Five killed as Russian plane makes emergency landing

July 11th, 2011 - 9:36 pm ICT by IANS  

Moscow, July 11 (IANS) At least five people were killed when a Russian plane with 37 passsengers and crew onboard made an emergency landing on a river in Siberia Monday, officials said.

Two passengers were still unaccounted for, Xinhua reported citing the Itar-Tass news agency.

Emergencies Situation Minister Sergei Shoigu said there were 33 passengers, including one child, and four crew members on the An-24 aircraft.

The plane landed on the Ob river around 0500 GMT after a fire was detected in one of the engines. The report said the plane “partially disintegrated” during the landing.

Yaroslava Karpenko, an official with the regional civil defence department, told Interfax news agency that 30 people were injured and four of them were in grave condition.

The plane was on its way from Tomsk to Surgut.

After the accident, President Dmitry Medvedev met Minister Shoigu and ordered the grounding of all An-24 aircraft over safety concerns.

“Everything I said about Tupolev-134 planes must be applied equally to An-24s,” Medvedev said.

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