Russian emergency services have located the wreckage of an Angara Airlines An-24 aircraft that went missing while en route to Tynda in the far-eastern Amur region, with 43 passengers and six crew members on board.
The aircraft had departed from Blagoveshchensk, near the Chinese border, and disappeared from radar as it neared its destination at Tynda airport, officials said.
Amur Region Governor Vasily Orlov confirmed that “all necessary resources” had been mobilized for the search operation, noting that five children were among those on the flight.
Shortly after the disappearance, Russia’s Emergencies Ministry announced that a civil aviation helicopter had spotted what appeared to be the burning fuselage of the aircraft.
According to the Amur Civil Defence Centre, as reported by the state-run TASS news agency, the wreckage was discovered on a hillside approximately 16 kilometres (10 miles) from Tynda. Emergency response teams are currently heading to the crash site.
The flight was reportedly on the final leg of its journey from Khabarovsk, located in Russia’s far southeast, when the incident occurred. Further details on casualties or survivors have not yet been confirmed.
