Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported that a passenger plane carrying 28 people crashed into the ocean off the Kamchatka peninsula, Russia’s far East on Tuesday.
According to transport and emergency officials, the plane was a Russian-built Antonov An-26 twin-engined turboprop. It was flying from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, the regional capital, to Palana in Kamchatka’s northern.
According to Russia’s emergency ministry, there were 22 passengers on board and six crew members. Alexander Zabolichenko (deputy chairman of the Kamchatka government), said that two passengers were children younger than 12.
Rescue operations are in progress. RIA reported that several ships were dispatched to search for the plane.
“Rescue troops will move from Palana towards the aircraft’s detection points,” said the regional government in an official statement to Sputnik.
A probe has been initiated into the safety compliance of this plane. Kamchatka transport prosecutor said that if violations are found, prosecution response measures would be taken,” Russian state news agency TASS reported.
According to TASS, the weather conditions were cloudy and foggy at that time. The crash could have been caused by a piloting error in poor vision, citing an emergency service source.
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