NOVOSIBIRSK, August 1. /TASS/. Rescue workers have spotted the debris of the Antonov-2 plane that went missing in the Kemerovo Region on Sunday, the acting chief of the Siberian aviation search and rescue center, Vladimir Plotnikov, has told TASS.
"There were no survivors. The plane burned down. The death of the pilot and two other people on board is an established fact," he said.
Plotnikov explained that a team of rescue workers brought to the crash scene by helicopter were now preparing a site suitable for the helicopter to land to deliver investigators and prosecutors and take away the victims’ bodies.
According to the Siberian regional center of the Emergencies Ministry, the plane crashed 40 kilometers east of the village of Krapivinsky. Rugged terrain left no chance for the single-engine biplane to make a safe landing.
Earlier reports said radio contact with the plane was lost after it left Berdsk for Krasnoyarsk. The pilot’s last verbal exchange with the air traffic controller was when the plane was flying over the Kemerovo Region.
The wreckage was spotted from the air on Monday morning.
Earlier, a source in local emergencies services reported that rescuers have found parts of the An-2 aircraft.
"According to preliminary information, parts of An-2 were found in the Kemerovo Region during inspection from the air," the source said adding that information about those onboard is being verified.