ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday extended his condolences to President Vladimir Putin and the people of Russia after a passenger plane crashed in the country’s far east region killed all 48 on board.
Russia’s Ministry of Civil Defense, Emergencies and Disaster Relief said on Thursday the An-24 plane, operated by Siberia-based Angara Airlines, dropped off radar screens while approaching its destination, Tynda, a town in Russia’s far east Amur region bordering China.
According to Russia’s state-owned TASS news agency, an error by the plane’s crew while landing amid poor visibility could be one of the likely reasons for the crash.
“On behalf of the people of Pakistan and myself, I extend our deepest condolences to President Vladimir Putin and the Russian people on the tragic loss of lives in the passenger plane crash in eastern Russia today,” Sharif wrote on social media platform X.
“We stand in solidarity with the bereaved families in this moment of profound sorrow,” he added.
Russian state media showed images of the reported crash site, showing debris scattered in a dense forest surrounded by thick plumes of smoke.
While Russian aviation safety standards have improved in recent years, accidents, especially involving aging planes in far-flung regions, are not uncommon. In July 2021, all 28 people on board an Antonov An-26 twin-engine turboprop died in a crash in Kamchatka.
In September 2021, an aging Antonov An-26 transport plane crashed in the Russian far east, killing six.
