Passenger plane with 49 onboard crashes in Russia's far east

A passenger plane carrying 49 people crashed in Russia's far eastern region of Amur, authorities said.

The aircraft, a twin-engine Antonov-24 operated by Angara Airlines, was headed to the town of Tynda from the city of Blagoveshchensk when it disappeared from radar at 1pm local time, regional governor Vassily Orlov said.

A rescue helicopter later spotted the burning fuselage of the plane on a mountainside about 16 kilometres from Tynda.

The helicopter saw no evidence of survivors from above, local rescuers said.

The Amur region's civil defence agency said it was dispatching rescuers to the scene.

\"At the moment, 25 people and five units of equipment have been dispatched, and four aircraft with crews are on standby,\" it said.

The forest terrain has made getting to the site difficult, a rescuer told the state TASS news agency.

\"The main search operations are being conducted from the air,\" they said.

Angara Airlines, a small regional carrier based in the Russian city of Irkutsk, made no immediate public comment.

The plane crashed while attempting a second approach to Tynda airport, Russia's Far Eastern Transport Prosecutor's Office said.

\"While approaching Tynda Airport, the aircraft went around for a second landing, after which contact was lost,\" it said.

\"The circumstances are being investigated,\" it said. It did not make any immediate comment on what caused the crash.

The state TASS news agency reported that the plane was manufactured almost 50 years ago.

\"In 2021, the aircraft's airworthiness certificate was extended until 2036,\" it reported, citing a source in aviation services.

AFP was not able to immediately verify this information.

The Antonov-24 is a popular, Soviet-designed twin-propeller plane that first entered into service in 1959.

Russia has taken steps to switch from Soviet aircraft to modern jets in recent years, but ageing light aircraft are still widely used in far-flung regions, with accidents frequent.

According to the source: RTE.ie.