All passengers and crew aboard the An-24 aircraft that crashed in the Amur Region are presumed dead, preliminary reports from emergency services indicate.

"Initial information indicates there are no survivors. Rescue helicopters have been unable to land at the crash site due to the challenging mountainous terrain. The area remains engulfed in flames," a source told TASS.

Emergency response services indicated that the aircraft was carrying 40 passengers, including two children, along with six crew members. In turn, the Governor of the Amur Region Vasily Orlov stated that there were 43 passengers (including five children) and six crew members on board.

The An-24 aircraft operated by Angara Airlines (Irkutsk) lost contact with air traffic control today at approximately 1 p.m. local time (4 a.m. GMT) while performing flight Khabarovsk-Blagoveshchensk-Tynda. During the landing approach to Tynda Airport, the plane initiated a go-around procedure, after which contact was lost.