ST. PETERSBURG, March 16 (RIA Novosti) - An An-24 plane with some 50 people on board crashed during landing in the Nenets autonomous area (European Russia's north, the Barents Sea coast), a spokesman for the Northwestern regional center of the Russian Emergencies Ministry told RIA Novosti.
"At 13.43 the An-24 disappeared from radars near the village of Varandei. At 13.53 the plane fell on the left wing and caught fire during landing," the spokesman said.
"There were supposedly 45 people on board and about four crew members," he added.
The An-24 plane bound from Usinsk to Varandei was carrying oilmen.
A Mi-8 helicopter with 9 rescuers on board left Naryan Mar (the administrative center of the autonomous area) at 14.36 Moscow time.
According to the latest data, 15-17 people who were on board the crashed An-24 have been delivered to the Varandei settlement.
There are no data about other people on board the plane yet, said an Emergencies Ministry representative in the autonomy.
