19 bodies are found at crash site where Russian passenger plane smashed into a clifftop, killing all 28 on board
- Antonov An-26 plane flying from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky to Palana in Russia's far east dropped out of radio contact around 3pm Tuesday
- Search teams found wreck strewn along coastal cliffs 10 miles south of Palana
- It is thought the plane hit the top of a hill in low-lying cloud and broke apart
- All 22 passengers and six crew on board were killed according to rescue teams
A total of 19 bodies have been found at the site of a plane crash in eastern Russia that killed everyone on board.
The Antonov An-26 plane, carrying 22 passengers and six crew, had been on its descent into the village of Palana around 3pm Tuesday when it suddenly lost radio contact with ground crews.
It is thought the plane, which was operated by Kamchatka Aviation Enterprise, struck the top of the cliff amid low-lying cloud and broke apart.
Divers and rescue teams searching through the wreckage were forced to cope with high waves, strong winds and fog at the crash site, a cliff on the Kamchtka peninsula's western coast in the Sea of Okhotsk.
Sergey Gorb, deputy general director of Kamchatka Aviation Enterprise, denied there were technical problems with the plane.
Divers and rescuers of the Ministry of Emergency Situations have been combing the site where the An-26 plane crashed near Palana
This is the scene of the crash in eastern Russia which is thought to have killed all 28 passengers on board after the aircraft hit a clifftop while coming in for landing
The plane had taken off from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky airport around 1pm and was descending into Palana around 3pm when it suddenly lost radio contact with the ground
Local reports said the plane had been flying 'at full speed' when it slammed into the cliff.
It broke into two parts with the main part of the aircraft falling into the sea.
A search is also underway for flight recorders from the stricken Soviet-built twin-engine turboprop.
Russian president Vladimir Putin has sent his condolences to the bereaved relatives.
Part of the plane's stabiliser was found on top of the cliff, Russian media reported, while sections of its tail were found on rocks that drop down into the Sea of Okhotsk.
Other parts of the wreckage were found floating in the ocean including the plane's radio distress beacon, which is what naval crews tracked to find the crash site.
Maria Shirokova, 22 (right), a passenger aboard the An-26 plane that crashed en-route to Palana, pictured with her husband Oleg Shirokov (left)
Vladimir Sadiev, navigator (left) and Alexander Anisimov, second pilot (right) were aboard the An-26 plane that crashed en-route to Palana
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Several senior officials from Palana village are said to have been on board the flight, including mayor Olga Mokhireva, 42, head of the mobilization department Alexander Andreikin, and his wife Olga Andreikina, who heads the financial department.
The pilot was named as Dmitry Nikiforov, and the co-pilot Alexander Anisimov, 27.
An investigation into the crash is underway, as inspectors say the 39-year-old plane had a certificate of airworthiness and passed pre-flight checks when it took off from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky airport two hours before the crash.
The pilots had not reported any faults during the flight.
Aleksey Khrabrov, the head of Kamchatka Aviation Enterprise, confirmed the wreckage had been found but would not give more details.
Rustem Zavgarov, flight mechanic (left) and Irina Sereda, flight attendant (right) were aboard the An-26 plane that crashed en-route to Palana
Artyom Tischenko, 17, a passenger aboard the An-26 plane that crashed en-route to Palana
A near-identical crash happened on the same section of cliffs back in 2012, when an An-28 plane carrying 14 people from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky to Palana hit treetops on the cliffs in poor visibility and crashed.
Ten people, including both pilots, were killed in the wreck which happened around 10 miles south of Palana.
It was later discovered that both pilots had alcohol in their blood, they had approached the airfield too low and along the wrong flight path, and had given false position readings to ground control crews.
Regional deputy transport minister Anatoly Bannikov, said: '[The plane] was supposed to arrive at the Palana airport at 15:05 (local time).
Residents of Petropavlovsk lit candles and laid flowers in memory of those who died in the plane crash in Palana
Residents of Petropavlovsk lit candles and laid flowers in memory of those who died in the plane crash in Palana
'The plane did not arrive at the appointed time.
'According to updated data, there were 28 people on board... six crew members and 22 passengers, including one child born in 2014.'
Russian prime minister Mikhail Mishustin ordered a special commission to find out what had happened.
A criminal case was also launched into its fate, a normal measure when a plane goes missing or crashes in Russia.
Employees of the Russian Emergencies Ministry conduct a search operation at the crash site of the An-26 passenger aircraft near the village of Palana.
Rescuers say that the wreckage of the plane is strewn across a cliff, beach and in the sea near the village of Palana.
Russia, once notorious for plane accidents, has improved its air traffic safety record in recent years.
But poor aircraft maintenance and lax safety standards still persist, and the country has seen several deadly air accidents in recent years.
The last major air accident took place in May 2019, when a Sukhoi Superjet belonging to the flag carrier airline Aeroflot crash-landed and caught fire on the runway of a Moscow airport, killing 41 people.
In February 2018, a Saratov Airlines An-148 aircraft crashed near Moscow shortly after take-off, killing all 71 people on board. An investigation later concluded that the accident was caused by human error.
Flying in Russia can also be dangerous in the vast country's isolated regions with difficult weather conditions such as the Arctic and the Far East.
The vanished plane was produced in 1982 and was owned by Kamchatka Aviation Enterprise, said local transport officials.
It has a valid certificate of airworthiness, they said.
The Soviet-era workhorse planes are widely used in remote areas of Russia.
In 2012, an An-28 plane crashed near Palana, killing ten.
The pilots were eventually found guilty, as they had alcohol in their blood.
It is thought the An-26 plane (file image) hit the clifftop in low-lying cloud before breaking apart, with parts of the wreck dropping into the sea
