At least 49 people, including five children, are feared dead after a Russian aircraft crashed in the remote Amur region on Thursday.
The plane, a twin-propeller Antonov An-24 operated by Angara Airlines, was en route from Blagoveshchensk to Tynda when it vanished from radar around 1:00 p.m. local time (0400 GMT).
Rescue teams later located the burning wreckage on a forested mountainside approximately 16 kilometres (10 miles) from Tynda. Video footage released by Russian investigators showed thick smoke rising from the crash site deep within the forest. According to local rescue officials, no signs of survivors were observed from the air.
The region’s civil defence agency confirmed that a ground search team had been deployed. “At present, 25 personnel and five vehicles are on the way to the site, with four aircraft and their crews on standby,” the agency announced.
Preliminary reports suggest that pilot error during landing in poor visibility may have contributed to the crash, according to state news agency TASS.
Regional Governor Vasily Orlov stated that the flight was carrying 43 passengers, including five children, along with six crew members. However, Russia’s Emergencies Ministry estimated the total number of people on board to be closer to 40.
Air travel in Russia’s remote regions, particularly in the Arctic and far eastern areas, is often risky due to harsh weather and vast distances. Although the country’s aviation safety has improved in recent years, accidents involving older aircraft remain a concern.
This incident follows previous tragedies involving the Antonov series aircraft. In 2021, an Antonov An-26 crashed in the Russian far east, killing six, while another An-26 crash in Kamchatka claimed all 28 lives on board.
