Saratov Airlines plane crashes near Moscow, 71 people dead

"Debris has been found, there are no survivors," TASS quoted a source as saying.

By REUTERS

FEBRUARY 11, 2018 15:04

Updated: FEBRUARY 11, 2018 17:32

No survivors in Russian plane crash, February 11, 2018. (REUTERS)

MOSCOW - A plane operated by Russia's Saratov Airlines crashed near Moscow on Sunday, killing all 71 people on board, news agencies said.

There were 65 passengers and six crew members onboard the plane which went missing from radars less than 10 minutes after taking off from Moscow's Domodedovo airport, TASS reported.

The plane — a short-haul regional Antonov AN-148 — was bound for the Russian city of Orsk in the Orenburg region that borders Kazakhstan.

Russian state TV channel Rossiya-24 showed footage of fragments of the plane in a snow-covered field.

Saratov Airlines flight #6W703 has crashed about 5-6 minutes after take off from Domodedovo Airport in Moscow.During the last seconds before it crashed the aircraft was falling with up to 22,000 feet per minute.The aircraft involved was a 7 year old Antonov An-148. pic.twitter.com/0ENfhyI9Ts
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) February 11, 2018

"Debris has been found, there are no survivors," TASS quoted a source as saying.

It was not immediately clear what caused the crash. The Russian Transport Ministry was considering various possible reasons, including weather conditions and pilot error, Interfax said.