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All 49 passengers and crew aboard an Antonov A-24 flying from Khabarovsk via Blagoveshchensk to Tynda in Russia's Far East are believed to have perished when their plane crashed in bad weather, authorities announced on Thursday.
Helicopter images of the crash site show scattered and burning wreckage, suggesting no survivors. The helicopter could not land due to the moor and taiga terrain, with rescue workers struggling to reach the scene about 15 kilometers from Tynda, a small town in the Amur region.
The An-24 is one of the oldest passenger planes still operating, with production starting in 1962. Nearly 60 of over 1,300 built up to 1979 remain in service, mostly in Russia but also in Kazakhstan, North Korea, and Ukraine. The aircraft involved was nearly 50 years old with its operating license extended to 2036.
