1st LD Writethru: Plane crash in northern Russia kills at least 2

MOSCOW, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- A woman and a four-year-old child were killed and 11 others injured after an antiquated airplane crashed in north Russia's Nenets Autonomous Region Tuesday, the regional administration confirmed.

An Antonov An-2 plane with two crew members and 11 passengers on board made a hard landing after takeoff at an airport in Naryan-Mar City, capital of Nenets, said a statement by the regional administration.

Pictures from the Russian Investigative Committee showed that the small plane plunged into thick snow on the ground with broken wings.

Currently, eight people are in an intensive care unit of a local hospital, another two are undergoing surgery there, while one person is able to move independently, the regional administration said.

An investigation is working out three possible causes of the incident: unfavorable weather, pilot error or technical malfunctions, the Russian Investigative Committee said.

Russian media said earlier in the day that four people died in the crash, quoting preliminary data from a statement by the Nenets regional division of the investigative committee, which was later deleted.

The An-2 is a single-engine utility-agricultural aircraft manufactured between 1947 and 2001. It remains in service with military and civilian operators around the world. Enditem