Moscow - Saba:
An An-24 passenger aircraft crashed in the Tynda area of the Amur Region in Russia's Far East, with all 49 people on board presumed dead, according to estimates from Russian emergency services.
Earlier, a source told the TASS news agency that “an Angara Airlines An-24 aircraft failed to establish contact with the control tower just a few kilometers from Tynda Airport.”
Amur Region Governor Vasily Orlov confirmed that the plane was carrying 43 passengers, including five children, along with six crew members.
RIA Novosti reported that weather conditions in the area where the An-24 went missing were poor, which had earlier caused delays to the flight.
Authorities stated that contact with the An-24 was lost during its second attempt to land while en route from Khabarovsk via Blagoveshchensk to Tynda. According to TASS, the aircraft had not sent any distress signals while in flight.
Rescue teams were dispatched to the Tynda area to search for the missing aircraft. Emergency services noted that the dense Taiga forest terrain is making the search operation more difficult, with most of the effort being carried out by air.
The wreckage was later found approximately 15 kilometers from the city of Tynda.
According to preliminary information from emergency services, all those on board the ill-fated An-24 perished in the crash.