Forty-four people were killed when a passenger jet crashed in north-western Russia, news agencies have said.

RIA Novosti and ITAR-Tass, citing Emergencies Ministry officials, reported that the RusAir plane crash-landed on a motorway en route from Moscow to the city of Petrozavodsk.

They reported eight people who survived the crash are in hospital in critical condition in Petrozavodsk.

There was no immediate explanation for the crash.

Russian news agencies said the plane crashed on its final approach to the airport in Petrozavodsk, landing a few hundred yards short of the runway. Petrozavodsk is in the in the province of Karelia, 400 miles north-west of Moscow.

The plane was a Russian-made Tu-134 jet, the Emergencies Ministry said, carrying 52 people, nine of whom were crew, the agencies said.

The ministry confirmed on its website that there had been an incident and posted a list of 43 passengers.

Earlier reports put the death toll at 40.