A twin-propeller Antonov-24 passenger aircraft operated by Angara Airlines crashed Thursday in a remote forested area near the town of Tynda in Russia’s Far Eastern Amur region, with authorities reporting no immediate signs of survivors among the 49 people on board.

The aircraft, which was en route from Blagoveshchensk to Tynda, was carrying 43 passengers — including five children — and six crew members. According to Russian officials, the plane disappeared from radar around 1:00 p.m. local time (0400 GMT) while attempting a second approach to land at Tynda Airport.

Shortly afterward, a rescue helicopter located the burning wreckage on a densely forested mountain slope approximately 16 kilometers (10 miles) from Tynda. Video footage released by Russian investigators shows thick smoke rising from the crash site deep in the woodland.

Local rescue teams reported no signs of survivors observed from the air. Search and recovery efforts are ongoing, but access to the site has been hampered by the rugged forest terrain. The Amur regional civil defense agency has dispatched a ground team to the location, consisting of 25 personnel and five units of equipment, while four aircraft and crews remain on standby.

“The forest terrain has made getting to the site difficult,” one rescuer told Russia’s state-run TASS news agency. “Most of the search is being conducted by air for now.”

The Far Eastern Transport Prosecutor’s Office confirmed that the aircraft lost contact after its second landing attempt and stated that a full investigation is underway. No preliminary cause has yet been given for the crash.

Angara Airlines, a regional carrier based in Irkutsk, has not yet issued an official statement on the incident.

There are discrepancies in the reported number of people on board: while the TASS news agency, citing emergency services, reported 40 passengers and six crew, Amur regional governor Vassily Orlov later confirmed 43 passengers were aboard the flight.

The Antonov-24 is a Soviet-era aircraft that first entered service in 1959. According to TASS, the crashed aircraft was nearly 50 years old but had recently received an airworthiness certificate extension valid through 2036. Despite Russia's efforts to modernize its aviation sector and phase out aging Soviet-era planes, models like the Antonov-24 remain in service, particularly in remote and rugged regions where aviation infrastructure is limited.

Thursday’s crash has reignited concerns over the continued use of decades-old aircraft in Russia’s far-flung regions. As investigators work to determine the cause, the tragedy serves as a grim reminder of the challenges faced by regional air travel across vast, sparsely populated territories. (ILKHA)