Russian plane with nearly 50 onboard goes missing near China border

A passenger plane carrying nearly 50 people vanished from radar on Thursday while approaching the remote eastern Russian town of Tynda, prompting a large-scale search effort, officials said.

The aircraft, an An-24 operated by Siberia-based Angara Airlines, was en route to Tynda in the Amur region, close to Russia’s border with China, when it suddenly lost radio contact with air traffic controllers.

According to regional governor Vasily Orlov, “All necessary forces and means have been deployed to search for the plane.” In a post on Telegram, Orlov said preliminary information indicated that 43 passengers, including five children, and six crew members were onboard.

The local emergencies ministry provided a slightly lower figure, estimating around 40 people were on the aircraft.

Authorities have not yet confirmed whether the aircraft issued any distress signal before disappearing. As of now, there is no word on the fate of the passengers or crew.

The An-24 is a Soviet-era twin turboprop aircraft still used in parts of Russia for regional flights, particularly in difficult terrain and weather conditions.

(With Reuters inputs)