Plane carrying 49 people crashes in east Russia

The wreckage of a plane that crashed while carrying 49 people has been found in Russia’s Far East, local emergency services said Thursday.

Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry said that they had found the plane’s burning fuselage on a hillside south of its planned destination in the town of Tynda.

Images of the reported crash site circulated by Russian state media show debris scattered among dense forest, surrounded by plumes of smoke.

An initial aerial inspection of the site suggested that there were no survivors, Russia’s Interfax news agency said, citing unnamed sources in the emergency services. Its sources also said that there were difficult weather conditions in the area.

The transport prosecutor’s office in the Far East reported that the site of the crash was 15 kilometres south of Tynda. The office said in an online statement that the plane attempted a second approach while trying to land when contact with it was lost.

Forty-three passengers, including five children, as well as six crew members were on board the An-24 passenger plane as it travelled from the city of Blagoveshchensk on the Russian-Chinese border, regional Gov. Vasily Orlov said.

The flight was operated by Siberia-based Angara Airlines.