An Antonov An-12 turboprop cargo plane, belonging to Belarusian firm Aircompany Grodno, crashed in the Siberian Federal District, not far from the Mongolian border.

The aircraft had been performing a flight between Yakutsk and Irkutsk, Russian state news agency TASS reported.

The incident occured in the morning of November 3. The aircraft was returning from a cargo flight and preparing for a landing at Irkutsk International Airport (IKT). 

On approach, the pilot informed the flight controller that it had to perform a go-around. Shortly after, the aircraft disappeared from radar.

Not long after, a crash site was discovered near Pivovarikha village, approximately 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) from the airport. 

According to an unnamed source within the Russian firefighting service, quoted by TASS, the crash site was located in a forest. A small forest fire has started, which was extinguished by firefighters in the evening of the same day. 

The government of the Irkutsk Oblast has issued a statement saying that all seven bodies have been found. According to the statement, the crew was composed of Belarusian and Ukrainian nationals. 

According to its website, Aircompany Grodno owns various aircraft, including An-12, An-12 and An-32. It provides cargo, airdrop, aerial photography and other services.

An-12 is a large four-engine turboprop aircraft produced by Antonov between 1957 and 1973. A large number of ex-Soviet An-12s are used for cargo operations worldwide, mostly in Asia and Africa.

An-12 of Aircompany Grodno (Image: Aircompany Grodno)