A passenger plane carrying 49 people has crashed in a remote area of Russia, with no immediate signs of survivors. The aircraft, a twin-propeller Antonov-24 operated by Angara Airlines, was headed to the eastern town of Tynda from the city of Blagoveshchensk on Thursday when it disappeared from radar at around 1pm local time (5am BST).

Marina Avalyan asked to be allowed off the Angara Airlines flight moments before takeoff after receiving a call from her family

Almost 50 people including children are feared dead after a Soviet-era passenger plane crashed in Russia’s far eastern Amur region, state media reported on Thursday, citing local officials.