MOSCOW, Nov 3, 2021 (BSS/AFP) - A Russian cargo plane with seven people on 
board crash landed in eastern Siberia and caught fire, the emergencies 
ministry said Wednesday.

  The Antonov An-12 aircraft "disappeared from radars" during its final 
approach outside the city of Irkutsk, the ministry said on its Telegram 
channel.

  According to preliminary information, the aircraft was carrying seven 
people and travelling from the city of Yakutsk, the ministry said.

  It said a rescue team had arrived at the scene and the aircraft was on 
fire.

  Antonov planes were manufactured during the Soviet era and are still used 
throughout the former Soviet Union for civilian and military transport.

  They have been involved in a number of accidents in recent years.

  Once notorious for accidents, Russia's major airlines have shifted from 
ageing Soviet aircraft to more modern planes.

  But poor aircraft maintenance and lax safety standards persist, and the 
country has recently seen several deadly air disasters.

  In September, six people died when an An-26 transport aircraft crashed 
outside the Far Eastern city of Khabarovsk.

  And in July an An-26 flying over the Far Eastern Kamchatka peninsula 
crashed, killing all 28 people on board.