This is the horrific moment a Russian plane crashed into a clifftop before plunging into the sea killing all 28 people on board.
Officials have confirmed there were no survivors after the An-26 twin-engine turboprop vanished from radars near the end of its flight.
A six-year-old girl was among those travelling on the flight from regional capital Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky to Palana in Kamchatka peninsula when the aircraft crashed while making a second approach to land.
A hotline has been set up for relatives and psychologists were made available, as pictures emerged of some of those on the stricken flight.
Wreckage of the plane was earlier seen on a hillside and in the Sea of Okhotsk but darkness fell in the east of Russia, preventing a thorough search until morning.
Scorched grass can be seen at what searchers say was the impact point as the plane flew too low on its second approach to the small village airport.
BAZA reported that the plane crashed on the shore which it should have cleared with a height of some 1,900 ft on approach to the destination.
Parts of the plane’s stabiliser were found on a hill, while the tail [was located] on a cliff, said the report.
Other parts of the aircraft were ”washed into the sea” and the aircraft was “completely destroyed”, it was reported .
RT in Russian Telegram channel said: “One part of the An-26 fuselage is located on the slope of Pyatibratka Hill, the second is seen in the sea about four kilometres from the coast.”
Pilot Dmitry Nikiforovo, 34, was within five minutes of his allowed 70 hours when he took off, said one report.
The plane was 39 years old, according to documentation which said it was flight worthy.
Kamchatka governor Vladimir Solodov said the plane crashed as it made a second attempt to land due to “poor visibility”.
Among those on the plane was mother of three Yulia Surovtseva, 43, a university graduate in St Petersburg, who ran a puppet theatre in her village of Palana.
Ekaterina Ponikarova, 30, was returning home after a holiday. Before departure she had posted a picture of her cat that was travelling with her.
The head of the Palana village administration, Olga Mokhireva, 42, was on the plane.
So were two Palana council officials, husband Alexander Andreykin, 44, head of the mobilisation department, and his wife, the head of the financial department, Olga Andreykina, 47.
A girl aged six, Alisa Khvaleyeva, 6, was on the plane, as was villager Artyom Tishchenko, 17.
Pictures emerged of crew members Alexander Anisimov, 27, co-pilot and graduate of the University of Civil Aviation in St Petersburg, Ivan Neverov, 31, flight operator, and Rustem Zavgarov, flight mechanic.
The volcanic peninsula is currently hit by raging wildfires but reports said smoke was not a problem in the area of the crash.
Initial reports on the cause of the crash have referred to bad weather but it remains unknown why the plane failed to land safely.
An emergencies official said: "The duty shift of the crisis management centre of the Russian Emergencies Ministry's Main Directorate in Kamchatka region received information that the An-26 aircraft, on a passenger flight from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky to Palana, did not get in touch at the specified time.
“According to preliminary data, there are 22 passengers on board the plane, including one child and 6 crew members.”
Regional deputy transport minister Anatoly Bannikov, said: "It was supposed to arrive at the Palana airport at 15:05 (local time).
"The plane did not arrive at the appointed time.
"According to updated data, there were 28 people on board... six crew members and 22 passengers, including one child born in 2014."
Later the head of the Kamchatka Aviation Enterprise, Aleksey Khrabrov, said: “We have found the wreckage of the plane. Where and under what circumstances, I cannot say.”
Ageing Antonov planes, many dating to the Soviet-era, are used as workhorses flying to remote areas of Russia.
In 2012, an An-28 plane crashed near Palana, killing ten.
The pilots were eventually found guilty, as they had alcohol in their blood.
