Plane Carrying Nearly 50 Crashes in Russia’s Far East; No Survivors Reported by Local Sources
An An-24 passenger aircraft operated by Angara Airlines disappeared shortly before it was due to land in Tynda, a remote town situated near the China-Russia border. Wreckage from the aircraft was located in eastern Amur, according to reports.
A passenger aircraft carrying close to 50 individuals went missing over Russia’s far eastern region on Thursday. IFAX reported that parts of the aircraft were discovered in the eastern part of the Amur region, with local media suggesting there were no survivors.
Reuters cited officials from Russian emergency services, who feared all occupants on board had died, based on early information. However, a formal confirmation was still awaited.
The aircraft involved was an An-24 passenger plane, operated by Angara, an airline based in Siberia. It was en route to Tynda, a town in the Amur region that borders China.
The burning wreckage of the plane was spotted by a helicopter, and emergency teams were dispatched to the site immediately.
According to Reuters, the regional emergency ministry said that the aircraft vanished from the radar of air traffic control while it was nearing its destination, Tynda.
Regional Governor Vasily Orlov stated that preliminary reports indicated 43 passengers, including five children, and six crew members were aboard, as reported by Reuters.
AFP quoted the Far Eastern Transport Prosecutor’s Office as saying that the plane went down while trying a second landing attempt at Tynda Airport.
“While on approach to Tynda Airport, the plane went around for a second landing, after which radio contact was lost,” the office stated.
“The situation is under investigation,” it added.
According to state-run TASS news agency, the aircraft was nearly 50 years old.
“In 2021, its airworthiness certificate was renewed until 2036,” the report stated, citing aviation industry sources.
The Antonov-24 is a twin-engine turboprop aircraft designed during the Soviet era, first introduced in 1959.
Although Russia has made efforts to replace old Soviet-era planes with newer models, aging smaller aircraft are still widely used in remote areas, and crashes occur regularly.
Meanwhile, on Monday, an AeroMexico regional aircraft narrowly avoided colliding with a Delta Air Lines Boeing 737 on a runway in Mexico City.
The near-miss occurred when the AeroMexico aircraft, on final approach, landed in front of the Delta plane, which had just started accelerating for takeoff.
Separately, on July 21, a Bangladesh Air Force F-7 BGI training aircraft crashed into a school campus in the Uttara area of northern Dhaka shortly after takeoff.
At least 27 fatalities were reported, with 78 others suffering injuries, according to local media. Among those killed were 25 children, many under the age of 12, suffering severe burn injuries.
