Lost Contact, Russian Airline Plane Allegedly Crashed Into The Sea In Kamchatka

Ilustrasi pesawat An-26 Kamchatka Aviation Enterprise (Wikimedia Commons/Dmitriy Pichugin)

JAKARTA - An Antonov An-26 twin-engine turboprop aircraft belonging to Kamchatka Aviation Enterprise that lost contact is suspected to have crashed into the sea off the far eastern coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia, Tuesday, July 6 local time.

The plane was en route from the regional capital Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky to Palama, a village in northern Kamchatka, when it lost contact with the flight control tower, the Russian Emergencies Ministry said.

Several ships were on their way to the crash site, RIA said, citing emergency services. There were a total of 22 passengers and six crew on the plane.

TASS said one of the victims on the flight, Palama Mayor Olga Mokhireva, was among the passengers on the plane who crashed.

Meanwhile, the weather in the area was cloudy at the time of the accident, the Interfax News Agency said, citing the local meteorological center.

Earlier, an Antonov An-26 plane had disappeared from radar in Russia's Kamchatka region, a spokesman for the main regional branch of the Russian Emergencies Ministry told TASS.

"An An-26 plane has disappeared from radar. We are trying to find out what happened", the spokesman said.

Emergency agencies have determined the possible crash site of the missing Antonov An-26 in Russia's Kamchatka Region, an emergency source said.

"The area has been determined to be about 15-25 kilometers from the airport, along the coastline. Searches are also being carried out at sea. Objective data indicate that the plane crashed into the sea", the source added.

It is known, the aircraft has been operating since October 20, 1982, with the certificate of airworthiness expiring on August 30, 2021.