Russian Plane Crashes in Arctic With 49 People on Board

March 16 (Bloomberg) -- A Russian airliner crashed in the Arkhangelsk region in the country's Arctic today with 49 passengers and crew aboard, the country's Transport Ministry said, citing ``preliminary'' information.

A total of 23 people survived the crash, Interfax news service reported, citing an unidentified official at the emergency department of Nenetsk district where the crash occurred. The official said authorities received news about survivors by satellite phone and don't have definitive figures.

The crash occurred at 1:57 p.m. Moscow time when the twin-engined AN-24 turboprop plane was landing at Varandei, the Transport Ministry said in an e-mailed statement. The plane was flying from the city of Ufa in central Russia, it said.

The plane fell on its port wing and burst into flames, Interfax said.

Three MI-8 helicopters with rescue teams and doctors flew to the site, and two AN-26 planes are being prepared to go from two nearby cities, the news service reported.

The Emergency Ministry in Moscow declined comment on the crash, saying it had no official information.

To contact the reporter on this story: Maria Ermakova in Moscow at mermakova@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Tim Coulter at tcoulter@bloomberg.net