Russian emergencies ministry: passenger plane crashes in Siberia, killing at least 11

Plane crash in northern Siberia kills at least 11

MOSCOW — A twin-engine passenger plane crashed early Tuesday near a northern Siberia town, killing at least 11 of the 15 people on board, Russia’s Emergencies Ministry said.

Initial reports indicated that all those aboard the Antonov-24 turboprop were killed. But Russian news agencies later quoted Olesya Kukuyeva, a spokeswoman for the ministry’s Siberian division, as saying that 11 were known dead.

The plane crashed from an altitude of about 700 meters (2,300 feet) as it was approaching the airport of the town of Igarka, above the Arctic Circle, said another ministry spokeswoman, Irinia Andryanova. She said there were four crew members and 11 passengers aboard the plane; An-24s have a capacity of about 45 people.

Igarka is in the sprawling Siberian region of Krasnoyarsk, some 2,500 kilometers (1500 miles) east of Moscow.

Russian news reports said the plane belonged to the small regional airline Katekavia.