A passenger plane carrying 88 people has crashed near the central Russian city of Perm.
A passenger plane has crashed near the central Russian city of Perm, killing all 88 people on board, officials say.
The Boeing-737 belonged to the national airline Aeroflot. All those on board are believed to have died.
The Boeing-737, belonging to a branch of the national airline Aeroflot, was on a flight from Moscow.
Communications with the plane were lost as it was making a landing approach, officials say.
A number of foreign passengers were on board. An investigation into the cause of the crash is under way.
The wreckage was later found outside Perm, which is located in the Urals. Rescuers are at the site. The cause of the crash is not known.
Radio contact with the plane was lost as it was landing. The wreckage was later found ouside Perm, which is located near the Ural mountains.
The plane burst into flames upon impact, officials say.
"The Boeing-737 carried 82 passengers on board, including seven children, and six crew... All passengers were killed," Aeroflot said in a statement quoted by AFP news agency.
"According to the latest information, the airplane fell into a ravine near the city limits," investigator Vladimir Markin told Russia's Ria-Novosti news agency.
"As the plane was coming in for landing, it lost communication at the height of 1,100 metres and air controllers lost its blip. The airplane was found within Perm's city limits completely destroyed and on fire."
He said that according to "preliminary information" there were no survivors.
Smouldering wreckage
Russia's Emergency Ministry spokeswoman Irina Andrianova earlier that the contact with the plane was lost as it was landing at 0321 Moscow time (1121 GMT).
Russian officials say passengers included nationals from Azerbaijan, Ukraine, France, Switzerland, Latvia, the United States, Germany, Turkey and Italy.
There was no indication of a terrorist attack, she said.
Earlier, crash investigator Vladimir Markin told Russia's Ria-Novosti news agency that the plane "fell into a ravine near the city limits".
Officials say there were seven children on board.
Emergency Ministry spokeswoman Irina Andrianova said contact with the plane was lost at 0321 Moscow time (1121 GMT).
Rescue teams and investigators are now working at the crash site, some 1,200km (750 miles) east of Moscow.
Television pictures from the site - some 1,200km (750 miles) east of Moscow - showed firefighters walking through smouldering wreckage.
The plane burned on the ground for some two hours before fire crews extinguished the blaze.
There were no casualties on the ground, officials say.
Officials say there is no indication of a terrorist attack.
The plane belonged to Aeroflot-Nord - Aeroflot's regional airline.
A crisis centre had been set up for the victims' relatives, Aeroflot said.
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