Russian plane crash kills 143

July 3, 2001 Posted: 4:50 PM EDT (2050 GMT)

MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) -- A Russian passenger plane has crashed and burst into flames in Siberia, killing all 143 people on board, officials said.

The plane went down about 34 kilometres (21 miles) from the Siberian city of Irkutsk, which lies 4,200 kilometres (2,600 miles) east of Moscow, the Russian news agency Interfax reported.

The Tupolev 154 aircraft, with 133 passengers and 10 crew members on board, dropped off controllers' radar screens about 2:10 a.m. local time on Wednesday (1710 GMT on Tuesday).

Russian government officials said no one survived the crash. About 70 rescuers are on the scene and the government is flying more to the scene.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has assigned a commission to look into what caused the crash.

The plane, belonging to Vladivostok Avia company, was flying east from Yekaterinburg in south central Russia to Vladivostok, a port on the Pacific coast. It had been due to stop at Irkutsk.

Russia's RIA news agency quoted witnesses describing a large explosion in an area where many locals have dachas, or small country homes, not far from Lake Baikal.

The three-engine Tupolev 154 is the aging workhorse of Russia's commercial fleet. It was designed as the Soviet counterpart to the Boeing 727 and the European-made Trident, but with the added ability to operate from short, rough runways.

The plane has been involved in 28 air disasters since it was created in 1968.

-- Anonymous, July 03, 2001