More than three tons of gold bars fell from the sky in Russia Thursday after the hatch of a cargo plane flew open, officials said.
The vessel was loaded with gold, platinum and diamonds and was taking off from the east Siberian city of Yakutsk when a door malfunctioned, causing more than $368 million of precious metal to plummet to the ground below, according to the Tass news agency.
... Golden fever in Yakutiya... the locals start searching for gold bars that fell from the sky pic.twitter.com/wZcM6qkYaz
— Russian Market (@russian_market) March 15, 2018
The Antonov An-12 aircraft operated by Nimbus Airlines was taking off for Krasnoyarsk carrying 9.3 tons of gems and precious metals when a damaged door burst open, according to a government statement.
Authorities later recovered 172 gold bars weighing 3.4 tons, according to an Interior Ministry official.
It's -21C in Yakutia, sunny, we expect showers of diamond, platinum and gold... Plane loses its $368 million cargo; gems and precious metals rain over Russia’s coldest region as police and secret services stage emergency search https://t.co/NsUeOWxZf5 pic.twitter.com/8OXd6Al9is
— The Siberian Times (@siberian_times) March 15, 2018
Ok. Gold rain drops looked that way on Yakutsk Airport’s runway. Pretty heavy and sonorous... Video by transport police from Whatsapp. pic.twitter.com/YYiO1P6lh7
— Bolot Bochkarev (@yakutia) March 15, 2018
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