Russian plane crash kills 31

A Russian passenger plane, UTair airlines ATR 72, crashed and burst into flames after takeoff in Siberia on Monday, killing 31 of the 43 people on board. The 12 survivors were pulled from the wreckage and rushed to hospital by helicopter but one later died, emergency officials said. The head of the regional branch of the Emergencies Ministry, Yuri Alekhin, said “There are no explanations yet,” adding that “Contact was lost with the plane just over three minutes after take-off.” So far, the crash has been recorded as the deadliest air disaster in Russia since a Yak-42 plane slammed into a riverbank near the city of Yaroslavl after takeoff on September 7, 2011, killing 44 people and wiping out the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl ice hockey team.