Russian plane with nearly 50 on board crashes in eastern Amur region

A Russian passenger plane carrying 49 people, including six crew members, crashed in the eastern Amur region on Thursday, Reuters reported, citing local media reports.

people on board are feared dead, Russian news agency TASS said, citing preliminary data.

The plane, operated by a Siberia-based airline called Angara, dropped off radar screens while approaching its destination of Tynda, a town in the Amur region bordering China.

Regional governor Vasily Orlov said that, according to preliminary data, 43 passengers, including five children and six crew members, were on board.

Russia's emergencies ministry said that the debris of the passenger plane was located by a rescue helicopter.

According to AFP, the rescue helicopter spotted the burning fuselage on a mountainside about 16 kilometres from Tynda. The helicopter saw no evidence of survivors from above, local rescuers said.