All 49 feared dead as Russian passenger plane crashes in Amur region

Tragedy struck eastern Russia as a passenger aircraft carrying 49 people, including six crew members and five children, crashed near the town of Tynda, close to the Chinese border in the Amur region, on Thursday, July 24.

The ill-fated flight, operated by Angara Airlines, based in Siberia, reportedly disappeared from radar during its final approach to the Tynda airstrip. Local officials fear that there are no survivors.

According to Amur Regional Governor Vasily Orlov, the Antonov An-24 twin-turboprop aircraft was en route to Tynda when it encountered poor visibility conditions during landing, believed to have contributed to a fatal crew error.

Russia’s Ministry of Emergency Situations confirmed that an Mi-8 rescue helicopter operated by Rosaviatsiya, the country’s civil aviation authority, located the burning fuselage of the plane 16 kilometres from Tynda, on a rugged mountainside.

Initial aerial assessments revealed no signs of life at the crash site, authorities said. The rescue effort now focuses on recovering remains and collecting evidence from the scene.

A total of 25 personnel and five units of equipment have been deployed to the area. In addition, four aircraft with fully staffed crews are on standby to support ongoing operations, the region’s civil defence agency added.

The aircraft involved in the crash was an Antonov An-24, a twin-engine model developed in the 1950s, still widely used across Russia for both passenger and cargo transport. Over 1,000 units of this model have been produced.

The incident raises fresh concerns over the continued reliance on aging Soviet-era aircraft in challenging weather and terrain conditions, particularly in remote regions of Russia.

Authorities have launched a full investigation into the cause of the crash.