Rescuers have found the bodies of nine victims a day after a plane crash in a remote area in Russia’s Far East, local authorities say.

An Antonov An-26 carrying 28 people crashed on Tuesday near its destination town of Palana in the region of Kamchatka, apparently as it came in for a landing in bad weather.

Wreckage was found on Tuesday evening on a coastal cliffside and in the sea, and the search and rescue operation was suspended until Wednesday morning after night fell, as the crash site was difficult to access in the dark.

The governor of Kamchatka, Vladimir Solodov, told the state Tass news agency that the “first bodies are being pulled out (of the water).”

Russia’s Emergency Ministry said that nine bodies had been found so far, and one had already been identified.

Russian media reported on Tuesday that none of the six crew members or 22 passengers on board had survived.

A passenger plane with 28 people aboard crashed in far eastern Russia on Tuesday, the authorities said. The incident was Russia’s third major commercial aviation calamity in the last three and a half years. https://t.co/8WVwG9rSEJ pic.twitter.com/qwc8kd5TVz

— The New York Times (@nytimes) July 7, 2021

The head of the local government in Palana, Olga Mokhireva, was among the passengers,  the Kamchatka government said.

Mr Solodov said on Tuesday that a group of government officials including Transport Minister Vitaly Savelyev would head to Palana on Wednesday.

In the aftermath of the crash, the authorities in Kamchatka have declared three days of mourning.

Officials say families of the victims will receive payments of more than 3.5 million rubles (about $62,900) that will include compensation from the airline, an insurance payment and a subsidy from the regional government.

In 2012, an Antonov An-28 plane belonging to Kamchatka Aviation Enterprise crashed into a mountain while flying the same route as Tuesday’s flight.

A total of 14 people were on board and 10 of them were killed.

Both pilots, who were among the dead, were found to have alcohol in their blood, Tass reported.