AP 

Moscow, Jul 9: A Russian passenger plane crashed on landing in the Siberian city of Irkutsk, killing around 150 passengers, Russian news agencies reported.

The plane, on a flight from Moscow to Irkutsk, veered off the runway as it was landing at about 7:50 a.m local time (0420 IST Sunday) and burst into flames, Emergency Situations Ministry spokeswoman Irina Andrianova said.

Andrianova said 43 people were taken to a hospital and another 10 managed to escape. Most of the other passengers were feared dead, she said.

The Interfax and ITAR-Tass news agencies reported that around 150 people had died, quoting a preliminary toll from the regional prosecutor's office and transport ministry.

The Sibir Airbus A-310 was carrying a crew of eight and 192 passengers, she said.

''The aircraft veered off the runway on landing. It was travelling at a terrific speed,'' Andrianova said.

The plane hit a concrete barrier, collapsing the front section of the aircraft, she said. It then burst into flames.

It took five emergency services more than two hours to extinguish the flames, Andrianova said.

The ITAR-Tass news agency reported that many children were among the passengers. They were traveling on vacation on Lake Baikal, which is near Irkutsk, the agency said.

The city lies about 4,200 kilometers (2,600 miles) east of Moscow.

The Emergency Situations Ministry official said there was no information yet about the likely cause of the crash.

In May, another Airbus aircraft crashed in stormy weather off Russia's Black Sea coast while readying to land, killing all 113 people on board.

Airline officials said they believed the crash of the Armenian passenger plane was due to driving rain and low visibility.