Airfield in Yakutsk. Phot. vk.com/Аnisim Kharitonov
An Antonov An-12 military transport plane carrying a cargo of precious metals was near to falling when taking off in Russia’s Yakutsk.
For unknown reasons, soon after its take-off a cargo door came adrift and gold bars rained down.
The pilots decided to make a small circle and returned to the airfield. Part of the bullions remained on the runway, but the majority of them were strewn over the neighborhood. Now they are being collected. The specialists have launched the probe into the incident.
There were 9 tons of gold to the value of 22 bn Russian rubles (about $386 mln) on board. According to preliminary reports, 172 bars have been found on the premises of the airport. The cargo belongs to Chukotka Mining and Geological Company. An-12 was flying from Irkutsk to Krasnoyarsk, in Yakutsk it had a refueling stop.
