A Cold War-era cargo plane called the Antonov An-12 just made headlines around the world: The plane’s cargo hatch tore open during takeoff from the Yakutsk Airport in Siberia, and 200 gold bars promptly fell into the runway.
Unfortunately, the plane continued to fly for another 16 kilometers, dropping more precious cargo along the way: all in all, $378 million in gold, platinum and diamonds dropped from the plane. The plane made an emergency landing at the nearby Magan Airport, and nobody was injured during the incident. According to a police spokesperson, most of the spilled goods have already been recovered.
The cause of the accident is unknown, and the plane’s maintenance crew has been detained for questioning by police. According to The Siberian Times, the cargo is reportedly owned by Chukota Mining and Geological company.
Watch the retrieval of the gold bars off the runaway:
