Russian passenger plane with 71 people on board crashes near Moscow, all dead

A plane operated by Saratov Airlines crashed in the Moscow region on Sunday, likely killing all 71 people on board, Russian news agency reported.

The reports said the plane was an An-148, a regional jet belonging to Saratov Airlines, that had taken off from Domodedovo Airport with 71 people aboard.

"The airplane reportedly crashed outside Argunovo village [in the Moscow region]," a source told Interfax news agency, adding that witnesses in the village of Argunovo saw a burning plane falling from the sky.

A source from Russia's emergency services told Interfax that the 71 people on board "had no chance" of survival. Aa many as 65 passengers and 6 crew were on board, it reported.

The wreckage of the plane was spread over a wide area around the crash site. Russian media reported that the emergency services were unable to reach the crash site by road and that rescue workers walked to the scene on foot.

A source at Domodedovo, Moscow's second largest airport, told agencies that the plane disappeared from radars within two minutes of take off. The Russian transport minister was on his way to the crash site, agencies reported.

The transport ministry said several causes for the crash are being considered, including weather conditions and human error.

OneIndia News