Nineteen people were killed after an L-410 plane carrying 21 parachutists and two crew members crashed near Menzelinsk in Tatarstan.
“Fire and rescue crews are at the scene, there are 23 people on board, three people have been rescued, search and rescue operations are underway,” Russia’s Emergencies Ministry said in a statement.
Earlier, it was reported that the plane disappeared from the radar and stopped communicating.
The Let L-410 Turbolet is a twin-engine short-range transport aircraft, manufactured by the Czech aircraft manufacturer Let Kunovice (named Aircraft Industries since 2005), often used as an airliner.
The aircraft is capable of landing on short and unpaved runways and operating under extreme conditions from −50 °C (−58 °F) to +50 °C (122 °F). By 2016, 1,200 L-410s had been built, and over 350 are in service in more than 50 countries. (ILKHA)