MOSCOW: A passenger plane crashed in Russia’s far eastern Amur region on Thursday with 49 people on board, authorities said.
The plane, a twin-engine Antonov-24 operated by Angara Airlines, was en route from the city of Blagoveshchensk to the town of Tunda when it disappeared from radar, regional governor Vasily Orlov said in a telegram.
A rescue helicopter later spotted the burning body of the plane on a mountainside about 16 kilometers (10 miles) from Tunda.
Local rescuers said the helicopter had found no evidence of survivors from above.
The Amur region’s civil defense agency said it was sending rescue workers to the scene.
“At the moment, 25 people and five units of equipment have been dispatched, and four aircraft with crews are on standby,” it said.
