11 thought dead after crash

MOSCOW (AP):

Prosecutors say a Russian cargo plane has crashed in a remote eastern area and all 11 people on board likely have been killed.

The regional prosecutor's office in Russia's Far East said the An-12's crew reported shortly after taking off yesterday from Magadan that one of the plane's four engines was on fire.

The pilots tried to return to the airport, but communication with the plane was lost shortly after.

Prosecutors say in a statement that the plane wreck was located in deep forest, but rescuers couldn't immediately reach the area. They say a crew of nine and two people are all believed to have died in the crash.

The An-12, a four-engine turboprop, has been a workhorse of Soviet and Russian aviation since the early 1960s.