Moscow:  A small plane crashed today by a river near Moscow killing all five people on board who were conducting an aerial photography assignment, officials said.

The Antonov An-2 crashed by the banks of the Oka River in Pushchino district, about 100 kilometres from Moscow, Liudmila Martynova, a spokeswoman from the emergency situations ministry, told AFP.

The single-engine biplane's two crew and all three members of the photography team died, she stated, confirming later that there were no other survivors.

"It seems that the plane fell from an altitude of between 1.5 and two kilometres and burst into flames when it hit the ground," news agency Ria-Novosti also quoted a ministry official as saying.

Contact with the aircraft was lost 10 minutes after take-off. Police started to receive calls describing sightings of a falling plane at around 1930 IST, Interfax news agency added.

Interfax said initial information suggested that engine problems had caused the plane to attempt an emergency landing, but that the aircraft hit a power cable which caused the fire.

Russian prosecutors have launched a full inquiry.

Source : PTI