The Russian authorities announced that an Antonov An-28 aircraft that disappeared from radars on Friday in Siberia had been found, adding that all 18 people on board were alive.
And the Russian Emergencies Ministry revealed that 4 Russian helicopters participated in the search for the plane, with which communication was lost in the Siberian region of Tomsk, earlier on Friday, during a flight from the town of Kidrovy to the city of Tomsk.
The ministry confirmed the survival of all passengers on the plane operated by Sila Airlines, a small company that operates domestic flights in Siberia.
The Russian Aviation Agency, "Rosaviatsya", also announced - in a statement - that "the 15 passengers and three crew members were found. All of them are alive."
The statement indicated that the plane was found about 150 kilometers west of Tomsk, where it was forced to land, and no serious injury was recorded among the survivors, and the local authorities indicated - in a statement - that the doctors "recorded the presence of bruises and scratches."
"We all believed in a miracle, and thanks to the professionalism of the pilots, it happened, and everyone is alive," said Sergei Zhvachkin, the governor of the Tomsk region.
According to the Russian "Interfax" agency, the plane - which was involved in the accident on Friday - was manufactured in 1989. It was previously operated by the national company Aeroflot, and it was operated in Kyrgyzstan before it was transferred to Sila in 2014. .
The Antonov An-28 aircraft were manufactured in the Soviet era, and are still used throughout the former Soviet republics in civil and military aviation, and in recent years these aircraft have been subjected to many fatal accidents.
Less than two weeks ago, an Antonov An-26 aircraft crashed in a similar accident after hitting a rocky hill due to poor visibility conditions on the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Russian Far East, killing all on board. Its board is 28.
Russia, which has long been known for many air accidents, has significantly improved its air safety since the beginning of the 21st century, with the country's major airlines abandoning their old Soviet-era aircraft and buying modern ones.
However, maintenance issues and lax compliance with safety rules still pose major problems, especially in remote areas, where it is preferable to use planes and helicopters to move between isolated areas.
The last serious air accident in Russia dates back to May 2019, when an Aeroflot Sukhoi Superjet 100 plane made an emergency landing after it caught fire on the runway of Moscow Airport, killing 41 people.
In February 2018, an Antonov An-148 aircraft belonging to Saratov Airlines crashed shortly after take-off near Moscow, killing all 71 people on board.