Gold rush in -24C to find the $368 million treasures that fell from back of plane

The treasures fell from the back of an AN-12 cargo plane flight number 9297 flying from Yakutsk to Krasnoyarsk. 

It now appears the cargo was not secured properly and pressed on the hatch which gave way.

The company owning the treasure said it had been all recovered - nine tons of gold and silver alloy called doré bars.

Yet there is another question too: what happened to the diamonds and platinum originally reported as being in the cargo? 

And police in Yakutsk reported only 3.5 tons is recovered: so what about the rest? 

For now, locals in Yakutia - the coldest region in Russia - believe some of the gold and silver fell in a snow covered swamp. 

As our video shows, this is where they are hunting as a new gold rush comes to Siberia. 

As newspaper Moskovsky Komsomolets reported: ‘Officially, employees of the airport successfully gathered the bars from the runway - and put it into the guarded storage. 

'But there is unofficial information from citizens who are literally walking on gold now.'

There are also claims that there was a cover-up after the plane spilt its cargo.

An airport official in Yakutsk revealed: 'We were immediately instructed – no information for journalists, just say: ‘We saw nothing, know nothing, it is a fake.' 

'I have not been in my job long. Nobody let me go close to this gold.'

Trusted employees were assigned to collect the gold and silver bars. 

On their way home, they were forced to go through metal detectors. 

Police also searched cars. 

'I think all policemen from Yakutsk were there,' said one witness. 'There were huge traffic jams. I have not seen anything like this before. 

'Each car was searched for at least 20 minutes. Rumours say that some gold fell elsewhere, not only on the runway.'

Airport spokespeople were being coy. 

'We do not comment on the emergency situation,’ said one. 'All is good now. I can inform you about the flights if you need. Almost no delays.'

She was not cleared to speak about a gold rush, she said. 

As Moskovsky Komsomolets reported: 'Police of Yakutsk reported that 172 bars weighing 20 kg each were found, and the Investigative Committee confirmed that 3.5 tons of cargo was found. 

'But stop, first reports said there was 9 tons? Does it mean that more than a half is still missing?'

An air traffic control source groaned: ‘We gathered all that was on the runway, nothing else was found yet. 

'We don’t know all the truth either. This story is top secret.'

A police source, asked if the entire cargo had been found - some of which may have fallen from the Antonov several kilometres from the airport - said: 'Maybe not all. 

'A large number of police are working in the airport area now. You won’t get there, the territory is closed off.'

It was reported that all flights to Yakutsk are overbooked as people join the rush. 

Local man Nikolay said: 'They fooled us when said in the news that all gold was found. They just wanted to prevent stealing of gold. 

'I have been living in Magan (where the plane made an emergency landing after losing it cargo) for many years but I’ve not heard such a noise before. 

'When a child goes missing they never send such a big team of police like for this gold.'

The search was focused on Markhi suburb in Yakutsk, he said. There are marshes, frozen now, bulrushes everywhere.

'It’s said more gold fell there that on the runway.'

Local men were ‘digging into the snow for gold’, he said. 

Treasure hunting maps have been procured locally, he said. The area with gold is circled in red. 

They are undeterred by police warnings of prosecution for stealing gold, he said. 

'I will go to search at night when guards will be sleeping,’ he added. 'To dig, to dig and to dig, before dawn.'

One bar - and he could pay off all his debts, even if it was bought by the company that lost the gold, he said. 

Meanwhile, earlier reports of diamonds and platinum falling from the plane - built in 1972 - are now not mentioned. 

There are more puzzles. The plane was reported as belonging to Nimbus Airlines but boss Alexey Tresvyatsky said to journalists that his company does not fly on such planes.

Another company said to own the aircraft PO Kosmos similarly denied this was their flight. 

An official investigation is underway into whether the flight was legal. 

But Stanislav Borodyuk, representative of Kinross Gold, the Canadian-led owners, insistsed that the cargo was transported according to all necessary regulations. 

'The main thing is that no-one from the crew and the two representatives of our company were hurt in this accident,’ he said.