A Russian plane has crashed into the sea with 28 people on board after vanishing from radar.
The twin-engine Antonov An-2 aircraft disappeared on Tuesday (July 6) over the country's Kamchatka peninsula, CNN reports.
Rescue teams have now been deployed to the stricken plane after it was discovered in the sea.
The plane was flying from the regional capital Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky to the village of Palana, the emergencies ministry confirmed, before contact was lost.
Per ITV News, the plane was carrying six crew members and 22 passengers on board, one of which was reportedly the head of Palana village administration, 42-year-old Olga Mokhireva.
A report stated that the 39-year-old turboprop Antonov got into trouble as it attempted to land, and when contact was lost, the Russian Pacific Fleet, a plane, and two helicopters were called in to search for it.
A local meteorology center reported that the area's weather was cloudy.
Prior to the plane being discovered in the sea, a spokesman for the ministry said: "An An-2 plane has disappeared from radar. We are trying to figure out what happened."
According to News.com.au, the plane was just nine kilometers (5.5 miles) from Palana's airport when it disappeared.
"There is objective evidence that the plane crashed and fell into the sea," a source told Russian news agency TASS.
The Kamchatka Peninsula is a vast area with a small population that is surrounded by the Sea of Okhotsk to the west and the Pacific Ocean to the east, as per The Sun.
Pictured below are rock towers that can be seen in the area:
Despite the volcanic peninsula currently being ravaged by wildfires, visibility on the plane's route was reportedly good.
Per The Sun, an emergencies official said: "The duty shift of the crisis management center of the Russian Emergencies Ministry's Main Directorate in Kamchatka region received information that the An-26 aircraft, on a passenger flight from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky to Palana, did not get in touch at the specified time."
Regional deputy transport minister Anatoly Bannikov added: "It was supposed to arrive at the Palana airport at 15:05 (local time). 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."
The Sun reports that the plane's pilot was Dmitry Nikiforov and his co-pilot was Alexander Anisimov, 27.
A special commission to ascertain what happened to the plane has now been ordered by the Russian prime minister.
