Forty-eight people have died in a plane crash in Russia's Far East, the head of the country's Amur region said in a statement Thursday.

The An-24 passenger plane disappeared from radar as it travelled from the city of Blagoveshchensk on the Russian-Chinese border to the town of Tynda.

Rescuers later found the aircraft's burning wreckage amid dense forests on a hillside south of its planned destination.

Gov. Vasily Orlov said that all passengers and crew on board the aircraft were killed in the crash. He also announced three days of mourning for the region.

Images of the reported crash site circulated by Russian state media show debris scattered among dense forest, surrounded by plumes of smoke.

The transport prosecutor's office in the Far East said in an online statement that the plane attempted a second approach while trying to land when contact with it was lost.

The flight was operated by Siberia-based Angara Airlines.  

It was originally reported that 49 people were aboard.