Russian plane with 49 aboard found in flames after disappearing from radar over Far East

Russian rescuers have found the fuselage of an Antonov-24 passenger plane that disappeared from radar earlier in Russia’s far east, the emergencies ministry said Thursday.

“An Mi-8 helicopter operated by Rosaviatsiya (Russia’s civil aviation authority) has spotted the burning fuselage of the aircraft,” Russia’s emergencies ministry said on Telegram.

The plane carrying 49 people disappeared from radar over Russia’s Far Eastern Amur region, local officials said Thursday.Forty-three passengers, including five children, as well as six crew members were on board the flight from the city of Blagoveshchensk on the Russian-Chinese border to the town of Tynda, regional Gov. Vasily Orlov said.

According to Reuters, the local emergencies ministry said the plane, operated by a Siberia-based airline called Angara, dropped off radar screens while approaching its destination Tynda.