Posted 3-16-2005 at 06:15 PM

A 1970s-era Russian turboprop airliner carrying 53 people crashed and caught fire Wednesday while trying to land near an oil port along the Arctic coast, and at least 29 people were killed, officials said. Some survivors used a satellite phone to call authorities from the wreckage.

A Russian emergency official said on condition of anonymity that the plane's tail was falling apart before the crash. The investigation into the crash was underway.

There were 46 passengers and seven crew members aboard the Regional Airlines An-24 plane that crashed near Varandei in the Nenets autonomous region along Russia's Arctic coast. Regional is a small private carrier.

Twenty-nine people were killed, said Sergei Vlasov, spokesman for the Emergency Situations Ministry. Of the 24 survivors, 10 were in grave condition, Vlasov said.

Most of the passengers worked for the Lukoil oil company.

Yuri Kovalyov, spokesman for the local branch of the Emergency Situations Ministry, said survivors contacted authorities on a satellite phone and rescuers quickly reached the site.

The plane was approaching the airport when it suddenly banked and slammed into the ground near Varandei, about 1,110 miles northeast of Moscow.

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