news agency TASS reported that the reason behind the crash was a crew error during landing in poor visibility conditions.

“At the moment, 25 people and five units of equipment have been dispatched, and four aircraft with crews are on standby,” Amur region’s civil defence agency said.

Regional governor Vasily Orlov earlier said, “All necessary forces and means have been deployed to search for the plane.” It is believed that the plane was only a few kilometres away from Tynda Airport.

“An An-24 operated by Angara Airlines failed to make contact at a designated checkpoint a few kilometres from Tynda Airport,” TASS reported citing a source.

Interfax reported that the passenger plane disappeared during its second landing attempt. The aircraft had initially failed to land at the Tynda airport in its first attempt.

The report cited emergency services as saying that “The An-24 plane was flying along the Khabarovsk-Blagoveshchensk-Tynda route. It failed to pass security checks near its final destination. There is no contact with it.”

Developed in the 1950s, the Antonov An-24 is widely used in Russia for both cargo and passenger transport with over 1,000 units produced.