News Flash

11 out of 15 killed in Russian jet crash

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-08-03 03:14

MOSCOW- An An-24 passenger jet crashed in Russia's Krasnoyarsk territory on Monday killing 11 out of 15 people aboard the plane, news agencies reported.

"An An-24 plane on a flight from Krasnoyarsk to Igarka crashed at 9:40 pm Moscow time (1740 GMT) 700 meters from the landing strip near the airport in the town of Igarka when approaching for a landing," said Irina Andrianova, spokeswoman for the ministry.

There were four crew members and 11 passengers on the aircraft, including one child.

According to Olesya Kukuyeva, a spokeswoman for the Siberian branch of the emergencies ministry, only the four crew members survived the plane crash in East Siberia and were hospitalized. One of them was in intensive care with critical conditions.

All the 11 passengers including the child were believed to have died, she said.

However, Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency said three of the survivors were crew members, and the fourth was a passenger.

At the time of the crash it was raining, and the north wind was four meters per second, said news agencies.

Andrianova earlier said citing preliminary information that seven out of 15 people died in the crash in the East Siberia region.

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The fire at the crash site has been extinguished, while a search for the black box of the aircraft was underway. A criminal investigation into the incident has also been launched, with investigators working at the scene.

According to the Federal Air Transport Agency, the plane with a registration number of RA46524 was landing in adverse weather conditions, and maintained minimum contact with airfield in the city of Igarka.

"Before landing, the plane veered to the right of its landing course and collided with the ground in front of the runway," said the agency.

Earlier reports said all 15 people aboard the plane, including five crew members and 10 passengers, died in the crash.

The crashed air plane belonged to Katekavia company, which has been operating short-distance flights in the region for 14 years. However, since 2009 the company merely conveyed 122 passengers in total, said the RIA Novosti news agency.