An-24 crash lands in Buryatia, pilots killed, 19 people in hospital

MOSCOW, Jun 27 (PRIME) -- An An-24 passenger aircraft of Russia’s Angara Airlines made an emergency landing at the airport of Nizhneangarsk in the republic of Buryatia, with two pilots killed and 19 more people hospitalized, Alexei Fishev, press secretary of the republic’s head, told reporters on Thursday.

The An-24 plane, which was en route from Ulan-Ude to Irkutsk via Nizhneangarsk, landed at 10:20 a.m. local time in Nizhneangarsk and went outside the runway and subsequently caught fire.

The Interstate Aviation Committee and the Federal Air Transport Agency will take part in investigating the emergency landing.

The Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case over violations of flight safety rules.

The Federal Service for Transport Supervision said it will check Angara Airlines after the incident.

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