A passenger plane with 49 people on board has crashed in a remote area of Russia’s Amur region, with authorities reporting no immediate signs of survivors.
The twin-propeller Antonov-24, operated by Angara Airlines, was en route from the city of Blagoveshchensk to the town of Tynda when it disappeared from radar around 1:00 pm local time (0400 GMT) on Thursday.
According to France24, a rescue helicopter later located the aircraft’s burning fuselage on a forested mountain slope approximately 16 kilometres from Tynda.
Videos released by Russian investigators showed thick columns of smoke rising from the wreckage deep within the forest.
Rescuers aboard the helicopter reported no evidence of survivors.
✈️? Passenger plane crashes in Russia’s Amur region — over 40 people on board
A Soviet-made Antonov An-24 aircraft operated by Angara Airlines disappeared from radar near the town of Tynda while attempting a second landing approach. Emergency crews later found the burning… pic.twitter.com/MOO08NTbEP
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) July 24, 2025
“At the moment, 25 people and five units of equipment have been dispatched, and four aircraft with crews are on standby,” the Amur region’s civil defence agency said.
The rugged forest terrain has complicated access to the crash site. “The main search operations are being conducted from the air,” a rescuer told Russia’s state-run TASS news agency.
Angara Airlines, a small regional airline based in Irkutsk, has not issued a public statement.
The regional governor, Vassily Orlov, said 43 passengers and six crew were aboard the aircraft, including five children.
However, emergency services cited by TASS reported the number of passengers as 40.
Russia’s Far Eastern Transport Prosecutor’s Office said the crash occurred as the aircraft attempted a second approach to land at Tynda Airport.
“While approaching Tynda Airport, the aircraft went around for a second landing, after which contact was lost,” it said. “The circumstances are being investigated.”
TASS also reported that the plane, built nearly 50 years ago, had its airworthiness certificate extended until 2036.
The Antonov-24, a Soviet-era design, first entered service in 1959 and remains in use in Russia’s remote regions.