A Chinese passenger plane overshot its runway and burst into flames while attempting to land late yesterday in China’s northeast, killing at least 43 people, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

The plane crashed while trying to land in the city of Yichun in remote Heilongjiang province, Xinhua said.

The aircraft was operated by Henan Airlines, a carrier based in the northern province of the same name.

Xinhua said the plane had 91 passengers and five crew aboard at the time.

The aircraft was an E-190 jet, a passenger aircraft manufactured by Embraer, the Brazilian aerospace conglomerate.

The crash occurred at about 10.10 p.m. (1410 GMT) near Yichun’s Lindu airport.

The plane had taken off earlier from Harbin, the provincial ­capital, Xinhua said. Fire-­fighters and other rescue personnel were at the scene of the crash attempting to extinguish the fire and rescue victims, it added.

Yichun is about 150 kilometres from China’s northern border with Russia.