Russian rescue officials on Tuesday said that no survivors were found after a plane with 28 passengers on-board crashed in the country’s far eastern region earlier in the day, according to agency news reports. Also, the search for rescuers was halted owing to the onset of darkness, the AFP reported, citing unnamed sources from the Russian ministry of emergency situations.
Meanwhile, search teams have retrieved some parts of the crashed plane. Governor of Kamchatka Vladimir Solodov said that parts of the fuselage have been found along the coast and in the Okhotsk sea.
“There was a catastrophe during the go-around approach for landing,” AFP quoted Solodov as saying in a video released on the government website. He further said that no signs of the passengers or their luggage could be found, AFP said, citing a report by Interfax news agency.
The crash site has been located about four to five kms from the air strip, the TASS news agency reported citing the Federal Agency for Air Transport.
The discovery location is about 4 to 5 kilometres away from the airstrip towards the coast. Rescue teams have discovered the wreckage. Considering the geographical features of the location, the rescue operations are complicated. The search group has commenced the rescue endeavour. The mission involves 26 rescuers and an all-purpose vehicle,” TASS quoted the agency as saying.
According to the Russian ministry of emergency situations, the twin-engined turboprop Antonov An-26 lost contact with the air traffic control when it was en route from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, the regional capital, to Palana. Adventure tourists throng the vast Kamchatka peninsula in the country’s far eastern region known for its abundant wildlife and active volcanoes. The plane had 22 tourists and six crew members, according to the ministry.
The mayor of Palana, Olga Mokhireva, was also among the passengers, according to a report by the TASS news agency.