Russian officials hailed a “miracle” on Friday after a passenger plane made an emergency landing in a Siberian field and all 18 people on board emerged, suffering only cuts and bruises. The An-28 plane, operated by Siberian Light Aviation (SiLA), was flying from the town of Kedrovy to Tomsk when communication was lost, Governor Sergei Zhvachkin’s office said.
The emergencies ministry announced later that the plane had been found, apparently after making a “hard landing,” and that survivors had been spotted. The aviation agency said the plane had been found 155 kilometers (96 miles) from the airstrip in Tomsk. Zhvachkin’s office announced that everyone on board, including three crew, were alive and that medics had “recorded mainly bruises and abrasions.” It was not immediately clear how many people were on board but the Interfax and TASS news agencies said there were 13 people on board while the RIA Novosti agency said there were 17. The emergencies office said the plan carried 14 passengers, including four children, and three crew members. A search effort involving several helicopters is underway, as per reports. The An-28 is a small short-range, Soviet-designed turboprop used by many small carriers across Russia and some other countries. The flight crew hadn’t reported any problems before the plane disappeared, officials said.
