Plane carrying 49 crashes in Russia's far east, say authorities

MOSCOW - A passenger plane carrying 49 people crashed in Russia's far eastern region of Amur on Thursday, authorities said.

The aircraft, a twin-engine Antonov-24 operated by Angara Airlines, was headed to the town of Tynda from the city of Blagoveshchensk when it disappeared from radar, regional governor Vassily Orlov said on Telegram.

A rescue helicopter later spotted the burning fuselage of the plane on a mountainside about 16 kilometres (10 miles) from Tynda.

The helicopter saw no evidence of survivors from above, local rescuers said.

The Amur region's civil defence agency said it was dispatching rescuers to the scene.

"At the moment, 25 people and five units of equipment have been dispatched, and four aircraft with crews are on standby," it said.