Russian passenger plane with 47 on board goes missing in Amur Region, search ops underway

Moscow: A twin turboprop Antonov An-24 passenger plane carrying 47 people, including five children, went missing on Thursday during a flight over Russia's Far Eastern Amur Region, Russia Today reported.

The aircraft was en route from Blagoveshchensk to Tynda, a 570-kilometre journey, when it lost contact with air traffic control shortly before reaching its destination.

Amur Region Governor Vasily Orlov confirmed that 43 passengers and four crew members were aboard the missing flight. Emergency services said the aircraft went off radar just a few kilometres away from Tynda.

A search and rescue operation has been launched, but authorities say the taiga-dense boreal forest covering much of the area is making the effort challenging, according to Russia Today.

The Antonov An-24, developed in the 1950s, is widely used in Russia for both cargo and passenger transport. More than 1,000 units of the aircraft were produced.

As of now, there are no confirmed reports of wreckage or survivors.