A plane crash in the Russian region of Karelia has killed at least 44 passengers. Poor weather is believed to have been a factor as the crew attempted an emergency landing.The pilots of the RusAir flight from Moscow were believed to have attempted an emergency landing on a highway about two kilometers (1.2 miles) from the plane's destination, Petrozavodsk airport in the Karelia region.The Tupolev Tu-134 broke into pieces and erupted in flames as it made contact with the ground, the Karelia branch of Russia's Emergencies Ministry said in a statement on its website.
The statement said the plane had sustained a "hard landing" and that contact with the pilot had been lost at 11:40 p.m. local time. Heavy fog is believed to have been a contributing factor. A total of 43 passengers and a crew of nine had been traveling on the plane. Eight survivors taken to hospital.
Local news agency Interfax has reported the airport's director as saying there had been 'unfavourable weather conditions' in the area at the time, including thick fog and heavy rain.Crash investigators have recovered the flight recorders from the scene and have begun a wide-ranging probe into the incident, which has caused concern throughout Russia's aviation industry.
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