AN-12 plane crashes in Siberian city of Irkutsk, Russia

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - An AN-12 military transport aircraft crashed while preparing to land at an airfield near the Siberian city of Irkutsk in Russia on Wednesday, the country's Emergency Ministry announced.

Though the ministry initially reported that two people were killed and five remain missing, local sources say all people aboard the plane died in the accident.

The aircraft disappeared from the radar right before the landing attempt and was engulfed in flames, the emergency services said.

The plane reportedly belongs to the Belarusian airlines fleet and was carrying out a cargo flight.