Moscow - A Soviet-made plane carrying 36 passengers on Monday overshot the runway and lost one wing in an emergency landing in Russia's Far East, injuring 15 people.
The An-24 passenger plane, en route to Far Eastern city of Khabarovsk, had to land in Blagoveschensk after it “deviated from the planned itinerary due to poor visibility and strong gusts of wind,” the emergencies ministry said in a statement.
“15 people were wounded,” the health ministry said in a statement. Seven have been hospitalised.
“The plane lost its chassis and a left wing as it came off the landing strip and went into the grounds,” the emergencies ministry added.
An-24 (Antonov) regional planes are primarily used in Russia's hard-to-reach areas in Siberia and the Far North, and regularly suffer accidents.
In July seven people were killed after a similar plane landed in the Siberian Ob river due to an engine fire. - Sapa-AFP