Russian cargo plane carrying seven people crashes in Siberia

A Russian cargo plane with seven people on board crash landed in eastern Siberia and caught fire, the emergencies ministry said on Wednesday. The Antonov An-12 aircraft disappeared from radars during its final approach outside the city of Irkutsk, the ministry said on its Telegram channel.

According to preliminary information, the aircraft was carrying seven people and travelling from the city of Yakutsk.

Antonov planes were



manufactured during the Soviet era and are still used throughout the former Soviet Union for civilian and military transport. They have been involved in a number of accidents in recent years.

In September, six people died when an An-26 transport aircraft crashed outside the Far Eastern city of Khabarovsk. And in July an An-26 flying over the Far Eastern Kamchatka peninsula crashed, killing all 28 people on board.