A RUSSIAN plane has crashed killing all 71 on board as traumatised witnesses described seeing a huge “mushroom cloud explosion” mid-air.
The Saratov Airlines jet is understood to have "broken apart in the sky", scattering wreckage and dead bodies over the Russian countryside.Horror images show parts of the plane lying in a snowy field as rescuers described seeing bodies "everywhere".
One witness claimed there was an "explosion" while the plane was still in the air.
The local man told Life Shot news: “The explosion was huge. Everything was shaking.
"I heard the noise of jet turbines. Then silence.”The explosion led to “windows trembling” on the ground, he said.
Local reports claim investigators are looking into whether one of the engines on the An-148 exploded just 10 minutes after take-off.
There is no suggestion that this is a terror-related incident.
Flightradar24 tweeted that the aircraft was descending at 1,000m per minute.
The An-148 aircraft went missineg from the radar just two minutes after leaving Domodedovo International Airport.
There were 65 passengers and six crew members onboard the plane, Russian news agency Interfax reported.A source told Interfax: "The plane crashed and there was no chance anyone could have survived."
The jet had come down near the village of Argunovo, about 80km (50 miles) south-east of Moscow, the source added.Witnesses also told Interfax they saw the plane on fire in mid-air before it crashed into the ground.
Another source told the agency: “It appears the plane began to fall apart in the sky
"Emergency services have found many dead bodies at the site."
Shocking video footage has circulated showing what is understood to be the wreckage of the plane in a snowy field.
What we know so far:
The Antonov An-148 - operated by Saratov Airlines - was carrying 65 passengers and six crew
The plane was en route from Moscow to the city of Orsk when it vanished from radar
Flightradar24 tweeted that the aircraft was descending at a rapid 1,000m per minute
Rescue teams are heading to the crash site on foot as they can't get there in their vehicles
Fragments were found in the Ramenskoye area about 25 miles from the airport
Sources say the crash may have been caused by the weather, human error or technical failure
Eyewitnesses in Argunovo said they saw a burning plane falling from the sky
Russia’s Investigative Committee has now opened an investigation into the crash
Interfax also reported that the wreckage of the plane was spread over a wide area around the crash site.
The Russian-made plane was 7 years-old and bought by Saratov Airlines from another Russian airline a year ago.
Russian media reported that the emergency services were unable to reach the crash site by road and that rescue workers walked to the scene on foot.
A source at Domodedovo, Moscow's second largest airport, told agencies that the plane disappeared from radars within two minutes of take off.The Russian transport minister was on his way to the crash site, agencies reported.
The transport ministry said several causes for the crash are being considered, including weather conditions and human error.
A British Embassy spokesperson said: "We been in contact with local authorities following today's tragic plane crash. At this stage, we are not aware of any British nationals involved, but stand ready to provide support."
Vladimir Putin has offered his condolences to families who've lost loved ones on the tragedy.
The president's press secretary Dmitry Peskov said: "The president offers his profound condolences to those who lost their relatives in the crash."
The governor of the Orenburg region, where the plane was flying to, told Russian media that "more than 60 people" onboard the plane were from the region.
Prosecutors opened an investigation into Saratov Airlines following the crash.
The Russian Emergencies Ministry said it is verifying reports that the An-148 has crashed outside Moscow.
Meanwhile, the governor of the Orenburg region, where the plane was flying to, told Russian media that "more than 60 people" onboard the plane were from the area.
It's not the first tragic jet crash to hit Russia.
In December, 2016 a Tu-154 military airliner crashed into the Black Sea with the loss of all 92 people aboard on 25 December 2016, with the disaster blamed on pilot error.
And in October 2015 a Russian Airbus A321 carrying tourists crashed in Sinai, Egypt, with the loss of all 224 people aboard. ISIS said it had placed a bomb aboard.