Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday expressed grief over the loss of lives in the tragic plane crash in Russia and offered his condolences to the families of the victims.
In a post on X, PM Modi said, “Deeply saddened at the loss of lives in the tragic plane crash in Russia. Extend our deepest condolences to the families of the victims. We stand in solidarity with Russia and its people.”
His remarks came after a Russian An-24 aircraft, carrying 49 people including five children and six crew members, crashed in the mountainous Amur region on Thursday, killing all on board, according to local media reports.
The ill-fated flight, operated by the Siberia-based Angara Airlines, had departed from Blagoveshchensk and was en route to Tynda, near the Russia-China border, when it lost contact with air traffic controllers shortly before its scheduled landing.
According to Russia’s state news agency TASS, the aircraft reportedly caught fire mid-air and vanished from radar. Rescue helicopters later located the burning wreckage on a remote mountainside, approximately 16 kilometres from Tynda.
Officials from the Amur Centre for Civil Defence and Fire Safety confirmed that “no survivors were found when a Mi-8 search helicopter flew over the crash site.”
“The aircraft caught fire upon crashing,” a spokesperson said. “Rescue operations have been hampered by the extremely difficult terrain, as the crash site lies on a steep, inaccessible slope.”
The region’s dense taiga forests and swampy landscape further complicated rescue efforts.
Notably, the aircraft did not send any distress signals before disappearing, raising concerns over the cause of the incident.
Preliminary reports suggest the An-24 may have been attempting a second approach to land at Tynda Airport when it went off the radar.
A Rosaviatsia aircraft and multiple rescue teams were immediately dispatched after receiving the alert. Investigators from the Far Eastern Transport Prosecutor’s Office have launched a probe into the crash.
The cause of the accident remains unknown. Officials are expected to begin ground-based recovery operations and retrieve the black box once access to the site is possible.
-IANS