All 48 people aboard an Antonov An-24 passenger plane that crashed in Russia’s Far East on Thursday were killed, regional authorities said, while police investigators announced they had launched a criminal probe into possible violations of air safety rules.
The Angara Airlines flight lost contact with ground dispatchers around 1 p.m. local time while flying several kilometers from the airport in the town of Tynda. The plane had originated in Khabarovsk, made a stop in Blagoveshchensk and was en route to Tynda. Among those on board were six crew members.
Emergency officials said the aircraft did not issue a distress signal or report any technical issues before it disappeared from radar. Rescue teams later located the charred wreckage approximately 16 kilometers (10 miles) from Tynda, a town of less than 30,000 people.
“According to preliminary reports, there are no survivors of the An-24 plane crash in the Tynda district. Rescue teams have reached the crash site,” Amur region Governor Vasily Orlov wrote in a message on Telegram, declaring a three-day period of mourning over the air disaster.
“This terrible tragedy has claimed the lives of 48 people,” Orlov wrote. “Once again, I extend my deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims. The entire region grieves with you.”
Authorities initially reported that 49 people were aboard the plane.
Russia’s Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, also confirmed that everyone aboard the passenger plane had died, saying that forensic specialists and aviation experts were dispatched to the crash site “to assist with the investigation and document all available evidence.”
The law enforcement agency said that its chief investigator, Alexander Bastrykin, had instructed Far East transportation investigators to present a report on their findings as soon as possible.
Earlier, the state-run TASS news agency cited an unnamed emergency official as saying that the site of the plane crash was in a remote, mountainous area on a slope, making it challenging for rescue helicopters to land in the area.
Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry published a video filmed from a rescue helicopter as it approached the wreckage, with a plume of smoke rising from a heavily wooded area.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists that President Vladimir Putin was briefed on the air disaster.
At least one Chinese national was on the flight, state media in China reported later on Thursday. Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a message of condolence to Putin, saying that he “would like to express my deep condolences to the victims and sincere sympathy to the families of the victims.”
The An-24, a Soviet-era twin turboprop aircraft, was more than 50 years old, according to civil aviation authorities cited by TASS. The aircraft received a renewed airworthiness certificate in 2021, which allowed it to operate through 2036.
AFP contributed reporting.
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