A total of 171 passengers and crew, including 39 children, were believed to have been on board the Tu-154, which was flying from the Russian resort of Anapa on the Black Sea to St. Petersburg, Russia's second city. Its flight path took it over Ukraine, where it came down 45 kilometers (30 miles) north of the city of Donetsk in stormy weather.
So far 30 bodies have been recovered, but Ukrainian emergencies services also said a blaze at the crash site in eastern Ukraine was hampering recovery efforts.
"Information about the number of the fatalities remains to be specified as Ukrainian rescuers are currently finishing extinguishing the fire," the source said, adding that rescuers were also pulling bodies from the plane.
Heavy rain and thunderstorm are complicating the work of rescue helicopters, the Ukrainian emergencies services said.
The Ukraine Emergency Situations Ministry said the pilot had asked to make an emergency landing before the crash. Russian television's Channel One said citing Ukrainian sources that the plane had caught fire at an altitude of about 33,000 feet (10,000 meters) and the crew had decided to make an emergency landing after sending an SOS signal.
