Emergency Rescue Continues at Russia Plane Crash Site

Emergency work continues at the site of a plane crash in northern Russia which killed at least 44 people and left eight survivors badly hurt

The Soviet Tu-134 passenger jet slammed into the ground and caught fire while trying to land during fog on Monday evening.

The plane hit a power line, scraped the treetops, and crashed into a motorway some 700 meters short of the airport runway.

A car on the road was dragged under the fuselage, though it’s not clear how many people were inside.

The plane had a crew of nine, and the Emergency Situations Ministry said the 43 passengers included two Ukranians, a Swede, a Dutch national, and four people with dual Russian-U.S. citizenship.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said pilot error was the most likely cause of the crash.

He said it resembled the crash last year in Russia in which Polish President Lech Kaczynski was killed.

The private company operating the flight, which specialises in charter flights, has so far declined to comment on the accident.

The aircraft’s black boxes have been recovered.

Foto: NTD