18 people have been injured after a plane slid off a runway while landing.

The incident happened in the city of Sochi, in the north-west of the country, early on Saturday morning.

The plane was landing at the airport after flying from Moscow.

According to state media, the UTair plane slid off a runway and crashed into a riverbed before both wings caught fire.

164 passengers and six crew members were on board the Boeing 737-800 at the time.

An airport statement said the fire was extinguished in eight minutes, with all passengers evacuated within 17 minutes.

Russia's health ministry confirmed that six of the injured people had been hospitalised, including two children.

They added that all necessary medical assistance was being provided to those involved.

The health ministry said nobody was killed in the accident, while the TASS news agency noted that an airport employee died of a heart attack during the rescue operation.

The airport was operating normally on Saturday in the wake of the incident.