The twin-engine ATR-72 crashed on Monday morning killing at least 31 people, with a number of survivors taken to hospital, Russia's emergencies ministry said.

"Twelve people are in critical condition... Thirty-one have been killed," the Tyumen emergencies ministry said in a statement that had been updated after officials initially put the death toll at 32.

The aircraft crashed at about 7.50 a.m. local time outside the city of Tyumen, a major regional center in Siberia. The cause was not yet clear, a ministry spokeswoman said.

The plane took off from Roshchino airport, near Tyumen, heading towards Surgut. According to preliminary information there were 39 passengers and four crew members aboard.

Russian news agencies said the plane disappeared from radar screens shortly after take-off and crashed 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Tyumen. The plane crashed "while conducting a forced landing," authorities said.

Interfax cited an airport security officer as saying the plane had climbed to about 100 metres (110 yards) before it lost communication with air traffic controllers.

There have been a string of deadly air crashes in Russia in recent years, blamed in part on the use of aging Soviet-era aircraft and also on a widespread neglect of safety in the pursuit of profits.

rc/ai (AP, AFP, Reuters)