MOSCOW: A Russian passenger aircraft carrying 49 people, including five children, crashed in the country’s far eastern Amur region on Thursday, with all on board feared dead, according to preliminary reports from local authorities and state media.
The An-24 twin-engine turboprop, operated by Angara Airlines — a Siberia-based carrier — had been en route from the border city of Blagoveshchensk to the remote town of Tynda when it vanished from radar during its final approach.
Russia’s Ministry of Emergency Situations confirmed that the aircraft’s debris was located by a search helicopter near the mountainous area bordering China. A large fire had engulfed the fuselage, with no immediate signs of survivors.
“According to preliminary data, there were 43 passengers aboard, including five children, along with six crew members,” said Vasily Orlov, the regional governor of Amur. “Unfortunately, all aboard are presumed dead.”
Initial findings suggest that poor visibility and a potential error in landing procedure may have contributed to the crash, Russian state news agency TASS reported. Weather conditions in the region were said to be unfavourable at the time, though investigations are ongoing.
The An-24 model, once a staple of Soviet-era aviation, has seen multiple incidents in recent years due to aging airframes and inconsistent maintenance, particularly among regional carriers operating in remote and challenging terrains.
Emergency services were promptly deployed, but adverse weather hampered initial efforts to reach the crash site. A full-scale investigation has been launched by Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency and the Interstate Aviation Committee.
Footage shared by local media showed smouldering wreckage strewn across the forested crash site, with blackened debris indicating the intensity of the impact.
The airline and federal authorities have yet to release a complete list of passengers, pending notification of families. Crisis centres have been set up at airports in both Blagoveshchensk and Tynda to provide support to relatives.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has been briefed on the incident and has ordered a transparent investigation. “All necessary support will be provided to the families of the victims,” the Kremlin said in a brief statement.
This incident is one of the deadliest in Russia’s aviation sector in recent years, raising renewed concerns over the safety standards of older regional aircraft in use across the country’s vast and often isolated territories.
