passenger aircraft carrying nearly 50 people crashed on Thursday in Russia’s remote Amur region, with no immediate signs of survivors, according to local authorities.
The twin-propeller Antonov-24, operated by Angara Airlines, was en route from Blagoveshchensk to Tynda when it vanished from radar around 1:00 p.m. local time (0400 GMT). A rescue helicopter later located the aircraft’s burning fuselage on a forested mountain slope approximately 16 kilometers from Tynda.
Footage released by Russian investigators showed plumes of smoke rising from the wreckage in dense woodland. Rescue personnel reported no evidence of survivors from the air, prompting the Amur regional civil defense agency to deploy a ground team.
“At the moment, 25 personnel and five vehicles have been dispatched, with four aircraft and crews on standby,” the agency stated.
The aircraft was carrying 43 passengers and six crew members, according to Amur region governor Vassily Orlov. However, Russia’s state-run TASS news agency cited emergency services saying the total onboard was 46.
The Far Eastern Transport Prosecutor’s Office confirmed the plane crashed while attempting a second landing approach at Tynda Airport. “Contact was lost after the aircraft initiated a go-around,” the agency noted.
The aircraft, introduced in 1959, had its airworthiness certificate extended until 2036, according to a source in the aviation sector. Despite efforts to modernize its fleet, Russia still relies heavily on ageing aircraft in remote areas, where air accidents remain frequent.
Angara Airlines, a regional carrier based in Irkutsk, has not issued a statement on the incident.
