In Russia, forty-four people have been killed in a plane crash in north-western Russia. According to official sources, the aircraft attempted to land on a motorway about 1 kilometre from Petrozavodsk airport in the republic of Karelia but crashed and caught fire. The Tupolev Tu-134 operated by RusAir was carrying 43 passengers and nine crew. Some of the survivors are said to be in critical condition in hospital. The plane came down while flying from the capital, Moscow to Petrozavodsk. It just missed houses built close to the motorway. The bodies were strewn along the road. The Emergency Ministry's Karelia office said radio contact with the pilot was lost at 2340 local time. There was no immediate explanation for the crash.