Nine found dead in Siberian plane wreckage

14/01/2005 - 08:05:34
Rescue workers today found the wreckage of a small plane that went missing in Siberia, and all nine people aboard were confirmed dead, the Emergency Situations Ministry said.

The An-2 plane, carrying a crew of two and seven passengers, was reported missing yesterday shortly before its scheduled landing in the town of Tura in the Evenkiya region of central Siberia. It crashed into a mountain on its approach to the airport, said a duty officer in the Siberian regional branch of the ministry.

The plane, which was travelling from the town of Vanavara, was carrying regional government officials, including the deputy governor of Evenkiya, the duty officer said.

The An-2, a small biplane designed in the 1940s, is still used widely on short-range flights around Russia.