Plane carrying 49 people crashes after vanishing from radar

BREAKING

The Antonov An-24 aircraft, operated by Siberia-based Angara airline, went missing in the far eastern region of Amur, as per reports from Russia.

Emergency services are reported to have said: “The An-24 plane was flying along the Khabarovsk-Blagoveshchensk-Tynda route. It failed to pass security checks near its final destination. There is no contact with it."

Sky News have reported that there were no survivors with Russian news putting the crash down to an error during landing in poor visibility as a reason for the crash in the eastern part of the Amur region.

The plane is said to be around 50 years old, being built in 1976 according to the plane's registration.

Regional governor Vasily Orlov said there were 43 passengers, including five children and six crew members, travelling on the plane.

He wrote on Telegram: "All necessary forces and means have been deployed to search for the plane."

Other reports have given different figures.

It was reported that the plane disappeared during a second landing attempt following a first failed approach at Tynda airport.

Tynda is located approximately 6,600km east of Moscow.

The An-24 is a Ukrainian/Russian built Soviet-era small turbo-prop plane which has been flying since the 1960.

Many small airlines in Russia still use such old planes due to the cost of purchasing newer ones as well as the restrictions currently imposed on the country making it difficult to maintain or buy new jets with foreign components.

According to available information, the aircraft has had 159 accidents in its 60-year lifespan.