• Source:JND
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Russia plane crash: 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 it had found the An-24 plane's "burning fuselage" but did not provide further details. However, Russian news agency, TASS, reported that the plane crashed during landing. Also, the pilot did not send any distress messages or calls before the accident.

At least 43 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 to the town of Tynda, regional Gov Vasily Orlov said.

VIDEO: Russian plane crashed site

Angara Airlines flight crashed during landing

The flight, a Soviet-era, which was operated by the Siberia-based Angara Airlines, disappeared from radar and lost contact with air traffic controllers several miles from Tynda airport. According to Russia's state news agency TASS, the An-24 aircraft operated by Angara Airlines (Irkutsk) lost contact with air traffic control today at approximately 1 p.m. local time (4 a.m. GMT) while performing flight Khabarovsk-Blagoveshchensk-Tynda. During the landing approach to Tynda Airport, the plane initiated a go-around procedure, after which contact was lost.

Burning wreckage located  

Rescue helicopters later located the burning wreckage on a remote mountainside, approximately 16 kilometres from Tynda. Officials from the Amur Centre for Civil Defence and Fire Safety confirmed that "no survivors were found when a Mi-8 search helicopter flew over the crash site.""The aircraft caught fire upon crashing," said a spokesperson. "Rescue operations have been hampered by the extremely difficult terrain, as the crash site lies on a steep, inaccessible slope.

What led Russian plane crash

"The harsh geographical conditions of the region -- dense taiga forests and swampy terrain -- further complicated rescue efforts. The aircraft did not send any distress signals before disappearing, heightening questions over what went wrong.

Preliminary reports suggest the An-24 may have been attempting a second approach to land at Tynda Airport when it went off the radar. A Rosaviatsia aircraft and multiple rescue teams were immediately dispatched to the area when the information was received earlier in the day."All necessary forces and means have been deployed to search for the plane," said Amur region governor Vasily Orlov.

Investigators from the Far Eastern Transport Prosecutor's Office have launched a probe into the incident. The cause of the crash remains unclear, and officials are expected to begin recovery operations and black box retrieval once ground access becomes possible.

(With inputs from agencies)