The Emergency Management officials said that, at least 44 people died when a Russian jetliner crashed into a highway outside the north-western city of Petrozavodsk late Monday, 20^th of June 2011.

As per the report given by Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry, the jet had 43 passengers and a crew of nine aboard when it took off Monday night from Moscow for Petrozavodsk, about 950 kilometres (600 miles) to the north.

Irina Andria nova, a Ministry spokesman, said that the survivors including one child were taken to hospitals.

The Ministry informed that, at about 11.40 p.m. the controllers lost contact with the twin-engine Tupolev-134 and it crashed into a highway outside Besovets, near the Petrozavodsk airport.

Also Andria nova said that the jet broke into several pieces and caught fire after the crash. Nearly 140 rescue workers, doctors and police officers were on the scene before dawn Tuesday, and the Ministry was sending an aircraft with more rescuers and medical teams from Moscow.

Report by Sharika