11 killed in cargo plane crash in Russia's Far East
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Xinhua, August 9, 2011
A cargo plane crashed Tuesday in Russia's Far East, killing all the 11 people aboard, said local officials.
Regional Transport prosecutor's office said in a statement on its website that the wreckage of the An-12 plane were found 200 km from Omsukchan village in the Magadan region.
"Preliminary information showed that nine crew members and two passengers onboard were all dead," the statement said.
Earlier, local authorities told reporters the An-12 plane, en route from Magadan to Chukotka, disappeared from radars at 7:34 a.m. Moscow time (0334 GMT) some 300 km from its take-off point.
They added that the plane, also carrying 16 tons of food, disappeared on radar screens shortly after reporting a fuel leak and a fire in right engine.
The Magadan branch of the emergency ministry said poor weather conditions thwarted a rescue operation for several hours.
The Russian Investigation Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin said a probe into the accident has been launched.
Markin said investigators will probe into possible violations of flight regulations and pre-flight preparation procedures.
The An-12 had been leased to a private airline company Avis-Amur.
Another An-24 plane made a hard landing and lost one of its wings Monday as it missed the runway in a Far Eastern airport, injuring some 15 people.
