Moscow: Emergency teams have located the burning fuselage of the aircraft in a mountainous area after it disappeared from radar on Thursday.

Russia’s emergencies ministry confirmed the discovery, stating on Telegram, “An Mi-8 helicopter operated by Rosaviatsiya (Russia’s civil aviation authority) has spotted the burning fuselage of the aircraft.”

The Angara Airlines flight was enroute from Blagoveshchensk, near the Chinese border, to the town of Tynda when it lost contact with air traffic controllers. Official sources indicated the An-24 “failed to make contact at a designated checkpoint just a few kilometers from Tynda Airport.”

Amur region governor Vasily Orlov had earlier confirmed the number of people on board and noted that “All necessary forces and means have been deployed to search for the plane.”