MOSCOW, July 24 — A Soviet-era passenger aircraft carrying nearly 50 people crashed in Russia’s remote Far East on Thursday, with emergency officials fearing no survivors.
The Antonov An-24, operated by the Siberia-based airline Angara, went down while flying from Blagoveshchensk to Tynda in the Amur region near the Chinese border. The plane lost contact with air traffic control shortly before reaching Tynda, and was later spotted in flames by a rescue helicopter.
“During the search operation, a Mi-8 helicopter belonging to Rossaviatsiya discovered the fuselage of the aircraft, which was on fire,” said emergency services official Yuliya Petina in a post on Telegram. “Rescuers continue to make their way to the scene of the accident.”
Preliminary data from the regional governor, Vasily Orlov, indicated there were 43 passengers—including five children—and six crew members on board. However, the federal emergencies ministry cited a slightly lower figure, estimating around 40 people on the flight.
Video footage, unverified but circulating on social media, showed wreckage scattered in dense forest. Emergency crews said debris was located roughly 15 kilometers from Tynda.
The plane, with a tail number indicating it was built in 1976, was nearing five decades in age. Russia’s civil aviation agency and investigative authorities have launched a formal probe into the cause of the crash.
As night fell, emergency personnel were still en route to the crash site, navigating challenging terrain in hopes of reaching the wreckage.
