28 killed in Russian plane crash

At least 28 people were killed today when a Russian airliner crashed.

The An-24 two-engine aircraft crashed and caught fire while trying to land at an airport near the oil port of Varandei on Russia’s Arctic coast in the Nenets autonomous region.

There were 45 passengers and four crew members on board, Timur Khikmatov, a spokesman for Russia’s Transport Ministry. Officials said at least 17 people survived the crash.

The plane was flying from the city of Ufa in southern Siberia.

A spokesman for the local branch of Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry said in a telephone interview that 17 to 23 people on board survived the crash, and some of them contacted the authorities on a satellite phone.