A plane heading from Moscow to Mineralnye Vody landed safely in Volgograd after sending a distress signal, a representative of Russia’s air traffic control services told TASS.

"The plane landed safely at Volgograd’s airport and is now taxiing to the terminal," the person said.

The Airbus A321 airliner had sent a distress signal 90 minutes after takeoff, when it was over the Volgograd Region. The flight then started a rapid descent to land at the Volgograd airport.