Tons of gold have fallen out of the sky in Russia after a cargo plane malfunctioned in mid-air.

The aircraft was carrying £265m worth of platinum, gold and diamonds when the hatch flew open - sending the precious metals plummeting back to earth.

According to the TASS news agency, Russian authorities have recovered more than 170 gold bars weighing 20kg each.

Image: Police are questioning engineers who worked on the plane before take-off

The plane was travelling from Yakutsk Airport - a major diamond-producing region - to Krasnoyarsk.

However, the Nimbus Airlines AN-12 cargo aircraft made an emergency landing in Magan after it began haemorrhaging valuables.


Reports suggest some bars of gold were scattered up to 15 miles away from the airport.

9 tons of gold on plane AN-12 belonged to goldmine company, incident happened in Yakutsk airport this morning. Every golden brick weights 20 kg pic.twitter.com/FDJECw2A5E — Andrey Davydov (@FarEasterner) March 15, 2018

Police have sealed off the runway, and say it is unclear if it was an accident or a deliberate attempt at a heist.

Technical engineers who worked on the plane prior to take-off are reportedly going to be questioned by police.