Russian Plane Crashes Near Chinese Border; 49 Feared Dead
Ankara Airlines An-24 Disappears from Radar, Wreckage Found in Amur Region
A Russian plane carrying 49 people, including children and crew, has crashed near the Chinese border. The Ankara Airlines flight, an An-24 turboprop, disappeared in the Amur region near the Chinese border, and Russian authorities have confirmed that the wreckage of the crashed plane has been found.
Authorities from the Amur Centre for Civil Defence and Fire Safety stated that the aircraft caught fire during the journey before crashing. They indicated that the plane went down in a mountainous gorge. Local media outlets are reporting that there are no survivors from the flight.
The plane was carrying 43 passengers, including five children, and six crew members. Reuters, quoting Regional Governor Vasily Orlov, reported that the aircraft disappeared from radar due to poor weather conditions.
The crashed aircraft was an An-24, a twin-turboprop transport plane developed in the Soviet Union in the late 1950s. The local interior ministry stated that the plane disappeared from radar screens while approaching the town of Tynda in the Amur region. The area is surrounded by dense forests and rugged terrain.