A Russian aircraft with 39 aboard crashed in the country's Sakha Republic on Monday, a source said.

The Il-18 aircraft crashed near the Tiksi settlement, Sputnik news agency reported.

'There were 32 passengers and seven crew members in the plane. It is possible that five of them managed to survive,' the source said.

The plane reportedly broke into three pieces on impact.

A source said: ‘The Il-18 plane, which flew from the Koltsovo airport in Yekaterinburg, on Monday, December 19, crashed 27 kilometers from Tiksi village.’

Six people have survived the crash.

An operation to rescue any other victims is ongoing. The weather was poor according to Russian media. But pilot error is also being considered a factor.

Three MI-8 helicopters have been sent to the site, the Ministry of Emergency Situations said.

Now the administration Bulunsky District of Yakutia hosts meeting on disaster. The local authority has called an emergency meeting to discuss the disaster.