Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry said earlier that it had found the burning fuselage of the Soviet-designed twin turbo prop plane on a hillside south of its planned destination in the town of Tynda, more than 7,000 kilometres (4,350 miles) east of Moscow. The plane, which was operated by the Siberia-based Angara Airlines, had initially departed from Khabarovsk before making its way to Blagoveshchensk on the Russian-Chinese border and onwards to Tynda. It wasn't immediately clear what caused the crash. Russia's Interfax news agency said there were adverse weather conditions at the time of the crash, citing unnamed sources in the emergency services. Several Russian news outlets also reported that the aircraft was almost 50 years old, citing data taken from the plane's tail number.

Images of the reported crash site circulated by Russian state media show debris scattered among dense forest, surrounded by plumes of smoke. Regional Governor Vasily Orlov said rescuers struggled to reach the site due to its remote location, 15 kilometres (9 miles) south of Tynda. The transport prosecutor's office in the Far East said in an online statement that the plane was attempting to land for a second time when it lost contact with air traffic control and disappeared from radars. (Jamaica Gleaner)