Air traffic controllers lost contact with an An-24 passenger plane on Thursday while it was carrying about 50 people in Russia's Far East. A large-scale search operation is underway, the regional governor said, quoted by Reuters, BTA reports.
According to the local Emergencies Ministry, the plane, operated by the Siberian airline “Angara“, disappeared from radar while approaching its final destination, the city of Tynda in the Amur region, which borders China.
Regional governor Vasily Orlov said that according to preliminary data, there were 43 passengers on board, including five children, and six members of the crew.
“All necessary forces and resources are deployed to search for the plane“, Orlov wrote on his Telegram profile.
However, the Ministry of Emergency Situations specifies that the number of passengers may be slightly lower, around 40 people.