46 dead as passenger plane crashes in Russia

A passenger plane with some 46 people on board has crashed in Russia’s far east, leaving no survivors.

The An-24 plane operated by Angara Airlines crashed on Thursday as it was approaching Tynda, a town in the Amur region bordering China.

TASS, Russian state media, reported that the plane failed to report at its designated checkpoint, disappearing from radar after initiating a go-around.

The plane’s burning fuselage and its wereckage was later located on a mountainside 16km from Tynda as rescue crews rushed to the scene.

An aerial inspection of the site found no survivors, the Regional Civil Defense and Fire Safety Centre told TASS.

No distress signals were emitted prior to the loss of contact, emergency services reported.

Vasily Orlov, governor of the Amur region, earlier said preliminary data indicated that the plane carried 43 passengers, five of them children, along with six crew members.

But emergency services later clarified that there were 40 passengers, including two children, and six crew members on board.

It is not immediately clear what may have cause the crash but Russia is known for its isolated hinterland, such as the Arctic and the far east, where weather conditions are frequently extreme.

Emergency services said thick forests and swamps compounded search efforts.

So far, investigations have considered crew error during low-visibility landing as a likely cause of the crash.

Federal registry data showed that the last inspection of Angara Airlines was conducted this month. A criminal case into the incident has been opened.