A flight from Heathrow carrying more than 300 passengers has been forced to make an emergency landing in Russia after an engine failure.
The Air China plane was bound for Beijing but diverted to Nizhnevartovsk in Siberia after suffering technical difficulties on Tuesday morning.
All flights from the UK to Russia have been banned since Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
It is not known whether any British citizens are aboard the 777-39L(ER) aircraft.
One of the engines is thought to have failed mid-flight, forcing it to make the unscheduled landing in the Khanty-Mansi region.
All on board have been left stranded on the runway for several hours while airport authorities decide how to proceed.
A new plane has reportedly been prepared by Air China to collect the stranded travellers.
The Baza news outlet, which reportedly has links to Russian security services, said there was “no panic” on the plane despite the situation.
Russian authorities disputed the exact number of those on board, saying the figure was 267 people including the crew.
Mayor of Nizhnevartovsk Dmitry Koschenko said: “Early this morning, a flight from London to Beijing made an emergency landing. There are 267 people on board the aircraft, including the crew.
“Today, the issue of their temporary accommodation at our airport's international terminal is being resolved. And, accordingly, to wait for the reserve aircraft, which should depart for the passengers in the near future.
“We are in complete control of the situation, that is, we are monitoring it. With the airport management with the government of our district, we are resolving all issues today as necessary. We will, of course, make additional decisions.”
A statement on the UK-Russia flight ban by the British parliament says: “There is currently a prohibition on any aircraft flying to and from Russian aerodromes from using UK airspace.
“This prohibition was implemented on 5 April 2022 under the Air Navigation (Restriction of Flying) (Russian Aircraft) Regulations 2022 (the 'RoF').”
