RUSSIAN PLANE CARRYING 71 PEOPLE CRASHES NEAR MOSCOW

Russia's transport ministry says several causes for the Saratov Airlines plane crash are being considered, including weather conditions and human error, as a probe into the incident went under way.

A Russian passenger plane, operated by Saratov Airlines and carrying 71 people, 65 passengers and 6 crew members, crashed outside Moscow on Sunday after taking off from the capital's Domodedovo airport, Russian media reported.

News agencies said witnesses in the village of Argunovo saw a burning plane falling from the sky.

A source from Russia's emergency services told Interfax that the 71 people on board "had no chance" of survival.

The same news agency reported that the wreckage of the plane was spread over a wide area around the crash site.

Russian state television aired a video of the crash site, showing parts of the wreckage in the snow. Russia has seen record high snowfalls in recent days and visibility was reportedly poor.

The Russian-made plane was 7 years-old and bought by Saratov Airlines from another Russian airline a year ago.

Russian media reported that the emergency services were unable to reach the crash site by road and that rescue workers walked to the scene on foot.

Saratov Airlines flight #6W703 from Moscow to Orsk is missing according to reports in mediahttps://t.co/76IcETh6on pic.twitter.com/5a9TwnJJXQ

— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) February 11, 2018

Emergency services said in a statement that over 150 rescue workers were deployed to the site.

A source at Domodedovo, Moscow's second largest airport, told agencies that the plane disappeared from radars within two minutes of take off.

Russian President Vladimir Putin offered condolences and ordered an inquiry into the incident.

The Saratov Airlines jet, which went off the radar earlier on Sunday, has been located in the countryside not far away from Moscow, a source in the local rescue services told RIA Novosti. Meanwhile, rescue teams are approaching the crash site on foot as they were unable to get there in their vehicles.

We are investigating media reports about an aircraft crash in Russia.

— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) February 11, 2018

Preliminary reports say the Antonov An-148, a narrow-body regional airliner, was reportedly carrying 65 passengers and six crew. According to the emergency services, there is no chance of finding survivors.

The Investigative Committee, which launched a criminal probe into the incident, has also sent forensic teams to the crash site. Transportation Minister Maxim Sokolov is also on his way to the area, Russian media report.

The Russian transport minister was on his way to the crash site, agencies reported. The transport ministry said several causes for the crash are being considered, including weather conditions and human error.

The governor of the Orenburg region, where the plane was flying to, told Russian media that "more than 60 people" onboard the plane were from the region.

Prosecutors opened an investigation into Saratov Airlines following the crash.

Plane crashes are common in Russia, where airlines often operate ageing aircraft in testing flying conditions.

A light aircraft crashed in November in Russia's far east, killing six people on board.

In December 2016 a military plane carrying Russia's famed Red Army Choir crashed after taking off from the Black Sea resort of Sochi, killing all 92 people on board.

The choir had been due to give a concert to Russian troops operating in Syria.

Pilot error was blamed for that crash.But the crash might have been caused by weather conditions, human error or technical failure, according to TASS citing an emergency source. The source added that there were no extreme weather conditions in the Moscow region at that time.

In March 2016, all 62 passengers died when a FlyDubia jet crashed in bad weather during an aborted landing at Rostov-on-Don airport.

Source: TRT World