A passenger plane with at least 28 people on board that went missing over Kamchatka in Russia has crashed into the sea

The plane with 28 people on board crashed into the sea off Russia’s far eastern Kamchatka peninsula as it was preparing to land according to RIA news agency.

The plane, an Antonov An-26 twin-engined turboprop, was en route from regional capital Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky to Palana, a village in northern Kamchatka, when it lost contact with air traffic control, Russia’s emergencies ministry said.

Several ships were en route to the crash site, RIA cited emergency services as saying.

There were 22 passengers and six crew on board, the ministry said. Village mayor Olga Mokhireva was among the passengers, the TASS agency quoted local authorities as saying.

Local media report that all crew and passengers have died in the crash.

Earlier Reports:

A Russian AN-26 airplane with at least 28 people on board has gone missing in Kamchatka peninsula in Russia’s far east.

News agencies are cited reports from local authorities.

The plane was flying from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky to Palana in the Kamchatka Peninsula when it did not make a scheduled call-in.

The plane lost contact with air traffic control while attempting to land.

There were conflicting reports of what may have happened, with one source telling TASS News the plane could have crashed into the sea and another telling Interfax it may have gone down near a coal mine close to the town of Palana.