48 people die in passenger plane crash in Russia's far east, officials say

Moscow: Forty-eight people have died in a plane crash in Russia's Far East, the head of the country's Amur region said in a statement Thursday.

The An-24 passenger plane disappeared from radar as it travelled from the city of Blagoveshchensk on the Russian-Chinese border to the town of Tynda. Rescuers later found the aircraft's burning wreckage amid dense forests on a hillside south of its planned destination.

Regional Gov Vasily Orlov said that all passengers and crew on board the aircraft were killed in the crash. He also announced three days of mourning.