The plane was making an emergency landing at Nizhneangarsk in the Russian Republic of Buryatia amid indications that it had experienced a failure in one of its two turbo-propeller engines, said initial reports.

The area's Emergency Situations Ministry said the Antonov-24 (An-24) overshot the runway on landing, hit what it described as an airport building and caught fire. 

There were 46 people on board, including a crew of four. Besides the two crew member fatalities, 21 people had required medical treatment, the ministry said. 

Pictures showed burning wreckage and the fuselage's nose embedded in the building.

The airport structure hit was described as a "waste treatment facility building."

The aircraft was reportedly operated by Angara Airlines, which is based in Irkutsk, one of the largest cities in Siberia.

Nizhneangarsk lies at the northern tip of Lake Baikal in a popular summer vacation region.

ipj/sms (Reuters, dpa, AFP)